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08Amnesty International Report AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT 2008 AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT 2008 THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S HUMAN RIGHTS 0 8 08 08 First published in 2008 by A catalogue record for this Printed on 100% recycled All rights reserved. No part Amnesty International book is available from the post-consumer waste paper by of this publication may be International Secretariat British Library. Pureprint Group reproduced, stored in a retrieval Peter Benenson House East Sussex system, or transmitted, 1 Easton Street Original language: English United Kingdom in any form or by any means, London WC1X ODW electronic, mechanical, United Kingdom Photographs: Pureprint is a CarbonNeutral® photocopying, recording and/or All photographs appear with company, and uses only otherwise without the prior © Copyright full credits and captions vegetable-oil-based inks. permission of the publishers. Amnesty International elsewhere in the report. Publications 2008 www.amnesty.org AI Index: POL 10/001/2008 ISBN: 978-0-86210-431-3 ISSN: 0309-068X AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT 2008 THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S HUMAN RIGHTS This report covers the period08 January to December 2007. Amnesty International Nepal holds a rally in Kathmandu on 1 October 2007 in solidarity with all those being repressed in Myanmar. © Amnesty International PREFACE ‘FREEDOM FROM FEAR AND WANT HAS BEEN PROCLAIMED AS THE HIGHEST ASPIRATION OF THE COMMON PEOPLE’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 Published in the 60th anniversary year of the The entries indicate when Amnesty International Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Amnesty has visited the country and list some of our relevant International Report 2008 documents human rights documents produced during the year. issues in 150 countries and territories around the world. This report reveals how far the world has to go before people truly are free from “fear and want”. Our vision is It covers the period January-December 2007, for every person to enjoy all of the human rights enshrined and reveals a world riven by inequality, scarred by in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, laid out 60 discrimination and distorted by political repression. years ago, and in the other international human rights standards and instruments that have evolved since. However, it also captures the persistent spirit of the Declaration, and how over the intervening decades it Amnesty International is a global movement of has inspired the growth of a vibrant worldwide human 2.2 million people in more than 150 countries and rights movement, of which Amnesty International is territories. Our members and supporters around the proud to be part. world campaign for internationally recognized human rights to be respected and protected. The book opens with five regional overviews, looking back at human rights developments since the Our mission is to conduct research and take action to Declaration was adopted, analyzing whether reality prevent and end grave abuses of all human rights – has matched rhetoric, and determining how much civil, political, social, cultural and economic. From impact human rights initiatives have had on people’s freedom of expression and association, to physical and lives. They also highlight the key events and trends that mental integrity, from protection from discrimination, illustrate 2007 for each region. to the right to shelter – these rights are indivisible. The heart of the book is a country-by-country survey of This report reflects an approach to tackling human human rights, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. Each rights abuses which is informed by both the challenges entry begins with a summary of the human rights and opportunities for change in a given country or situation in the country. region. As a result, Amnesty International addresses particular issues in specific countries. The omission of Amnesty International’s concerns on various issues an issue or country should not be taken as a statement are then set out, highlighting individual cases where by Amnesty International that abuses within this appropriate. category or country did not occur. Amnesty International Report 2008 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), Deborah Smith (Canada - Eng), Pietro Antonioli (Italy), Lilian Gonçalves-Ho Kang You (Netherlands), Vanushi Rajanayagam (New Zealand), Christine Pamp (Sweden), Levent Korkut (Turkey), Peter Pack (UK - chair) and David Stamps (USA). Amnesty International’s Secretary General is Irene Khan (Bangladesh). A detainee at Guantánamo Bay, US Naval Base, Cuba, 9 October 2007. At the end of the year there were still about 275 people held there. © Brennan Linsley/AP/PA Photos © Brennan Linsley/AP/PA PART 1 Democratic Republic of the Congo/110 Regional overviews/1 Denmark/114 Africa/3 Dominican Republic/115 Americas/11 Ecuador/116 Asia-Pacific/19 Egypt/117 Europe-Central Asia/26 El Salvador/121 Middle East-North Africa/33 Equatorial Guinea/122 Eritrea/124 PART 2 Estonia/126 Afghanistan/45 Ethiopia/127 Albania/47 Fiji/130 Algeria/49 Finland/131 Angola/52 France/132 Argentina/54 Gambia/134 Armenia/55 Georgia/136 Australia/56 Germany/137 Austria/57 Ghana/139 Azerbaijan/58 Greece/140 Bahamas/61 Guatemala/142 Bahrain/61 Guinea/144 Bangladesh/63 Guinea-Bissau/145 Belarus/65 Haiti/146 Belgium/67 Honduras/148 Benin/68 Hungary/149 Bolivia/69 India/151 Bosnia and Herzegovina/70 Indonesia/154 Brazil/73 Iran/157 Bulgaria/78 Iraq/160 Burundi/79 Ireland/164 Cambodia/82 Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories/166 Cameroon/84 Italy/169 Canada/86 Jamaica/172 Central African Republic/87 Japan/173 Chad/89 Jordan/174 Chile/92 Kazakstan/176 China/93 Kenya/177 Colombia/97 Korea (Democratic People’s Republic of)/180 Congo (Republic of)/101 Korea (Republic of)/181 Côte d’Ivoire/103 Kuwait/183 Croatia/104 Kyrgyzstan/184 Cuba/106 Laos/185 Cyprus/108 Latvia/187 Czech Republic/109 Lebanon/188 Amnesty International Report 2008 CONTENTS ANNUAL REPORT 2008 Liberia/191 South Africa/272 Libya/193 Spain/275 Lithuania/195 Sri Lanka/278 Macedonia/196 Sudan/280 Malawi/198 Swaziland/284 Malaysia/199 Sweden/286 Mali/201 Switzerland/287 Malta/201 Syria/288 Mauritania/203 Taiwan/291 Mexico/204 Tajikistan/292 Moldova/207 Tanzania/293 Mongolia/209 Thailand/294 Montenegro/210 Timor-Leste/296 Morocco/Western Sahara/212 Togo/297 Mozambique/214 Trinidad and Tobago/298 Myanmar/215 Tunisia/299 Namibia/219 Turkey/302 Nepal/220 Turkmenistan/305 Netherlands/222 Uganda/307 Nicaragua/223 Ukraine/309 Niger/223 United Arab Emirates/312 Nigeria/225 United Kingdom/313 Pakistan/228 United States of America/317 Palestinian Authority/232 Uruguay/322 Papua New Guinea/235 Uzbekistan/323 Paraguay/236 Venezuela/326 Peru/237 Viet Nam/327 Philippines/239 Yemen/329 Poland/240 Zambia/332 Portugal/243 Zimbabwe/333 Puerto Rico/243 Qatar/244 PART 3 Romania/245 Selected international and Russian Federation/247 regional human rights treaties/341 Rwanda/252 International human rights treaties/342 Saudi Arabia/255 Regional human rights treaties/356 Senegal/258 Serbia/259 PART 4 Sierra Leone/263 Contact Amnesty International/368 Singapore/265 I want to help/372 Slovakia/266 Amnesty International publications/374 Slovenia/268 Index/378 Somalia/269 Amnesty International Report 2008 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% for purposes of calculating the Human Development Index. Where this is the case, and the UN has chosen to omit the figure from its tables, we have also done so. All Population and Under-5 mortality figures are for 2007 and are drawn from the UN Fund for Population Activities’ Demographic, Social and Economic Indicators, found at http://www.unfpa.org/swp/2007/english/notes/indicators/e_indicator2.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. Such omissions are for a number of reasons, including the absence of the information in the UN lists cited above.
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