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AIR09_Cover:Cover Draft 01 19/03/2009 13:35 Page 383 THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S HUMAN RIGHTS AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT 2009 AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT 2009 THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S HUMAN RIGHTS 20 09 09 AIR09_insidecovers:A-Z copy 1 19/03/2009 13:11 Page ii 00 prelims09:A-Z copy 1 17/03/2009 18:48 Page i 09 00 prelims09:A-Z copy 1 17/03/2009 18:48 Page ii First published in 2009 by A catalogue record for this Printed on 100% recycled All rights reserved. No part of Amnesty International book is available from the post-consumer waste paper by this publication may be Publications British Library. Pureprint Group reproduced, stored in a retrieval International Secretariat East Sussex system, or transmitted, in any Peter Benenson House Original language: English United Kingdom form or by any means, 1 Easton Street electronic, mechanical, London WC1X ODW Photographs: Pureprint is a CarbonNeutral photocopying, recording and/or United Kingdom All photographs appear with company, and uses only otherwise without the prior full credits and captions vegetable-oil-based inks. permission of the publishers. © Copyright elsewhere in the report. Amnesty International www.amnesty.org Publications 2009 Index: POL 10/001/2009 ISBN: 978-0-86210-444-3 ISSN: 0309-068X 00 prelims09:A-Z copy 1 17/03/2009 18:48 Page iii AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT 2009 THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S HUMAN RIGHTS This report covers the period09 January to December 2008. 00 prelims09:A-Z copy 1 17/03/2009 18:48 Page iv © Private Overcrowding in the Pamandzi migration detention centre in Mayotte(a French overseas territory), December 2008. The UN Human Rights Committee has expressed concerns about the conditions in French detention centres. 00 prelims09:A-Z copy 1 17/03/2009 18:48 Page v PREFACE ‘ALL PEOPLE ARE BORN FREE AND EQUAL, IN DIGNITY AND RIGHTS’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 The Amnesty International Report 2009 documents entry begins with a summary of the human rights the state of human rights during 2008, in 157 situation in the country. Amnesty International’s countries and territories around the world. It reveals concerns on various issues are then set out, the systemic discrimination and insecurity that prevent highlighting individual cases where appropriate. progress in law from becoming a reality on the ground. Crucially, this report reveals a world where, time-and- If an issue is not covered in a country entry, this again, states pick and choose the rights they are willing should not be taken as a statement by Amnesty to uphold, and those they would rather suppress. International that abuses within this category did not occur. Nor can the absence of an entry on a particular The report opens with five regional overviews that country or territory be taken to imply that no human highlight the key events and trends that dominated the rights abuses of concern to Amnesty International human rights agenda in each region in 2008. took place there during 2008. In particular, the length of individual entries cannot be used as the basis for a The heart of the book is a country-by-country survey of comparison of the extent and depth of Amnesty human rights, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. Each International’s concerns. Amnesty International Report 2009 00 prelims09:A-Z copy 1 17/03/2009 18:48 Page vi AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL Amnesty International is a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights to be respected and protected. Its vision is for every person to enjoy all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards. Amnesty International’s mission is to conduct research and take action to prevent and end grave abuses of all human rights – civil, political, social, cultural and economic. From freedom of expression and association to physical and mental integrity, from protection from discrimination to the right to shelter – these rights are indivisible. Amnesty International is funded mainly by its membership and public donations. No funds are sought or accepted from governments for investigating and campaigning against human rights abuses. Amnesty International is independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion. Amnesty International is a democratic movement whose major policy decisions are taken by representatives from all national sections at International Council meetings held every two years. The members of the International Executive Committee, elected by the Council to carry out its decisions are Soledad García Muñoz (Argentina - Vice-Chair), Deborah Smith (Canada - Eng), Pietro Antonioli (Italy), Lilian Gonçalves-Ho Kang You (Netherlands), Vanushi Rajanayagam Walters (New Zealand), Christine Pamp (Sweden), Levent Korkut (Turkey), Peter Pack (UK - Chair), Imran Riffat (USA - co-opted member), David Stamps (USA - International Treasurer) and Tjalling J. S. Tiemstra © Lynsey Addario © Lynsey (Netherlands - co-opted member). Amnesty International’s Secretary General is Irene Khan (Bangladesh). 