AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL Amnesty International is a movement of 10 million people which mobilizes the humanity in everyone and campaigns for change so we can all enjoy our human rights. Our vision is of a world where those in power keep their promises, respect international law and are held to account. We are independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion and are funded mainly by our membership and individual donations. We believe that acting in solidarity and compassion with people everywhere can change our societies for the better. Amnesty International is impartial. We take no position on issues of sovereignty, territorial disputes or international political or legal arrangements that might be adopted to implement the right to self- determination. This report is organized according to the countries we monitored during the year. In general, they are independent states that are accountable for the human rights situation on their territory. First published in 2021 by Except where otherwise noted, This report documents Amnesty Amnesty International Ltd content in this document is International’s work and Peter Benenson House, licensed under a concerns through 2020. 1, Easton Street, CreativeCommons (attribution, The absence of an entry in this London WC1X 0DW non-commercial, no derivatives, report on a particular country or United Kingdom international 4.0) licence. territory does not imply that no https://creativecommons.org/ © Amnesty International 2021 human rights violations of licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode concern to Amnesty International Index: POL 10/3202/2021 For more information please visit have taken place there during ISBN: 978-0-86210-501-3 the permissions page on our the year. 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Original language: English ii Amnesty International Report 2020/21 AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT 2020/21 THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S HUMAN RIGHTS iv Amnesty International Report 2020/21 CONTENTS ANNUAL REPORT 2020/21 Abbreviations 7 Czech Republic 137 Preface 9 Democratic Republic of the Global Analysis 14 Congo 138 Africa regional overview 18 Denmark 142 Americas regional overview 26 Dominican Republic 143 Asia-Pacific regional overview 34 Ecuador 145 Europe and Central Asia regional Egypt 146 overview 41 El Salvador 151 Middle East and North Africa Equatorial Guinea 153 regional overview 49 Eritrea 155 Afghanistan 58 Estonia 156 Albania 61 Eswatini 157 Algeria 62 Ethiopia 158 Angola 65 Fiji 161 Argentina 68 Finland 162 Armenia 70 France 163 Australia 72 Georgia 166 Austria 73 Germany 168 Azerbaijan 74 Ghana 170 Bahrain 76 Greece 172 Bangladesh 79 Guatemala 174 Belarus 82 Guinea 176 Belgium 86 Honduras 178 Benin 87 Hungary 180 Bolivia 89 India 182 Bosnia and Herzegovina 91 Indonesia 186 Botswana 93 Iran 190 Brazil 94 Iraq 195 Bulgaria 99 Ireland 199 Burkina Faso 101 Israel and the Occupied Burundi 103 Palestinian Territories 200 Cambodia 106 Italy 204 Cameroon 108 Japan 207 Canada 110 Jordan 209 Central African Republic 113 Kazakhstan 212 Chad 115 Kenya 214 Chile 117 Kosovo 217 China 119 Kuwait 218 Colombia 125 Kyrgyzstan 220 Congo (Republic of the) 129 Latvia 222 Côte d'Ivoire 131 Lebanon 223 Croatia 133 Lesotho 226 Cuba 134 Libya 228 Cyprus 136 Lithuania 232 Amnesty International Report 2020/21 v Madagascar 233 Switzerland 343 Malawi 236 Syria 345 Malaysia 237 Taiwan 349 Mali 239 Tajikistan 350 Malta 241 Tanzania 352 Mexico 243 Thailand 355 Moldova 247 Togo 357 Mongolia 249 Trinidad and Tobago 359 Montenegro 250 Tunisia 360 Morocco/Western Sahara 251 Turkey 363 Mozambique 255 Turkmenistan 368 Myanmar 257 Uganda 369 Nepal 260 Ukraine 372 Netherlands 262 United Arab Emirates 376 New Zealand 263 United Kingdom 378 Nicaragua 264 United States of America 382 Niger 266 Uruguay 387 Nigeria 268 Uzbekistan 388 North Korea 273 Venezuela 390 North Macedonia 275 Viet Nam 395 Norway 276 Yemen 397 Oman 277 Zambia 401 Pakistan 279 Zimbabwe 403 Palestine (State of) 282 Papua New Guinea 285 Paraguay 287 Peru 289 Philippines 291 Poland 293 Portugal 296 Puerto Rico 297 Qatar 298 Romania 301 Russian Federation 302 Rwanda 307 Saudi Arabia 309 Senegal 313 Serbia 314 Sierra Leone 316 Singapore 318 Slovakia 319 Slovenia 320 Somalia 322 South Africa 325 South Korea 328 South Sudan 330 Spain 334 Sri Lanka 337 Sudan 340 Sweden 342 vi Amnesty International Report 2020/21 ABBREVIATIONS ASEAN ICCPR Association of Southeast