State Department Unveils Human Rights Review

On Thursday, the State Department released its 2009 Human Rights Report which explores trends and developments in 194 countries, and provides a thorough accounting of “a year in which ethnic, racial, and religious tensions led to violent conflicts and serious human rights violations and fueled or exacerbated more than 30 wars or internal armed conflicts.” 2009 was also a landmark year for the proliferation of information and connection technology, which, while serving as a positive facilitator for the transmission of democratic ideas worldwide, also prompted governments to “infringe on the personal privacy rights of those who used these rapidly evolving technologies.” Multiple Near East and North Africa country reports focused upon a similar collection of distressing themes, including judicial misconduct, fraudulent or rigged electoral systems, a disregard for basic human freedoms, and general malfeasance by public officials. Below are some highlights from particular MENA countries of concern:

Full summary below the fold.

EGYPT:

• Respect for the Integrity of the Person
  • Wielding the Emergency Law — which authorizes a variety of broad powers based upon the pretense of public safety and security — the government arbitrarily arrested and detained hundreds of individuals, often holding them incommunicado without access to lawyers.
• Civil Liberties
  • Although the constitution provides for freedom of speech and of the press, the government partially restricted these rights through harassment, censorship, and arrests and detentions. Journalists and activists were particularly vulnerable to these crackdowns and the government also placed restrictions on civil society organizations.
  • The government regularly confiscated publications by Islamists and other critics of the state.
  • Police harassed, detained, and abused bloggers and Internet activists.
  • The government severely restricted freedoms of assembly and association — for those who were allowed to exercise these rights, the government mandated adherence to a number of preconditions that often served as deterrents.
  • In the area of religious pluralism, the government failed to redress laws and government practices that discriminate against Christians.
• Political Rights
  • President Hosni Mubarak‘s National Democratic Party continued to monopolize control over the political system, imposing limitations on citizens’ rights to change their government peacefully.
  • There were only nine women in the 454-seat People’s Assembly and 21 in the 264-seat Shura Council. Two women served among the 32 ministers in the cabinet. However, the parliament did pass a law to institute a quota of 64 parliamentary seats for women, effective in 2010.
• Worker Rights
  • The law permits workers to form unions, with several significant restrictions.
  • The 2003 Unified Labor Law permits peaceful strikes, but in practice strikes were rarely, if ever, approved.

JORDAN:

• Respect for the Integrity of the Person
  • Reports of unlawful killings by the government and its agents.
  • Although the National Center for Human Rights observed a decrease in the number of complaints of torture and mistreatment, international organizations continued to insist that government-sanctioned torture remained a widespread practice.
  • According to a number of local and international human rights groups, the government did not always adhere to official prohibitions of arbitrary arrest and detention.
  • Widespread allegations of official malfeasance in the form of political imprisonment.
• Civil Liberties
  • Threats of imprisonment and fines of up to $28,000 for “defamation” led to journalistic self-censorship. The government’s use of “soft containment” of journalists — financial support, scholarships for relatives, and special invitations — led to significant media control.
  • Although the government controlled access to certain online content, overall Internet accessibility remained moderately high.
  • The government occasionally restricted academic freedom.
  • Freedoms of assembly and association were limited by laws that required organizations to adhere to a variety of regulations under penalty of fines or imprisonment — for both the organization’s leaders as well as its members.
• Political Rights
  • Citizens may only participate in the political system through their elected representatives in the Chamber of Deputies, which is the lower house of the National Assembly. The king appoints and dismisses the prime minister, cabinet, and the House of Notables; dissolves parliament; and establishes public policy.
  • Allegations of electoral irregularities, including vote buying, multiple voting, transfer of votes, and exploiting armed forces personnel to vote en masse for pro-government candidates.
  • The electoral law remained in place, which mandates a single non-transferable voting system that only allows voters to choose one candidate in multiple-seat districts.
• Worker rights
  • Foreign workers were not permitted to join unions, excluding the country’s more than 300,000 registered foreign workers from any right of association.
  • Government influence in union policies and activities reportedly continued.

IRAN:

• Respect for the Integrity of the Person
  • The government and its agents committed multiple acts of arbitrary or unlawful killings, particularly in the days and weeks following Iran’s June 12 election as well as during the subsequent rallies throughout the fall and winter.
  • Human rights groups believe 4000 – 5000 individuals were detained during the protests following the 2009 election.
  • An increase in reports of politically motivated abductions and disappearances.
  • Security personnel continued to torture detainees and prisoners, especially those who participated in opposition rallies following the June election.
  • Significant surge in arbitrary arrests and detentions during 2009.
  • Regular and paramilitary security forces operated with impunity, and therefore committed egregious human rights abuses against opposition demonstrators and others.
  • Trial procedures were inconsistent and often arbitrary; the government charged individuals with vague crimes such as “antirevolutionary behavior,” “moral corruption,” and “siding with global arrogance.”
• Civil Liberties
  • No basic legal safeguards for freedom of expression, and the government arbitrarily enforced censorship measures against the independent press. Multiple publications were shut down and the government periodically jailed journalists.
  • The government increasingly monitored Internet communications and began to control Internet accessibility as more Iranians used it as a tool for debate and political organizing.
  • Severe restrictions on academic freedom through the dismissal of liberal and secular professors. Admission to universities was also politicized.
  • Government restricted freedom of assembly and closely monitored gatherings to prevent antigovernment protests. Officials and government-sanctioned militias also forcibly dispersed peaceful demonstrations.
• Political Rights
  • The authority of unelected representatives over the election process severely abridged the right of citizens to peacefully change their government.
  • Outside observers regarded the June 12 presidential election as neither free nor fair; the Guardian Council approved the participation of only four out of more than 450 prospective candidates.
  • Independent analysts concluded a number of electoral irregularities, including the absence of long-standing regional variations in turnout.
  • According to the Guardian Council’s interpretation, the constitution barred women and persons of non-Iranian origin or religions other than Shia Islam from becoming president.
• Worker Rights
  • The government did not permit independent unions — a national organization known as Workers’ House was the sole authorized national labor organization.
  • The judiciary regularly abused the justice system to imprison and silence labor activists.
  • The legal code prohibits public sector strikes.

