Archive for category: Human Rights

Information and stories about human rights.

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On the Limited Human Rights in Gambia

Human Rights in GambiaHuman rights in Gambia remain limited. The small West African country struggles to provide its citizens with freedom of expression. Meanwhile, politically driven police brutality and arbitrary arrests continue.

In April 2016, Gambian citizens were beaten with batons and exposed to tear gas while protesting the death of Solo Sandeng, who died at the hands of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) while in custody. Nineteen of those protesters faced three years imprisonment. Forty more people were arrested while protesting the trial of the 19 sentenced, and 14 of those 40 went on trial near the end of 2016.

Gambians were reportedly beaten and tortured, and others died due to insufficient medical care while in custody. The president admitted that people die in custody regularly. Political and religious leaders are arrested and abducted, including leaders of the United Democratic Party (UDP), which opposes the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) and President Yahya Jammeh.

Anyone who speaks against the government runs the risk of retaliation, representing a huge denial of human rights in Gambia. In fact, many journalists avoid strong criticism of the government for fear of arrest or death, and many have left the country out of fear.

The government would not allow the U.N. or outside organizations to record prison conditions, but some NGOs report poor air flow and pest problems. Furthermore, many members of the UDP were held in solitary confinement.

A separate, but important issue for human rights in Gambia is human trafficking. Women and children continue to be sold into sex and domestic slavery, and yet the government has not taken adequate action to resolve this.
Although human rights in Gambia desperately need improvement, major gains in women’s rights were made recently. Gambia made child marriage illegal in July 2016. Previously, “according to the U.N., 40 percent of women aged 20 to 49 in Gambia were married before the age of 18, while 16 percent married before they turned 15.”

Gambian women also suffered significantly from female genital mutilation. However, in late 2015, legislation passed to make this illegal as well.

The victor of the 2016 presidential election, Adama Barrow, shows promise for progressing toward less corruption and stronger human rights in Gambia. Gambia must have fair and lawful leadership in order to leave behind its history of injustice.

– Emma Tennyson

Photo: Google

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Human Rights in Belgium

Human Rights in Belgium
Human rights can be defined as things that all people are entitled to. This, of course, includes the people of Belgium, a small country in Western Europe with a population of about 11.5 million. Belgium is a monarchy in which the King plays a largely symbolic role. In reality, a parliamentary democracy primarily governs the nation. While they are protected in some regards, human rights in Belgium are not where they could be.

Human rights in Belgium are not evenly granted. According to the U.S. Department of State’s 2016 report, “The main human rights problem was heightened hostility and discrimination against racial and religious minorities in employment, housing, and societal attitudes.” These prejudices are not simply the continuation of outdated ideas. Recent events have emboldened them.

Following terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels, Muslims and Jewish human rights in Belgium were threatened. The previously mentioned report by the U.S. Department of State said that Muslim women were especially affected by the restrictions put in place by the government. Additionally, “Anti-Semitic incidents occurred in schools, the media, and elsewhere in society.” This elucidates an important concept about how events and circumstances that may seem isolated are often connected in some way.

On July 10, the European Court of Human Rights made an important decision on one of the issues relating to Muslim women’s human rights in Belgium. The court ruled that banning full-face veils is not a violation of human rights law. The case was brought to the court by two Muslim women who argue that the ban violates their rights, both as private citizens and as members of a religious faith.

There is clearly room for improvement when it comes to human rights in Belgium. However, a well-rounded assessment of the situation shows that the country does not completely fail in this regard either.

With regard to respect for the integrity of the person, Belgium does well. It’s one blemish, according to The State Department’s report, is that there is room for improvement when it comes to prison and detention center conditions.

Another area in which Belgium thrives is regarding freedom of speech and expression. Belgians’ free speech and the free press is protected by the nation’s constitution and law. The nation has also made considerable efforts to quell dangerous rhetoric, as the 1995 Belgian Holocaust Denial Bill elucidates. According to Revolvy, it is illegal in Belgium to challenge the existence of or justify the Holocaust. The bill passed the Chamber of Representatives without a single “no” vote, demonstrating Belgium’s willingness to combat hate speech.

