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Malawi Report COUNTRY OF ORIGIN INFORMATION REPORT MALAWI MARCH 2006 RDS-IND COUNTRY OF ORIGIN INFORMATION SERVICE MALAWI MARCH 2006 CONTENTS Paragraphs 1 SCOPE OF DOCUMENT ................................................................................ 1.01 2 GEOGRAPHY ............................................................................................... 2.01 3 ECONOMY ................................................................................................... 3.01 4 HISTORY ..................................................................................................... 4.01 Independence to May 1994 ...................................................................... 4.01 Bakili Muluzi government May 1994 to May 2004 .................................... 4.02 Bingu wa Mutharika government May 2004 to date ................................. 4.03 5 STATE STRUCTURES ................................................................................... 5.01 The Constitution ........................................................................................ 5.01 Citizenship and nationality ................................................................... 5.04 Political system ......................................................................................... 5.05 Overview .............................................................................................. 5.05 Political parties..................................................................................... 5.08 2004 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections ................................... 5.10 Developments since the 2004 elections .............................................. 5.15 Anti-Corruption Bureau ............................................................................. 5.17 Judiciary .................................................................................................... 5.19 Legal rights/detention................................................................................ 5.25 Death penalty....................................................................................... 5.27 Internal security......................................................................................... 5.28 Overview .............................................................................................. 5.28 Army..................................................................................................... 5.30 Police ................................................................................................... 5.31 Prisons and prison conditions ................................................................... 5.37 Military service .......................................................................................... 5.43 Medical services........................................................................................ 5.44 General ................................................................................................ 5.44 HIV/AIDS................................................................................................... 5.51 Overview .............................................................................................. 5.51 Societal discrimination ......................................................................... 5.57 Access to treatment ............................................................................. 5.60 People with disabilities......................................................................... 5.69 Educational system................................................................................... 5.72 6 HUMAN RIGHTS........................................................................................... 6.01 6A HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES ............................................................................... 6.01 Overview ................................................................................................... 6.01 Police ........................................................................................................ 6.07 Torture and ill-treatment....................................................................... 6.07 Police accountability ............................................................................ 6.12 Human Rights institutions and organisations............................................ 6.17 Malawi Human Rights Commission ..................................................... 6.20 Freedom of speech and the media ........................................................... 6.24 Journalists............................................................................................ 6.32 Freedom of religion ................................................................................... 6.36 Background and demography.............................................................. 6.36 Christians ............................................................................................. 6.40 Jehovah’s Witnesses ........................................................................... 6.41 Muslims ................................................................................................ 6.42 Rastafarians......................................................................................... 6.43 Indigenous beliefs and religions........................................................... 6.44 Societal attitudes.................................................................................. 6.45 Freedom of assembly and association ..................................................... 6.50 Employment rights .................................................................................... 6.55 People trafficking....................................................................................... 6.62 Freedom of movement.............................................................................. 6.67 6B HUMAN RIGHTS - SPECIFIC GROUPS............................................................. 6.70 ii This Country of Origin Information Report contains the most up-to-date publicly available information as at 31 December 2005. Older source material has been included where it contains relevant information not available in more recent documents. MARCH 2006 MALAWI Ethnic groups ............................................................................................ 6.70 Women...................................................................................................... 6.74 Overview .............................................................................................. 6.74 Legal provisions ................................................................................... 6.80 Violence against women...................................................................... 6.85 Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)......................................................... 6.89 Vulnerability to HIV/AIDS ..................................................................... 6.91 Cultural practices ................................................................................. 6.93 Children..................................................................................................... 6.96 Child labour.......................................................................................... 6.105 Traditional customs.............................................................................. 6.107 Child care arrangements...................................................................... 6.111 Homosexuals ............................................................................................ 6.114 6C HUMAN RIGHTS - OTHER ISSUES.................................................................. 6.119 Corruption ................................................................................................. 6.119 Humanitarian situation .............................................................................. 6.125 International aid......................................................................................... 6.135 Refugees within Malawi ............................................................................ 6.137 ANNEXES Annex A - Chronology of major events Annex B - Political organisations and other groups Annex C - Prominent people Annex D - Ministers and Deputy Ministers (1 August 2005) Annex E - List of abbreviations Annex F - List of source material This Country of Origin Information Report contains the most up-to-date publicly available information as at 31 December 2005. iii Older source material has been included where it contains relevant information not available in more recent documents. MARCH 2006 MALAWI 1. Scope of Document 1.01 This Country of Origin Information Report (COI Report) has been produced by Research Development and Statistics (RDS), Home Office, for use by officials involved in the asylum/human rights determination process. The Report provides general background information about the issues most commonly raised in asylum/human rights claims made in the United Kingdom. It includes information available up to 31 December 2005. 1.02 The Report is compiled wholly from material produced by a wide range of recognised external information sources and does not contain any Home Office opinion or policy. All information in the Report is attributed, throughout the text, to the original source material, which is made available to those working in the asylum/human rights determination process. 1.03 The Report aims to provide a brief summary of the
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