00 prelims09:A-Z copy 1 17/03/2009 18:48 Page vii An overhead view of the remains of the burned-out village of Abu Suruj, Sudan, which was bombed on 8 February 2008 by the Sudanese army in an attempt to regain control of Western Darfur. Attacks on a number of villages in the area displaced an estimated 30,000 people. 00 prelims09:A-Z copy 1 17/03/2009 18:48 Page viii PART 1 Democratic Republic of the Congo/125 Regional overviews/1 Denmark/128 Africa/1 Dominican Republic/129 Americas/11 Ecuador/131 Asia-Pacific/21 Egypt/132 Europe and Central Asia/31 El Salvador/136 Middle East and North Africa/41 Equatorial Guinea/137 Eritrea/139 PART 2 Estonia/141 Afghanistan/55 Ethiopia/143 Albania/58 Fiji/146 Algeria/60 Finland/147 Angola/63 France/148 Argentina/65 Gambia/150 Armenia/67 Georgia/151 Australia/69 Germany/153 Austria/70 Ghana/155 Azerbaijan/71 Greece/156 Bahamas/72 Guatemala/158 Bahrain/73 Guinea/160 Bangladesh/74 Guinea-Bissau/161 Belarus/76 Haiti/162 Belgium/78 Honduras/164 Benin/80 Hungary/166 Bolivia/80 India/167 Bosnia and Herzegovina/82 Indonesia/171 Brazil/85 Iran/172 Bulgaria/89 Iraq/176 Burkina Faso/91 Ireland/180 Burundi/91 Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories/182 Cambodia/94 Italy/186 Cameroon/96 Jamaica/189 Canada/99 Japan/190 Central African Republic/100 Jordan/191 Chad/102 Kazakstan/194 Chile/105 Kenya/195 China/107 Korea (Democratic People’s Republic of)/199 Colombia/110 Korea (Republic of)/200 Congo (Republic of)/ 115 Kuwait/202 Côte d’Ivoire/117 Kyrgyzstan/203 Croatia/118 Laos/204 Cuba/120 Latvia/205 Cyprus/122 Lebanon/206 Czech Republic/123 Liberia/209 Amnesty International Report 2009 00 prelims09:A-Z copy 1 17/03/2009 18:48 Page ix CONTENTS ANNUAL REPORT 2009 Libya/211 Slovenia/292 Lithuania/213 Solomon Islands/293 Macedonia/214 Somalia/294 Malawi/216 South Africa/297 Malaysia/217 Spain/301 Maldives/219 Sri Lanka/304 Mali/220 Sudan/306 Malta/221 Suriname/310 Mauritania/222 Swaziland/310 Mexico/224 Sweden/312 Moldova/227 Switzerland/313 Mongolia/229 Syria/314 Montenegro/230 Taiwan/318 Morocco/Western Sahara/232 Tajikistan/319 Mozambique/235 Tanzania/320 Myanmar/236 Thailand/321 Namibia/239 Timor-Leste/323 Nepal/240 Togo/324 Netherlands/242 Tonga/325 New Zealand/243 Trinidad and Tobago/326 Nicaragua/244 Tunisia/327 Niger/245 Turkey/329 Nigeria/247 Turkmenistan/333 Oman/250 Uganda/335 Pakistan/251 Ukraine/337 Palestinian Authority/254 United Arab Emirates/340 Papua New Guinea/258 United Kingdom/341 Paraguay/259 United States of America/345 Peru/260 Uruguay/349 Philippines/262 Uzbekistan/350 Poland/263 Venezuela/354 Portugal/265 Viet Nam/355 Puerto Rico/266 Yemen/357 Qatar/266 Zimbabwe/360 Romania/268 PART 3 Russian Federation/270 Selected international and Rwanda/275 regional human rights treaties/369 Saint Kitts and Nevis/277 International human rights treaties/370 Saudi Arabia/278 Regional human rights treaties/384 Senegal/281 Serbia/282 PART 4 Sierra Leone/287 Contact Amnesty International/396 Singapore/289 I want to help/400 Slovakia/290 Index/402 Amnesty International Report 2009 00 prelims09:A-Z copy 1 17/03/2009 18:48 Page x COUNTRY DATA The facts at the top of each individual country entry in this report have been drawn from the following sources: All Life expectancy and Adult literacy figures are from the UN Development Programme’s Human Development Index, found at http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/hdr_20072008_en_indicator_tables.pdf The latest figures available were Life expectancy at birth (2005) and Adult literacy rate (percentage aged 15 and above, 1995-2005). Data refer to national literacy estimates from censuses or surveys conducted between 1995 and 2005, unless otherwise specified. For more information see the UNDP website or www.uis.unesco.org Some countries that fall into the UNDP’s ‘high human development’ bracket have been assumed by the UNDP to have a literacy rate of 99 per cent for purposes of calculating the Human Development Index. Where this is the case, we have omitted the figure. All Population and Under-5 mortality figures are for 2008 and are drawn from the UN Fund for Population Activities’ Democratic, Social and Economic Indicators, found at www.unfpa.org/swp/2008/presskit/docs/en_indicators-sowp08.pdf Population figures are there solely to indicate the number of people affected by the issues we describe. Amnesty International acknowledges the limitations of such figures, and takes no position on questions such as disputed territory or the inclusion or exclusion of certain population groups. Some country entries in this report have no reference to some or all of the above categories.