SAUDI ARABIA:

• Respect for the Integrity of the Person
  • Although there were no known incidents of government-sanctioned, politically motivated killings, media reports indicated that Saudi armed forces did kill Yemeni civilians in cross-border firefights with Houthi rebels.
  • Likewise, there were no reports of politically motivated disappearances, but Amnesty International claimed that the government held more than 3,100 individuals in “virtual secrecy.”
  • Persistent reports that authorities systematically subjected prisoners and detainees to torture and other physical abuse.
  • The government maintained broad powers to arrest and detain persons indefinitely without judicial oversight or effective access to legal counsel or family.
  • Religious police periodically accosted, abused, arrested, and detained citizens and noncitizens, especially women, for allegedly violating dress and behavior standards.
  • International NGOs criticized the government for abusing its antiterrorism prerogatives to arrest some members of the political opposition.
• Civil Liberties
  • The Basic Law and other laws strictly limit freedom of speech media operations.
  • Media outlets can legally be banned or publication temporarily halted if the government assesses that they promote “mischief and discord, compromise the security of the state and its public image,” or “offend a man’s dignity and rights.”
  • All public employees are prohibited from “participating, directly or indirectly, in the preparation of any document, speech, or petition; engaging in dialogue with local and foreign media; or participating in any meetings intended to oppose the state’s policies.”
  • The government owns most print and broadcast media and book publication facilities in the country.
  • A 1982 media policy statement still in effect urges journalists to uphold Islam, oppose atheism, promote Arab interests, and preserve cultural heritage.
  • Internet was restricted by the government and only available through government providers.
  • The government continues to restrict academic freedom by censoring course content.
  • The Basic Law does not provide for freedom of assembly — public demonstrations are prohibited.
  • The government condoned societal abuses and discrimination against adherents of Shi’a Islam.
• Political Rights
  • Citizens do not have the right to change their government peacefully.
  • The king appoints all ministers, who in turn appoint all subordinates.
  • Political parties are illegal.
  • Laws and traditional/cultural practices prevent women from equal-level participation in political life.
• Workers Rights
  • There are no labor unions in the country.
  • The Labor Law makes no provision for workers to strike legally, and does not prohibit retaliation against workers who choose to strike.

YEMEN:

• Respect for the Integrity of the Person
  • The government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings, including politically motivated killings.
  • Security forces killed dozens of individuals during demonstrations and arrested or injured hundreds more.
  • Reports of politically motivated disappearances.
  • Human rights NGOs accused the government of torturing detainees.
  • The government generally did not observe prohibitions on arbitrary arrest and detention.
  • Thousands of political prisoners were held during 2009.
• Civil Liberties
  • The 1990 Press and Publication Law criminalizes “criticism of the person of the head of state”; the publication of “false information” that may spread “chaos and confusion in the country”; and “false stories intended to damage Arab and friendly countries or their relations” with the country.
  • The country’s security apparatus threatened and harassed journalists to influence coverage.
  • The government closed or pressured more than 20 newspapers.
  • The most significant curtailment of press freedom was the repeated confiscation of issues of the independent weekly Al-Ayyam newspaper, harassment of the newspaper’s editors and correspondents, politically motivated judicial cases brought against the paper’s owners, and heavy military presence surrounding the newspaper’s Aden offices.
  • The government restricted Internet use by intermittently blocking access to some political and religious Web sites and sites it deemed immoral.
  • Government informers monitored the activities of professors and students, especially those who were alleged affiliates of opposition parties.
  • Jewish citizens were not eligible to serve in the military or federal government.
• Political Rights
  • Although citizens have the right to peacefully change their government, the president holds almost total decision-making authority.
  • The government made it difficult for some opposition parties to organize.
  • The constitution prohibits the establishment of parties that are contrary to Islam, “oppose the goals of the country’s revolution,” or violate the country’s international commitments.
• Worker Rights
  • The ruling GPC party attempted to control professional associations by influencing internal elections or placing its own personnel, usually tied to the government, in positions of influence in unions and professional associations.
  • Child labor was common, particuarly in rural areas.