Human rights in Belgium are not perfectly protected. However, that does not mean that the country is not succeeding on many of these fronts and working to improve others.

– Adam Braunstein

Photo: Google

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Mending Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Human Rights Violations
There is a long history of the violation of human rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Most violations were carried out through a process called “ethnic cleansing,” which is the killing, mockery and banishment of unwanted minorities. In this conflict, the Bosnian Muslims made up the majority of Serbians in this region and they wanted to rid the country of all Non-Serbians. The violations of human rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina were mass atrocities. The country has never fully amended or reckoned with human rights violations and this fact creates problems in the country even today.

The country’s government is still highly decentralized and distressed by ongoing internal ethnic conflicts. The Dayton Accords ended the war, splitting the territories and creating a democratic republic with a bicameral parliament. Those who suffer most from violations of human rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina are the victims of civil war, refugees, national minorities and the LGBTQ community. Little support from the country or government is being given to help these victims fight human rights violations.

There are a few non-governmental organizations that have been successful in assisting those who are fighting abuses. An organization, called the Human Rights Centre of the University of Sarajevo, has been providing the universities in Bosnia and Herzegovina with tools for education that can work towards achieving international implementation of human rights. It promotes vital documentation, lectures, expert advice and research in order to work toward the international implementation goal.

The Post-Conflict Research Center has dedicated its time to preserving and revamping the culture of peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It works towards preventing violence and radical movements through research, peace education, transitional justice and respecting human rights. It has an ultimate goal of changing the country’s view on diversity from a source of conflict to a source of acceptance and community.

Another NGO called the Sarajevo Open Centre directly advocates for the LGBTQ community. It works to empower people, especially those facing the most abuse, through integration into the community and activism.
One other organization called the Association for Democratic Initiatives focuses on restoring the rule of law, European Union integrations and the protection of human rights. This organization has been trying to render the support of the government in fighting human rights violations. This organization is important for building a society of peace because without government support and aid this proves challenging.

There remains a long way to go in order to fully mend the violations of human rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina from the past, as well as the ones that continue to occur due to those in the past. These non-governmental organizations have been the country’s best hope for working towards respecting the human rights of all people.

– Katelynn Kenworthy

Photo: Flickr

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The Realities Behind Human Rights in Turkmenistan

Human Rights in Turkmenistan
Human rights in Turkmenistan have a long-held reputation as among the harshest in the world, a reputation still held today. The current president, Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov, and his close advisers control nearly every facet of public life.

In September 2016, the Turkmen parliament enacted a new constitution, removing the 70-year-old age limit for the office of the presidency and also eliminating presidential term limits.

According to the Turkmenistan Human Rights Watch report of 2017 and the U.S. State Department’s 2012 Turkmenistan Human Rights Report, three primary liberties appear to be at the forefront of persecution. Listed below are these freedoms and details describing the severity of these particular human rights in Turkmenistan.

1. Social Activism

Those who publicly and even sometimes privately advocate for a civil or free society in Turkmenistan take a great risk. They live in constant fear of governmental retribution, and not only endanger themselves but often their families too.

In October 2016 three activists were arrested. Two were sentenced to supervised, forced labor. While one was released after ten days, the other was sentenced to three years in prison based on fabricated fraud charges. The third, Galina Vertryakova, while in police custody awaiting trial, managed to post dissenting comments about the Turkmen government on Russian media channels. Shortly thereafter, he was arrested on unfounded extortion charges.

In August 2016, Akmukhammet Baikhanov, a Turkmen exile, was in Moscow when two men in masks attempted to abduct him. This took place one month following his publication of a book that revealed specific abuses of human rights in Turkmenistan prison “Ovadan-Tepe,” a facility known for torture and terrible conditions. In April 2016, the Turkmen government detained Baikhanov’s brother, stating that they did so because of Baikhanov’s book.

