Congressional Record—Senate S7722

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Congressional Record—Senate S7722 S7722 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 30, 2008 today what we have to do. I told Sen- forward of their children, grand- Arizona (Mr. MCCAIN) and the Senator ators what we have to do. I am tremen- children, and great-grandchildren bur- from Mississippi (Mr. WICKER). dously disappointed that the tax ex- ied by Bush deficits. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there tenders were not passed. I was just The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- any other Senators in the Chamber de- given a note by the chairman of the ator from Arizona. siring to vote? Environment and Public Works Com- Mr. KYL. I note that 88 Senators The yeas and nays resulted—yeas 51, mittee about something that also is in voted in favor of that approach dealing nays 43, as follows: this bill that would create lots of jobs, with this subject. [Rollcall Vote No. 192 Leg.] at least 150,000 high-paying jobs, and Mr. REID. I appreciate the statement YEAS—51 that is to replenish the money from the of my friend from Arizona. I believe in Akaka Dole Menendez highway trust funds. Those moneys are these extenders so strongly that even Baucus Dorgan Mikulski not going to be there, which will cause though I would much rather have them Bayh Durbin Murray paid for, we all know the debt has to Biden Feingold Nelson (FL) people not only to not have jobs, but it Bingaman Feinstein Nelson (NE) will stop projects from going forward stop someplace. As I indicated, the Boxer Harkin Pryor that are already in progress. House of Representatives, to their Brown Inouye Reed credit, will not accept these not being Byrd Johnson Salazar The schedule in August is up to the Cantwell Kerry Sanders Republican leader. As I have said be- paid for. That is the way it should be. Cardin Klobuchar Schumer fore on a number of occasions, we basi- We should not be running up massive Carper Kohl Smith cally have finished what we have to do deficits that the Bush administration— Casey Landrieu Snowe first year, second year, third year, Clinton Lautenberg Stabenow this work period. We have tried might- Coleman Leahy Tester ily during the last 18, 19 months to get fourth year, fifth year, seventh year, Collins Levin Webb things done. We have had to deal with and now in the eighth year—is willing Conrad Lieberman Whitehouse about 90 filibusters. Whatever the num- to accept. The war in Iraq, $5,000 a sec- Dodd Lincoln Wyden ber is, we increased it by one today. We ond; it doesn’t matter. NAYS—43 will see what happens on the legisla- We are where we are, but I am very Alexander DeMint McConnell tion dealing with higher education and disappointed that we are where we are. Allard Domenici Murkowski Barrasso Ensign see what is going to happen with the As I said, my Senators are waiting to Reid hear from the Republican leader what Bennett Enzi Roberts Republicans as it relates to the con- Bond Graham Sessions sumer product safety legislation. That he wants to do the rest of this week Brownback Grassley Shelby may add two more filibusters. Of and into the future. Bunning Gregg Specter Burr Hagel Stevens course, we have the Defense authoriza- f Chambliss Hatch Sununu Coburn Hutchison tion bill to which we wish to proceed. JOBS, ENERGY, FAMILIES, AND Thune Cochran Inhofe We will have a vote on that on Friday. Vitter DISASTER RELIEF ACT OF 2008— Corker Isakson It is up to the minority to determine MOTION TO PROCEED Cornyn Kyl Voinovich what we will do on that. Craig Lugar Warner CLOTURE MOTION As I have indicated on a number of Crapo Martinez occasions, we have the conventions The PRESIDING OFFICER. Pursuant to rule XXII, the clerk will report the NOT VOTING—6 coming up in August, which is impor- Kennedy McCaskill Rockefeller tant to every Senator. We have other motion to invoke cloture. The assistant legislative clerk read McCain Obama Wicker important items we have been working as follows: The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this on that need to be done at home. We CLOTURE MOTION vote, the yeas are 51, the nays are 43. can’t do them in Washington. But we Three-fifths of the Senators duly cho- await word from Republicans, if they We, the undersigned Senators, in accord- ance with the provisions of rule XXII of the sen and sworn not having voted in the are going to negotiate seriously on the Standing Rules of the Senate, hereby move affirmative, the motion is rejected. tax extenders. Other than that, I have to bring to a close debate on the motion to Mr. REID. Mr. President, I enter a stated, I believe pretty clearly, where proceed to Calendar No. 898, S. 3335, the Jobs, motion to reconsider the vote by which we are. Energy, Families, and