2017 Watch Events of 2016
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H U M A N R I G H T S WORLD REPORT|2017 WATCH EVENTS OF 2016 H U M A N R I G H T S WATCH WORLD REPORT 2017 EVENTS OF 2016 Copyright © 2017 Human Rights Watch All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America ISBN-13: 978-1-60980-734-4 Front cover photo: Men carrying babies make their way through the rubble of destroyed buildings after an airstrike on the rebel-held Salihin neighborhood of Syria’s northern city of Aleppo, September 2016. © 2016 Ameer Alhalbi/Agence France-Presse-Getty Images Back cover photo: Women and children from Honduras and El Salvador who crossed into the United States from Mexico wait after being stopped in Granjeno, Texas, June 2014. © 2014 Eric Gray/Associated Press Cover and book design by Rafael Jiménez www.hrw.org Human Rights Watch defends the rights of people worldwide. We scrupulously investigate abuses, expose the facts widely, and pressure those with power to respect rights and secure justice. Human Rights Watch is an independent, international organization that works as part of a vibrant movement to uphold human dignity and advance the cause of human rights for all. Human Rights Watch began in 1978 with the founding of its Europe and Central Asia division (then known as Helsinki Watch). Today, it also includes divisions covering Africa; the Americas; Asia; Europe and Central Asia; and the Middle East and North Africa; a United States program; thematic divisions or programs on arms; business and human rights; children’s rights; disability rights; health and human rights; international justice; lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights; refugees; women’s rights; and emergencies. It maintains offices in Amsterdam, Beirut, Berlin, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, Kiev, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Nairobi, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Silicon Valley, Stockholm, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, Washington DC, and Zurich, and field presences in over 46 other locations globally. Human Rights Watch is an independent, nongovernmental organization, supported by contributions from private individuals and foundations worldwide. It accepts no government funds, directly or indirectly. HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH The staff includes Kenneth Roth, Executive Director; Michele Alexander, Deputy Executive Director, Development and Global Initiatives; Nic Dawes, Deputy Executive Director, Media; Iain Levine, Deputy Executive Director, Program; Chuck Lustig, Deputy Executive Director, Operations; Bruno Stagno Ugarte, Deputy Executive Director, Advocacy; Chris Albin-Lackey, Senior Legal Advisor; Walid Ayoub, Information Technology Director; Pierre Bairin, Media Director; Clive Baldwin, Senior Legal Advisor; Liba Beyer, Senior Director, Public Advocacy and Outreach; Laura Boardman, Managing Director, Development and Global Initiatives; Philippe Bolopion, Deputy Director for Global Advocacy; Grace Choi, Director, Publications and Information Design; Matthew Collins-Gibson, Managing Director, Leadership Gifts; Emma Daly, Communications Director; Alan Feldstein, Associate General Counsel; Barbara Guglielmo, Director of Finance; Jasmine Herlt, Managing Director, Development and Global Initiatives; Miriam Mahlow, Managing Director, Development and Global Initiatives; Veronica Matushaj, Director, Documentary Video and Photography; Stephen Northfield, Digital Director; Babatunde Olugboji, Deputy Program Director; Dinah PoKempner, General Counsel; Tom Porteous, Deputy Program Director; Aisling Reidy, Senior Legal Advisor; James Ross, Legal and Policy Director; Joseph Saunders, Deputy Program Director; Elizabeth Seuling, Managing Director, Development and Outreach; Frances Sinha, Global Human Resources Director; and Minky Worden, Director of Global Initiatives. The division directors of Human Rights Watch are Brad Adams, Asia; John Biaggi, International Film Festival; Peter Bouckaert, Emergencies; Zama Coursen-Neff, Children’s Rights; Richard Dicker, International Justice; Bill Frelick, Refugees’ Rights; Arvind Ganesan, Business and Human Rights; Liesl Gerntholtz, Women’s Rights and (acting) Africa; Steve Goose, Arms; Nadim Houry, Terrorism/Counterterrorism; Diederik Lohman (acting), Health and Human Rights; Maria McFarland Sánchez-Moreno, United States; Alison Parker, United States; Shantha Rau Barriga, Disability Rights; Graeme Reid, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights; José Miguel Vivanco, Americas; Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa; Janet Walsh (acting), Women’s Rights; and Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia. The advocacy directors of Human Rights Watch are Daniel Bekele, Africa; Maria Laura Canineu, Brazil; Louis Charbonneau, United Nations–New York; Farida Deif, Canada; Kanae