However, the case of Geldy Kyarizov best depicts the lengths to which the Turkmen government will go to silence activists. In the early 2000s, Kyarizov sustained a six-year prison sentence, convicted on fabricated criminal charges. But, the government finally granted him permission to leave the country in 2015. In November of 2015, Kyarizov interviewed publicly for the first time and described his experience at the prison. Following this interview, Turkmen government officials cut off all communication between him and his family, threatened his siblings and briefly jailed one of them after alleging drug charges.

2. Press and the media

Freedom of the press does not exist in Turkmenistan. Instead, the state oversees all media, whether print or digital, and almost never allows foreign media outlets access to Turkmen media. Also, if someone catches a Turkmen citizen providing media content to foreign media agencies, that citizen will face retaliation from the government. The government also has eradicated most private satellite dishes, and the internet remains heavily restricted and monitored. In fact, the internet in Turkmenistan is among the most expensive in the world.

Saparmamed Nepeskuliev, a journalist for RFE/RL and Alternative News of Turkmenistan, an exile-run news outlet, received a three-year prison sentence in August of 2015 for unfounded drug charges.

In the early 2000s, former dissident and journalist, Chary Annamuradov, fled persecution from Turkmenistan. He gained asylum and citizenship in Sweden in 2003. When going on vacation to Belarus in 2016, Belarusian authorities arrested Annamuradov upon arrival for having an outstanding international arrest warrant for leaving Turkmenistan illegally. However, shortly after Belarus denied a Turkmen extradition request for Annamuradov in September, unknown individuals kidnapped Annamuradov’s brother from his home in Turkmenistan, holding him for four days. During that time the kidnappers severely beat and interrogated him about his brother. Altymurad Annamuradov died shortly after his return home by his kidnappers.

3. Political imprisonment and enforced disappearances

The abuses of human rights in Turkmenistan society is arguably seen most ostensibly in their treatment of political dissidents. The number of individuals jailed for political reasons remains unknown, due to the lack of transparency within the justice system. Trials often close off the public; independent monitoring of criminal cases can result in imprisonment or other forms of punitive action.

Due to this lack of transparency, the whereabouts of political dissident Gulgeldy Annaniazov, arrested in 2008, was not known publically until 2015. Annaniazov continues to serve an 11-year sentence. The fate of at least dozens of other political dissidents remains unknown. Despite its membership in the U.N., the Turkmen government ignored all requests to release certain victims of these enforced disappearances.

According to the “Prove They Are Alive,” campaign, three government officials died of unknown causes within the last two years. This includes Yolly Gurbanmuradov, a former deputy minister in charge of the gas industry, who died in December 2015; Annadurdy Annasakhedov, the former head of the department of counterintelligence, who died in February 2016; and Vekil Durdyev, a former state security officer, who died in August 2016.

In addition to this, both the U.S. State Department’s report, as well as the Amnesty International’s report, details the treatment of many inmates in Turkmen prisons. Torture appears as a commonality and is carried out in various ways including electric shocks, asphyxiation with a plastic bag, rape, forcing inmates to stay outside in extremely hot or cold temperatures for long periods of time and even forcibly administering hallucinogenic or psychotropic drugs.

Unfortunately, despite its constitution declaring the country as a presidential republic and secular democracy, an authoritarian regime runs the nation; ensuring that the citizen’s ability to change the government is futile. In order to reform the abusive human rights in Turkmenistan, a reform in government is mandatory.

– Hunter Mcferrin

Photo: Flickr

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9 Important Facts About Human Rights in South Africa

Human Rights in South Africa
South Africa has been a leader in human rights in the African continent since the end of apartheid. The nation has many protections for civil liberties, but the status of human rights in South Africa has been threatened by government inaction and possible corruption, as well as a rising tide of xenophobic sentiments. Here are nine facts about human rights in South Africa.