Disaster Relief Act of cloture was not invoked on the motion The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- 2008. to proceed to the energy renewables ator from Arizona. Harry Reid, Max Baucus, Bernard Sand- package. Mr. KYL. I wish to note that the en- ers, Christopher J. Dodd, Maria Cant- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The mo- well, Benjamin L. Cardin, Daniel K. ergy tax extenders would have been law tion is entered. as of 7 a.m. this morning if they had Inouye, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Patty f not been taken out of the housing bill Murray, Ron Wyden, Debbie Stabenow, Patrick J. Leahy, Dianne Feinstein, FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION ACT by the Democratic majority. We should Richard Durbin, Robert Menendez, be aware of the fact that one of the Sherrod Brown, Carl Levin. OF 2007—MOTION TO PROCEED— Continued reasons why this issue remains is the The PRESIDING OFFICER. By unan- strategy from the majority on the imous consent, the mandatory quorum The PRESIDING OFFICER. The as- housing bill. call has been waived. sistant majority leader is recognized. Mr. REID. Understand, though, that The question is, Is it the sense of the Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, it is my is the whole problem. They don’t want Senate that debate on the motion to understanding until 12:30 the Demo- to pay for anything. The bill that is be- proceed to S. 3335, a bill to amend the crats control the time; is that correct? fore the Senate is paid for. What he is Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is talking about is the flimflam where certain expiring provisions, and for no agreement in order. you pass all these things and don’t pay other purposes, shall be brought to a Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask for them. That is why we have a stag- close. unanimous consent that I be recog- gering deficit that during this adminis- The yeas and nays are mandatory nized for 5 minutes and Senator tration has gone up more than $3 tril- under the rule. STABENOW be recognized for 20 minutes lion. When George Bush took office, The clerk will call the roll. following me. over 10 years there was a surplus of The bill clerk called the roll. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without about $10 trillion. That is long since Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the objection, it is so ordered. gone. I appreciate very much the state- Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. KEN- ENERGY ment of my friend from Arizona, but NEDY), the Senator from Missouri (Mrs. Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, this vote the fact is, that is what we are talking MCCASKILL), the Senator from Illinois that was cast is something America about here. They don’t want to pay for (Mr. OBAMA), and the Senator from should not miss. This was about an en- anything. The tax extenders in our West Virginia (Mr. ROCKEFELLER) are ergy program for America, and it was package are paid for, as they should be. necessarily absent. defeated. It was defeated because only The American people should not be Mr. KYL. The following Senators are four Republicans—maybe five—man- burdened and leave a legacy looking necessarily absent: the Senator from aged to cross the aisle and help us. VerDate Aug 31 2005 01:41 Jul 31, 2008 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G30JY6.020 S30JYPT1 jbell on PROD1PC69 with SENATE July 30, 2008 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S7723 This is 2 days running that the Repub- produce more energy in America, have But here is where we are at this licans—who have given us speech after them vote for it, not give more speech- point. Because of the no, no, no votes speech about why we need an energy es with their ‘‘produce more, use less’’ by that side—what they said no to policy—have voted no. That is all they slogans on the floor. Produce some today was making sure we can pay for do: vote no. votes for us. A few less speeches and a the highway projects we have already What did this proposal include? It in- few more votes and we would have an authorized, we have already told the cluded energy tax credits desperately energy policy. That is the reality. States to go ahead and start con- needed by America. This morning, Sen- There is something that can be done structing. ator STABENOW gathered together Gov- immediately, though, and it is some- I say to the Senator, $8 billion was in ernors, leaders in business and leaders thing this President can do and does this bill that they just said no to, in labor and they all told us the same not need to wait on Congress, and he again—$8 billion to replenish the high- thing: Pass the energy tax credits, and ought to do it today.