Doi, Japan; John Fisher, United Nations–Geneva; Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia; Bénédicte Jeannerod, Paris; Lotte Leicht, European Union; Sarah Margon, Washington DC; David Mepham, UK; Wenzel Michalski, Berlin; Måns Molander, Stockholm; Elaine Pearson, Australia; and Anna Timmerman, the Netherlands. The members of the board of directors are Hassan Elmasry, Co-Chair; Robert Kissane, Co-Chair; Michael Fisch, Vice-Chair & Treasurer; Oki Matsumoto, Vice-Chair; Amy Rao, Vice-Chair; Amy Towers, Vice-Chair; Catherine Zennström, Vice-Chair; Bruce Rabb, Secretary; Karen Herskovitz Ackman; Akwasi Aidoo; Jorge Castañeda; Michael E. Gellert; Leslie Gilbert-Lurie; Paul Gray; Betsy Karel; David Lakhdhir; Kimberly Marteau Emerson; Joan R. Platt; Neil Rimer; Shelley Rubin; Ambassador Robin Sanders; Jean-Louis Servan-Schreiber; Sidney Sheinberg; Bruce Simpson; Donna Slaight; Siri Stolt-Nielsen; Darian W. Swig; Makoto Takano; Peter Visser; and Marie Warburg. Emeritus board members are Joel Motley, Chair, 2013-2016; James F. Hoge, Jr., Chair, 2010-2013; Jane Olson, Chair 2004-2010; Jonathan F. Fanton, Chair, 1998-2003; Robert L. Bernstein, Founding Chair, 1979-1997; Lisa Anderson; David M. Brown; William D. Carmichael; Vartan Gregorian; Alice H. Henkin; Stephen L. Kass; Wendy Keys; Bruce Klatsky; Joanne Leedom-Ackerman; Josh Mailman; Susan Manilow; Samuel K. Murumba; Peter Osnos; Kathleen Peratis; Marina Pinto Kaufman; Sigrid Rausing; Victoria Riskin; Orville Schell; Gary Sick; Malcolm B. Smith; and John Studzinski. WORLD REPORT 2017 Table of Contents Foreword VIII The Dangerous Rise of Populism Global Attacks on Human Rights Values 1 by Kenneth Roth When Exposing Abusers Is Not Enough Strategies to Confront the Shameless 15 by Akshaya Kumar Overreach How New Global Counterterrorism Measures Jeopardize Rights 27 by Letta Tayler The Internet is Not the Enemy As Rights Move Online, Human Rights Standards Move with Them 39 by Dinah PoKempner The Lost Years Secondary Education for Children in Emergencies 51 by Bassam Khawaja, Elin Martinez, and Bill Van Esveld TABLE OF CONTENTS COUNTRIES 63 Afghanistan.................................................................................................. 65 Algeria.......................................................................................................... 72 Angola.......................................................................................................... 78 Argentina......................................................................................................83 Armenia........................................................................................................89 Australia....................................................................................................... 94 Azerbaijan................................................................................................... 101 Bahrain....................................................................................................... 107 Bangladesh..................................................................................................113 Belarus........................................................................................................121 Bolivia.........................................................................................................127 Bosnia and Herzegovina...............................................................................133 Brazil...........................................................................................................139 Burma......................................................................................................... 147 Burundi....................................................................................................... 157 Cambodia....................................................................................................164 Canada........................................................................................................ 171 Central African Republic............................................................................... 175 Chile............................................................................................................181 China.......................................................................................................... 187 Colombia.....................................................................................................201 Côte d’Ivoire............................................................................................... 208 Cuba........................................................................................................... 215 Democratic Republic of Congo......................................................................221 Ecuador.....................................................................................................