Human Rights in South Africa: 

  1. Freedom of expression, religion, and the press are constitutionally protected human rights in South Africa. However, the freedom of media has been a concern after the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) made moves that threatened the credibility of South Africa’s state-run media. ISABC chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng used the SABC to protect the reputation of South African President Jacob Zuma. Motsoeneng accomplished this by banning coverage of violent political protests, firing journalists who criticized the ban, refusing to air political advertisements and directing journalists to cover Zuma positively. Motsoeneng was ordered to step down by the South African judiciary, but he was later rehired in a different role only to once again be forced to step down by the courts two months later.
  2. A recently proposed hate crime bill could further threaten freedom of speech in South Africa. Critics have stated that it’s too broad in its criminalization of hate speech and could severely limit the ability of South Africans to express controversial opinions.
  3. Freedom to peacefully protest and assemble is also a constitutional right in South Africa. While protesters must notify the police ahead of time, they are rarely denied assembly. Recently, skirmishes between student protesters and the police have turned violent, and many have criticized the police for using unnecessary force.
  4. Deaths through police action have declined from previous years, but police violence still remains an issue in South Africa. From 2015-2016 there have been hundreds of reported cases of assault, torture and rape committed by police officers and deaths in police custody.
  5. Since the end of apartheid, South Africa has implemented many anti-discrimination protections. However, the effects are still felt today. Though white people are a minority in South Africa, they still own the majority of business assets and farmland in the region. Opportunities for non-whites remain comparatively restricted.
  6. South Africa has a highly progressive asylum policy for refugees. From 2006-2012, it accepted more refugees than any other nation in the world. Rather than being stuck in camps, refugees in South Africa live in cities and access the same public utilities that South Africans do. Unfortunately, strong anti-immigrant rhetoric and frustrations with South African governance have resulted in many violent attacks against foreigners.
  7. South Africa has failed to provide children with disabilities equal opportunities for education. Disabled children can be denied access to public schools and forced to attend special schools. South Africa has free public education, but parents are forced to pay fees if they have a disabled child in a special school. The UN has recommended that South Africa review its policies to make education more inclusive.
  8. South African law enforces gender equality and women currently make up 42% of National Assembly seats. However, women are often subject to discrimination, paid less than their male counterparts and occupy fewer roles of authority in business. In addition, domestic violence and rape are highly underreported crimes in South Africa. In 2006, President Jacob Zuma faced rape charges that he was later cleared of. The trial elicited concern from anti-rape activists due to the intense heckling of the alleged victim, the cross-examination of the alleged victim’s sexual history and Zuma’s own comments on their sexual encounter.
  9. Nearly 20% of adults and nearly one-third of pregnant women in South Africa live with HIV. The government has made moves to effectively treat its population by improving access to antiretroviral therapy. It also launched a She Conquers campaign that confronts the high rates of HIV in young women and aims to reduce teenage pregnancy.

Human rights in South Africa are pretty well protected. However, working towards an equitable society and holding the state accountable will be necessary for preserving these rights.

– Carson Hughes

Photo: Flickr

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Incentive Program Reduces Child Marriage in Bangladesh

Child Marriage in Bangladesh
According to the International Center for Research on Women, one-third of girls in the developing world are married before the age of 18, and one in nine are married before the age of 15. In a recent study conducted by Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), researchers tested the impact of incentive programs on reducing child marriage and childbearing during teenage years. Results demonstrated the incentive program reduces child marriage in Bangladesh.

A previous study conducted by IPA in Kenya showed that encouraging girls to stay in school can reduce child marriages. However, this tactic fails to impact girls who are not attending formal schooling. Child marriage remains a societal norm in many countries, especially throughout the developing world.

Conducted in rural, southern Bangladesh, the country with the second-highest child marriage rate in the world, researchers built an incentive program into a previously formed food security program run by the nonprofit organization Save the Children. From 2007 to 2015, through a large-scale, randomized study, cooking oil was delivered to families of underaged and unmarried girls throughout multiple communities.