Recommended publications
  • Predators of Freedom of Information in 2013 3 May 2013 World Press Freedom Day
    3 may 2013 PREDATORS OF FREEDOM OF INFORMATION IN 2013 3 MAY 2013 WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY 39 LEADERS, GROUPS NAMED AS PREDATORS OF FREEDOM OF INFORMATION IN 2013 Reporters Without Borders is today, World Press Freedom Day, releasing an updated list of 39 Predators of Freedom of Information – presidents, politicians, religious leaders, militias and criminal organizations that censor, imprison, kidnap, torture and kill journalists and other news providers. Powerful, dangerous and violent, these predators consider themselves above the law. “These predators of freedom of information are responsible for the worst abuses against the news media and journalists,” Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Christophe Deloire said. “They are becoming more and more effective. In 2012, the level of vio- lence against news providers was unprecedented and a record number of journalists were killed. “World Press Freedom Day, which was established on the initiative of Reporters Without Borders, must be used to pay tribute to all journalists, professional and amateur, who have paid for their commitment with their lives, their physical integrity or their freedom, and to denounce the impunity enjoyed by these predators.” Five new predators have been added to the list: the new Chinese president, Xi Jinping, the Jihadi group Jabhat Al-Nosra from Syria, members and supporters of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, Pakistan’s Baloch armed groups, and Maldives’ religious extremists. Four predators have been dropped from the list: former Somali information and communications minister Abdulkadir Hussein Mohamed, Burmese President Thein Sein, whose country is experiencing unprecedented reforms despite the current ethnic violence, the ETA group, and the Hamas and Palestinian Authority security forces, which are harassing journalists less.
    [Show full text]
  • Dangerous to Dissent Human Rights Under Threat in Gambia
    DANGEROUS TO DISSENT HUMAN RIGHTS UNDER THREAT IN GAMBIA Amnesty International is a global movement of more than 7 million people who campaign for a world where human rights are enjoyed by all. Our vision is for every person to enjoy all the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards. We are independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion and are funded mainly by our membership and public donations. © Amnesty International 2016 Except where otherwise noted, content in this document is licensed under a Creative Commons Cover illustration: Solo Sandeng, UDP National Organizing Secretary, taking part in a protest organized (attribution, non-commercial, no derivatives, international 4.0) licence. by UDP and youth activists to demand electoral reforms in Gambia, April 2016. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode © Amnesty International For more information please visit the permissions page on our website: www.amnesty.org Where material is attributed to a copyright owner other than Amnesty International this material is not subject to the Creative Commons licence. First published in 2016 by Amnesty International Ltd Peter Benenson House, 1 Easton Street London WC1X 0DW, UK Index: AFR 27/4138/2016 Original language: English amnesty.org CONTENTS GLOSSARY 5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 7 METHODOLOGY 10 1. BACKGROUND: THE ROAD TO DECEMBER 2016 11 Long History of Human Rights Violations 11 Human Rights at Risk Before and During the 2016 -18 Election Periods 12 Reforms to the Electoral System 13 2. ATTACKS ON FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND MEDIA FREEDOM 15 Weakened and Censored Media 15 Repressive Legal Framework 18 Harassment of Journalists 19 Challenges for International Media Coverage 20 Journalists Fleeing into Exile 21 3.
    [Show full text]
  • The Gambian to Private Limited Detention
    THE GAMBIA observatory for the protection of human rights defenders ANNUAL REPORT 2010 A Political context C AFRI Since the attempted coup d’état in 2006, the Gambian Government has increasingly disregarded fundamental freedoms and international obli- gations despite being the host of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR). In particular, the Government continued to arrest political opponents, journalists or human rights defenders over the year, and prisoners were subjected to abuses, acts of torture and ill- treatments as well as poor conditions of detention. Furthermore, in 2009, the deterioration of the country’s media environ- ment continued. The Gambian press, limited to private newspapers subject to close governmental scrutiny, attempted to survive in a climate in which the least incident was severely punished. Arbitrary arrests, threats, judicial harassment and police brutality against journalists were again commonplace in 2009 and translated into a culture of threat and silence. As a consequence, public protests ceased, self-censorship of the media predominated 1and indi- viduals remained silent when their human rights were violated . Several journalists also reportedly went into hiding from fear of Government retali- ation. Nonetheless, opposition views regularly appeared in the independent press, and there was frequent criticism of the Government in the private media. In addition, on May 22, 2009, President Jammeh threatened imme- diate legal action against any media which reported on remarks made by the Iman of Kanifing, Baba Leigh, an opponent of the regime. On July 22, on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the coup that brought2 him to power, Mr.