Asian Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights AU African Union ICESCR International Covenant on Economic, Social CEDAW and Cultural Rights UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross CEDAW Committee UN Committee on the Elimination of ILO Discrimination against Women International Labour Organization CERD International Convention against enforced International Convention on the Elimination of disappearance All Forms of Racial Discrimination International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance CERD Committee UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial LGBTI Discrimination Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex CIA US Central Intelligence Agency NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization COVID-19 Coronavirus disease-19 NGO Non-governmental organization ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States OAS Organization of American States EU European Union OCHA United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of European Committee for the Prevention of Humanitarian Affairs Torture European Committee for the Prevention of OHCHR Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment Office of the United Nations High or Punishment Commissioner for Human Rights European Convention on Human Rights OSCE (European) Convention for the Protection of Organization for Security and Co-operation in Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms Europe ICC PPE International Criminal Court Personal protective equipment Amnesty International Report 2020/21 vii UK UNICEF United Kingdom United Nations Children’s Fund UN UPR United Nations UN Universal Periodic Review UN Convention against Torture USA Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, United States of America Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment WHO World Health Organization UN Refugee Convention Convention relating to the Status of Refugees UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression UN Special Rapporteur on racism Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance UN Special Rapporteur on torture Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women Special rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences UNHCR, the UN refugee agency Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees viii Amnesty International Report 2020/21 PREFACE In 2020, a mere cluster of molecules shook the whole world. Smaller than can be seen by the naked eye, a very local virus unleashed with marked rapidity a global pandemic. Whatever will be proven to be its precise genesis, the coronavirus (COVID-19) and its mass casualties flourished in part thanks to our global milieu of deeper, broader inequalities within and between countries. It has been made far worse by austerity policies that weakened public infrastructure and public health systems; by international architecture enfeebled in form, function and leadership. And it has been made far worse under pressure from leaders of states who demonize and exclude, asserting archaic constructs of state sovereignty and peddling rejectionist approaches to science, evidence and universal norms. These are exceptional times. But have we risen to meet their challenge? Exceptional times oblige exceptional responses and demand exceptional leadership. In 2020, exceptional leadership came not from power, privilege, or profits. It came instead from nurses, doctors, and health workers on the frontlines of life- saving services. It came from those who cared for older people. It came from technicians and scientists running millions of tests and trials, frantically searching for vaccines. It came from those who, bunched together more often at the very bottom of the income scale, worked to feed the rest of us; who cleaned our streets; cared for the bodies of the hundreds of thousands of deceased; repaired our essential services; patrolled our streets; drove what remained of our public transport. In 2020, as so much of the world shut down, it was those people who stood up, who stood out. So too, those who stayed home in solidarity, if they had a home to live in, who maintained emotionally costly physical distance, and who cared for those around them. But underneath that heroism, pandemic times laid bare the devastating consequences of abuse of power, structurally and historically. The COVID-19 pandemic may not define who we are, but it certainly has amplified what we should not be. Seeing this clearly, again people stood