Within specific communities, the Adolescent Girl’s Voice empowerment program was implemented, which included meetings five to six days a week where girls from the community could socialize and receive education and life coaching. In communities without the empowerment program, girls who remained unmarried could collect cooking oil from community volunteers using a ration card.

The value of the cooking oil was chosen to offset the amount of dowry and dowry increase of unmarried girls annually. For four years after the study ended, researchers followed up with participants, documenting their marital status, childbearing history and school enrolment.

The results showed that the implemented incentive program reduces child marriage in Bangladesh, as well as decreased the rate of childbearing during teenage years.

“Girls in communities with conditional incentives were 6.3 percentage points less likely to marry before the age of 18, a 23% reduction over girls in communities without any programming,” stated the report. “They were also 2.9 percentage points less likely to have children during their teenage years, a 13% reduction over girls in communities without any programming.”

The program’s implementation in an area of extremely high rates of child marriage and childbearing during the teenage years demonstrated the success of incentive programs on lowering such rates. The program ended up being highly cost-effective, with researchers estimating that every $1,000 spent on the program led to nearly seven years of delayed marriage. There is strong evidence that incentive programs have the power to reduce child marriage in Bangladesh.

– Riley Bunch

Photo: Flickr

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Nine Facts About Human Rights in Jordan

Human Rights in Jordan
Jordan may be experiencing a new era of political change. The nation is one where freedoms are very limited. However, the work of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) has opened pathways to human rights reform in Jordan. Below are nine facts about human rights in Jordan.

 

Facts about Human Rights in Jordan

 

  1. Freedom of speech is limited in Jordan, especially when it comes to criticism of authority. Journalists, academics and artists can be imprisoned for “defamation” of the king, the government, Islam and foreign nations. A proposed reform issued to the Jordanian Parliament in 2015 would offer alternative punishments, such as community service if implemented.
  2. Jordan recently loosened restrictions on public assembly through the 2011 Public Gatherings Law. This law allows for public demonstrations to be held without prior approval from the government.
  3. Women possess an equal right to participate in government, and 20 of Jordan’s 130 government representatives are women. Despite this, women in Jordan lack many of the civil liberties available to men. Marriages between Muslim women and non-Muslim men are unrecognized by Jordan’s government. Jordan’s nationality laws restrict women from passing their nationality down to their children and non-Jordanian spouses.
  4. Additionally, Jordan has one of the largest gender gaps in the world, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF). Jordan ranks at 134 of the 144 countries studied by the WEF. Though both men and women are comparatively well-educated in the region, women face several economic barriers that men do not. Women are given paid maternity leave and child care when entering the workforce but lack anti-discrimination protections, which encourages private businesses to hire men instead of women to avoid the cost. Many women also lack the right to inherit the wealth of their parents.
  5. Jordan also has a poor record of crimes against women. The law allows for perpetrators of “honor crimes” to be given reduced sentences. There are also penal code loopholes that allow rapists to escape prosecution if they have been married to their victim for three years. Recently, King Abdullah II endorsed a motion that would abolish these loopholes and it is expected to be ratified by Parliament.
  6. Jordan has been a leader in the Middle East for implementing regulations that protect migrant workers from forced labor and human trafficking. However, Jordanian law is set up in a way that still allows these abuses to happen. Migrant workers have limited freedom of movement and must get permission from an employer before leaving their houses; 50,000 migrant workers in Jordan are confined to their houses day and night. Employers are rarely prosecuted for violating migrant labor laws and Jordan lacks shelters for workers escaping abuse.
  7. According to the Human Rights Watch, local governors detained over 19,000 people without trial in 2015. Many of these people were imprisoned for a year or longer.
  8. Jordan has taken in over 650,000 Syrian refugees. Approximately 20 percent of them are living in refugee camps. The refugee crisis has put significant strain on Jordan’s public infrastructure. By November of 2016, Jordan received just 57% of the funding the country required from the international community to cope with the influx of refugees.
  9. In March 2016, King Abdullah II released a 10-year plan to improve human rights in Jordan. The plan was developed with input from NGOs and aims to allow suspects a right to a lawyer, restrict the scope of the death penalty, hold public trials to keep police accountable for brutality and torture, strengthen freedoms of speech and assembly, pursue equal rights among workers, provide legal protections for the disabled and provide equal rights and opportunities for women. We have yet to see if the Jordanian government will fully commit to these reforms.