    [Show full text]
  • Truth, Reconciliation & Reparations Commission (TRRC) Digest Edition 6
    Truth, Reconciliation & Reparations Commission (TRRC) Digest Edition 6 Photo: Jason Florio Newspaper The Point ANEKED & © 2019 Presented by: 1| The Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) is mandated to investigate and establish an impartial historical record of the nature, causes and extent of violations and abuses of human rights committed during the period of July 1994 to January 2017 and to consider the granting of reparations to victims and for connected matters. It started public hearings on 7th January 2019 and will proceed in chronological order, examining the most serious human rights violations that occurred from 1994 to 2017 during the rule of former President Yahya Jammeh. While the testimonies are widely reported in the press and commented on social media, triggering vivid discussions and questions regarding the current transitional process in the country, a summary of each thematic focus/event and its findings is missing. The TRRC Digests seek to widen the circle of stakeholders in the transitional justice process in The Gambia by providing Gambians and interested international actors, with a constructive recount of each session, presenting the witnesses and listing the names of the persons mentioned in relation to human rights violations and – as the case may be – their current position within State, regional or international institutions. Furthermore, the Digests endeavor to highlight trends and patterns of human rights violations and abuses that occurred and as recounted during the TRRC hearings. In doing so, the TRRC Digests provide a necessary record of information and evidence uncovered – and may serve as “checks and balances” at the end of the TRRC’s work.
    [Show full text]
  • Statement Gambia: Freedom of Information and Access to Information
    18 May 2009 Statement Gambia: Freedom of Information and Access to Information Chairperson, honorable commissioners, distinguished delegates. ARTICLE 19 expresses its concerns over the climate of fear and the continue violations of the right to free expression in Gambia. Since 2006, many media practitioners have been increasingly subjected to continued harassment, beatings, imprisonment and many have been forced to leave the country for fear for their lives. A notable and disheartening case is the disappearance of Chief Ebrima Manneh, a journalist of the Daily Observer Newspaper since July 2006. The Gambia Government never shed light on the disappearance of Manneh or conducted an independent investigation and refused to appear before the ECOWAS Court of Justice were it was subpoena five times. In June 2008, the ECOWAS Court, ruled in favour of Manneh and called on the Gambia Government to release him and compensate him for the arbitrary and prolonged detention without charges. In April 2009, last month, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice of the Gambia, publicly stated that Manneh is not in government custody and rejected the Decision of the ECOWAS Court. In February 2009, Pap Saine, the editor of The Point was accused of publishing false news in connection with a January report in The Point about a reshuffle of diplomatic staff at the Gambian Embassy in Washington. Shortly after this, police questioned the staff members of The Point, demanding that they reveal their sources. A short time later he was charged with obtaining a Gambian passport and a birth certificate by false pretences. On 7 April 2009, a court in Banjul granted a prosecutor's request to drop charges of false publication but the editor of The Point still faces separate proceedings in which he is accused of falsifying citizenship documents, despite testimony from a key government witness that his proof of being Gambian is authentic.
    [Show full text]
  • African Courts' Decisions Regarding Freedom of Expression in Africa
    African courts’ decisions regarding Freedom of Expression in Africa 28 March, 2014 The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights delivered a first far-reaching decision regarding freedom of speech in March 2014, in the case brought to the court on behalf of Norbert Zongo. Mr Zongo, an investigative journalist and editor of L’Indépendant in Burkina Faso, was killed in 1998. At the time of his assassination he was investigating the murder of the driver of the brother of the president of Burkina Faso. For years, Mr Zongo’s family sought justice for his murder. The state handled the first trial and found no one guilty of the killings, leading the family to take the case to the African Court in 2011 in order to seek redress. First, it was argued that the African Court, only fully established in 2004, could not hear a case about a killing that occurred in 1998. The court threw out this objection, ruling that the failure to diligently look for and find the killers, was a continuing one which had not yet ended. In November 2013, nearly two years after the case was originally filed and almost 15 years after Mr Zongo was killed, his family finally had the opportunity for the first time to put their appeal for justice before an independent, regional court. In its judgment, the African Court ruled that the government had violated the right to freedom of expression by refusing to investigate the case diligently and to prosecute those responsible for the crime. The African Court also held that the killing of a journalist was a method of intimidation that should not be allowed anywhere.
    [Show full text]
  • 20 Years of Fear in Gambia Time for Justice!
    20 Years of Fear in Gambia Time for Justice! A selection of 20 cases of human rights violations in Gambia since 22 July 1994 LA DEFEN UR SE PO DE E S N D I R A O IC I T R S F A D E E R L ' T H N O O M C M N E E R RADDHO Chronology 2014: In June the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice decides against the Gambia Government for its failure to conduct a diligent investigation into the killing of journalist Deyda Hydara. Journalists Musa Sheriff and Sainey Marenah are arrested in January. They are released a couple of days after but their trial is ongoing 2013 In September United Democratic Party activists Amadou Sanneh, Ma- lang Fatty and Alhagie Sambou Fatty are arrested and tortured. They are still in detention. In September TV broadcaster Fatou Camara is arrested and detained incommunicado for almost a month. She fled the country shortly after her release. In July adoption of Information and Communication (amendment) Act 2013 and Criminal Code (amendment) Act 2013 on april containing provisions to further muzzle freedom of expression. 2012: In December enforced disappearance and torture of Human Rights Defender Imam Baba Leigh. He was released in May 2013 and fled the country. The authorities close down Taranga FM, Daily News and The Standard between August and September. In August arbitrary execution of 9 death row inmates. 2011: Dr Amadou Scattred Janneh and Ndey Tapha Sosseh are charged with treason. is sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labor. He is re- leased in 2012 and expelled from the country.
    [Show full text]
  • Gambia, the (2010)
    Page 1 of 4 Print Freedom in the World - Gambia, The (2010) Political Rights Score: 5 * Capital: Banjul Civil Liberties Score: 5 * Status: Partly Free Population: 1,600,000 Ratings Change The Gambia’s civil liberties rating declined from 4 to 5 due to President Yahya Jammeh’s enhanced personal control over the judiciary and threats of violence against civil society organizations. Overview President Yahya Jammeh exerted growing personal control over state institutions in 2009, capriciously replacing the chief justice and other senior officials. Jammeh also publicly threatened journalists and warned that he would execute any human rights activists who destabilized the country. After gaining independence from Britain in 1965, The Gambia functioned for almost 30 years as an electoral democracy under President Dawda Jawara and his People’s Progressive Party. A 1981 coup by leftist soldiers was reversed by intervention from Senegal, which borders The Gambia on three sides. The two countries formed the Confederation of Senegambia a year later, but it was dissolved in 1989. Lieutenant Yahya Jammeh deposed Jawara in a 1994 military coup. The junior officers who led the coup quickly issued draconian decrees curtailing civil and political rights. A new constitution, adopted in a closely controlled 1996 referendum, allowed Jammeh to transform his military dictatorship into a nominally civilian administration. Jammeh defeated human rights lawyer Ousainou Darboe in a 2001 presidential election, and the ruling Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) won all but three seats in the 2002 National Assembly elections, thanks to a widespread boycott by opposition parties. The government announced in March 2006 that it had foiled an attempted coup, leading to the arrest of dozens of people, including several prominent journalists and senior intelligence and defense personnel.
    [Show full text]
  • The Gambia: ARTICLE 19 Calls on the Gambian Government to Respect Freedom of Expression
    For immediate release – 3 June 2009 The Gambia: ARTICLE 19 Calls on the Gambian Government to Respect Freedom of Expression ARTICLE 19 issued an oral statement at the recent 45th session of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHR), expressing the organisation’s concern about continuing violations of freedom of expression in The Gambia. The Gambian government under President Yahya Jammeh is notorious for its human rights abuses and the country’s media operate in a consistently repressive climate. ARTICLE 19 has called on the government to respect freedom of expression and to repeal all laws that restrict free expression, especially the Criminal Code and the Newspaper Amendment Act. In 2006, Chief Ebrima Manneh, a journalist for the Daily Observer, disappeared. The government has refused to shed light on or investigate his plight, despite being subpoenaed five times by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court of Justice. In June 2008, the ECOWAS Court, ruled in favour of Manneh and called on the Gambian government to release him and compensate him for arbitrary and prolonged detention without charge. In April 2009, the Gambian Attorney General and Minister of Justice publicly stated that Manneh is not in government custody and rejected the decision of the ECOWAS Court. ARTICLE 19 calls on the Gambian government to implement the decision of the ECOWAS Court and to investigate and prosecute all acts of violence and harassment against media workers. In December 2004, Deyda Hydara, managing editor of The Point Newspaper was brutally murdered. Investigations to this case stalled in early 2005 after a so-called “confidential” intelligence report, smearing Hydara, was leaked to the press.