Though human rights in Jordan may appear to be improving, there is still a long way to go. Continued support of NGOs is essential to continue the development of human rights in Jordan.

– Carson Hughes

Photo: Flickr

The Current Issue of Human Rights in Vietnam

Human Rights in Vietnam
Lack of human rights in Vietnam remains a major issue. Citizens proceed to fight for their oppressed freedoms of speech and assembly, while harsh police brutality and imprisonment for activists and bloggers continues.

Authorities within The Communist Party of Vietnam continue to restrict basic rights, as bloggers and activists face frequent physical assaults and trial charges. According to the Human Rights Watch, during 2016, at least 34 people reported that unknown assailants beat them. Nguyen Chi Tuyen, a 43-year-old dissident blogger from Hanoi, wasn’t able to identify his attackers. However, he stated with complete certainty, “We know they were organized by the [country’s] security forces.”

The number of bloggers and activists convicted and sentenced to prison has risen from 7 to at least 19 within the past year. Consequently, it is clear that many human rights in Vietnam, such as freedom of speech and assembly, have been seized by the government.

Many of the bloggers on trial were accused of “abusing rights to freedom and democracy to infringe upon the interests of the state.” The judge who ordered their conviction also stated that their articles “present a one-sided and pessimistic view, causing anxiety and worry, and affecting people’s confidence [in the Communist Party].”

Despite the government’s accusations during these trials, many citizens argue that they have a hidden agenda working to withhold human rights in Vietnam. Governmental restrictions on freedom of movement are often used to keep bloggers and activists from attending public events, such as protests or human rights discussions.

Prominent rights campaigner Nguyen Quang A and blogger Pham Doan Trang were strategically detained by the government to prevent them from attending a private meeting with President Barack Obama during his visit to Vietnam. In reference to Nguyen Quang A, the Human Rights Watch reports that “between late March and early August 2016, police detained him six times to prevent him from meeting with foreign diplomats and delegations including Germany, the United States, the European Union and Australia.”

Commenting on the lack of U.N. assistance, Nguyen Anh Tuan, a 27-year-old Hanoi activist, stated, “I would say that the U.N. in Vietnam is very active when it comes to the less sensitive issues, for example, HIV prevention, but when it comes to political rights, for example, freedom of expressions, freedom of assembly, freedom of association, they are less active.”

As forceful government intervention continues to keep citizens from their basic human rights in Vietnam, it is important that their struggle for justice does not go unnoticed and more drastic interference is taken on the part of the United Nations.

– Kendra Richardson

Photo: Flickr

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Human Rights in Somalia: A Fight for Rebirth

Since being thrown into anarchy following the coup against President Siad Barre in 1991, Somalia’s political terrain has seen slow and stagnated progress. Dubbed the Horn of Africa, Somalia has been attempting to rebuild itself after more than two decades of political instability and violent infighting. Human rights in Somalia are in need of vast improvements.

The country’s efforts have been widely disrupted by insurgent uprisings and terrorist groups, which have flourished in an environment of reduced economic security and weak state control. Egregious violations of human rights in Somalia have occurred from the violent uprisings as well as the inability to access adequate food, water and shelter.

In March 2017, President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo declared Somalia’s drought a national disaster. With an estimated 43% of Somalians living below the poverty line, the dire situation has only been exacerbated by poor climate conditions. The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) predicted that the drought had put further strain on the 6.5 million Somalis who already face resource insecurity due to years of violent conflict.

In the dry and sparse terrain of the most rural parts of Somalia, many young girls and women alike have been targets of gender-based violence as they are forced to venture further out in search of sources of food and water. UNICEF officials fear that the scope of the issue is even larger than is known, as not all cases have been reported. With gender and human rights in Somalia at continued risk, there have been fervent calls for further international engagement with the issue.

The U.S. has been quick to respond to the emergence of insurgent groups and al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Shabaab militants in Somalia. Experts have called for a multifaceted approach towards eradicating poverty and improving the record of human rights in Somalia. The Human Rights Watch amongst others has articulated that military intervention in the form of drone strikes can only be a part of a much more robust strategy, especially one that does not put innocent civilians at such high risk.

On an international level, 2017 saw the U.N. Migration Agency launch a project, assisted by one million dollars in donations by China, to have emergency relief resources reach Somalia’s most vulnerable. On a domestic level, the 9th Parliament served its full-term after two decades, with the election in 2016 resulting in 17% youth and 26% women MPs, which marked a significant step forward for Somalia.

Although there is much left to be done, with an internationally sponsored government intact and multi-faceted relief projects on their way, there appears to be more hope for stability than there has been in decades for human rights in Somalia.

– Sydney Nam

Photo: Flickr

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Factors Contributing to Morocco’s Poor Human Rights Record

Morocco's Poor Human Rights Record
Morocco is a north African country situated on the Atlantic coastline of the African continent. The country is governed by a constitutional monarchy headed by King Mohammed VI. Although the government features an elected legislature and other democratic institutions, Morocco’s poor human rights record indicates that the country is still far from egalitarian.

Morocco’s government possesses many authoritarian aspects that favor the monarch, often at the expense of the population. According to the Moroccan constitution, the King can dissolve parliament, dismiss government officials, demand elections and unilaterally create laws at his whim.

Even though the King’s broad executive power gets shared with the prime minister, the King has the authority to choose the prime minister in the first place. Unsurprisingly, the King’s executive dominance and de facto legislative ability leave civil rights and civil liberties in Morocco vulnerable at all times.

Not only is the Moroccan government structurally ill-equipped to defend human rights, but the government also suffers from procedural failure.

The right to due process gets often violated in Morocco, with numerous reports of mistreatment, failure to abide by the rule of law, and even torture on the part of Moroccan authorities. Prisoners and people in pretrial detention are subject to abuse and inhumane conditions. Also, the Moroccan judiciary often denies the accused of their right to a fair trial.

Aside from Morocco’s inhumane justice system, the people of Morocco face oppressive legislation and blatantly authoritarian policies. The rights to free speech, freedom of assembly and freedom of the press are strictly limited in Morocco. Under Moroccan law, the people are forbidden from criticizing or demonstrating against the monarchy, Islam, the state’s official religion, all due to fear of imprisonment.

Additionally, women in Morocco do not possess equal rights. According to the 2004 Family Code, women do possess neither the same rights of family inheritance nor divorce as men. Although the legal age of marriage has been raised to 18, Moroccan authorities continue to permit marriage to underage girls.

Morocco’s government also victimizes the LGBT community. In Morocco, same-sex intimate relations are considered illegal, and many queer couples face jail time as a result.

Despite Morocco’s poor human rights record under King Mohammed VI’s government, the state of human rights in the country is better than in previous reigns. During the infamous “Years of Lead” period in the late 20th century, politically motivated killings and unaccounted disappearances were rampant.

There were no documented instances of such violence in 2016, according to the State Department’s annual report. Also, the government has ended the practice of trying civilians in military courts. Similarly progressive, Morocco has become more accepting of refugees and migrants and plans on revamping their current asylum policy.

Overall, Morocco’s poor human rights record harms the legitimacy of Morocco’s government and the quality of life of its people. On a more positive note, the country is slowly making progress in correcting these shortcomings and transforming Morocco into a more just and free nation.

– Isidro Rafael Santa Maria

Photo: Pixabay