    [Show full text]
  • The Gambia Climate of Fear Amongst the Community of Human Rights Defenders
    THE GAMBIA CLIMATE OF FEAR AMONGST THE COMMUNITY OF HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS International Fact-Finding Mission Report July 2011 SOS-Torture Network TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction 1. Presentation of the mission 1 2. Historical background 2 II. Legal and institutional framework impacting on the activities of human rights defenders 1. Legal and institutional framework related to the promotion and protection of human rights 3 2. A restrictive legal and institutional framework for human rights NGOs and human rights defenders 5 III. The prevailing environment of fear in which human rights defenders operate 1. Threatening public statements against human rights defenders 8 2. Journalists in the forefront 8 3. Harassment against members of human rights NGOs and lawyers 12 4. Harassment against women human rights defenders 13 IV. Conclusion and recommendations This report has been produced with the support of the European Union and the Republic and Canton of Geneva. Its content is the sole responsibility of OMCT and FIDH and should in no way be interpreted as reflecting the view(s) of the supporting institutions. Directors of publication: Eric Sottas, Souhayr Belhassen Authors of the report: José Domingo Dougan-Beaca, Mohamed Suma Edition and coordination: Seynabou Benga, Alexandra Poméon O’Neill, Delphine Reculeau Design: MOSTRA SARL Printed by OMCT I. INTRODUCTION 1. Presentation of the mission Following allegations of human rights violations against Gambian human rights defenders and a public statement made by President Jammeh in 2009 threatening to kill anyone who sought to sabotage and destabilise his Government, in particular human rights defenders and those who support them1, the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the In- ternational Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), in the framework of their joint programme, the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, decided to send a fact-find- ing mission to The Gambia.
    [Show full text]
  • Gambia, the Page 1 of 11
    Gambia, The Page 1 of 11 Gambia, The Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2006 Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor March 6, 2007 The Gambia is a multiparty, democratic republic with a population of 1.5 million. On September 22, President Alhaji Yahya Jammeh was re elected for a third five year term in an election considered partially free and fair. President Jammeh's party, the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC), dominated the National Assembly. While civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the security forces, there were frequent instances in which elements of the security forces acted independently of government authority. On March 21, a coup attempt was uncovered and approximately 50 suspects were detained, 21 of whom remained in detention awaiting or on trial at year's end. The foiled coup plot resulted in a more restrictive environment, and the government's respect for the human rights of its citizens declined during the year. Although the constitution and law provide for protection of most human rights, there were problems in many areas. Arbitrary arrests and detentions increased, particularly after the discovery of the coup plot. Security forces harassed and mistreated detainees, prisoners, opposition members, journalists, and civilians with impunity. Prisoners were held incommunicado, faced prolonged pretrial detention, and were denied due process. The government infringed on privacy rights and restricted freedom of speech and press. Women experienced violence and discrimination, and female genital mutilation (FGM) remained a problem. Child labor and trafficking in persons also were problems. RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom From: a.
    [Show full text]
  • Report Template
    DANGEROUS TO DISSENT HUMAN RIGHTS UNDER THREAT IN GAMBIA Amnesty International is a global movement of more than 7 million people who campaign for a world where human rights are enjoyed by all. Our vision is for every person to enjoy all the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards. We are independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion and are funded mainly by our membership and public donations. © Amnesty International 2016 Cover illustration: Solo Sandeng, UDP National Organizing Secretary, taking part in a protest Except where otherwise noted, content in this document is licensed under a Creative Commons organized by UDP and youth activists to demand electoral reforms in Gambia, April 2016. (attribution, non-commercial, no derivatives, international 4.0) licence. © Amnesty International https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode For more information please visit the permissions page on our website: www.amnesty.org Where material is attributed to a copyright owner other than Amnesty International this material is not subject to the Creative Commons licence. First published in 2016 by Amnesty International Ltd Peter Benenson House, 1 Easton Street London WC1X 0DW, UK Index: AFR 27/4138/2016 Original language: English amnesty.org CONTENTS GLOSSARY ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. METHODOLOGY ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. 1. BACKGROUND: THE ROAD TO DECEMBER 2016 11 Long History of Human Rights Violations 11 Human Rights at Risk Before and During the 2016 -18 Election Periods 12 Reforms to the Electoral System 13 2.
    [Show full text]