Human rights in Chad
Human rights in Chad have been described as "poor"; for example, Freedom House has designated the country as "Not Free."[1][2] Chad received a score of 7 for political rights and 6 for civil liberties (with 1 being the most free, 7 being the least free).[2]
This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Chad |
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Judiciary |
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According to the U.S. State Department, "The government's poor human rights record deteriorated further during the year; security forces committed numerous serious human rights abuses." Among the abuses listed were extrajudicial killings, beatings, torture, and rape by security forces; limits on freedom of speech and the press and freedom of assembly; arbitrary arrest and detention; and widespread corruption.[1] Security forces commit these and other abuses with "near total" impunity.[1][3][4]
Amnesty International has reported that "The widespread insecurity in eastern Chad had particularly severe consequences for women, who suffered grave human rights abuses, including rape, during attacks on villages"[4] by Janjawid militia from Sudan. Women face widespread discrimination and violence. Female genital mutilation, while technically illegal, is still widely practiced.[2] Harassment of journalists and human rights activists has also been documented[4] as well as the use of child soldiers by Chadian security forces, by various human rights groups.[1][5][6]
Transparency International has ranked Chad as one of the most corrupt nations in the world. In 2007, it scored 1.8 out of 10 on the Corruption Perceptions Index (with 10 being the least corrupt). Only Tonga, Uzbekistan, Haiti, Iraq, Myanmar, and Somalia scored lower.[7] Critics of President Idriss Déby have accused him of cronyism and favoring his own tribe.[8] Deby's re-election in May 2006—in which he won a third term—was boycotted by the opposition, who denounced the results as fraudulent.[9] The previous election, in 2001, was similarly viewed as fraudulent by the opposition parties, although a team of foreign observers said that polling had taken place "without major problems or intimidation".[10][11][12]
Historical situation
The following chart shows Chad's ratings since 1972 in the Freedom in the World reports, published annually by Freedom House. A rating of 1 is "most free" and 7 is "least free".[13]1
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International treaties
Chad's stances on international human rights treaties are as follows:
International treaties | ||||
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Treaty | Organization | Introduced | Signed | Ratified |
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide[14] | United Nations | 1948 | — | — |
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination[15] | United Nations | 1966 | — | 1977 |
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights[16] | United Nations | 1966 | — | 1995 |
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights[17] | United Nations | 1966 | — | 1995 |
First Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights[18] | United Nations | 1966 | — | 1995 |
Convention on the Non-Applicability of Statutory Limitations to War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity[19] | United Nations | 1968 | — | — |
International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid[20] | United Nations | 1973 | 1974 | 1974 |
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women[21] | United Nations | 1979 | 1995 | |
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment[22] | United Nations | 1984 | — | 1995 |
Convention on the Rights of the Child[23] | United Nations | 1989 | 1990 | 1990 |
Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty[24] | United Nations | 1989 | — | — |
International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families[25] | United Nations | 1990 | — | — |
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women[26] | United Nations | 1999 | — | — |
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict[27] | United Nations | 2000 | 2002 | 2002 |
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography[28] | United Nations | 2000 | 2002 | 2002 |
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities[29] | United Nations | 2006 | — | — |
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities[30] | United Nations | 2006 | — | — |
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance[31] | United Nations | 2006 | 2007 | — |
Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights[32] | United Nations | 2008 | — | — |
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a Communications Procedure[33] | United Nations | 2011 | — | — |
See also
Notes
- 1.^ Note that the "Year" signifies the "Year covered". Therefore the information for the year marked 2008 is from the report published in 2009, and so on.
- 2.^ As of January 1.
- 3.^ The 1982 report covers the year 1981 and the first half of 1982, and the following 1984 report covers the second half of 1982 and the whole of 1983. In the interest of simplicity, these two aberrant "year and a half" reports have been split into three year-long reports through interpolation.
References
- "Chad" Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2006. United States Department of State. Accessed on September 4, 2007.
- Chad (2007) Freedom House. Accessed on September 4, 2007.
- Chad: Events of 2006 Archived 2008-11-10 at the Wayback Machine Human Rights Watch. Accessed on September 4, 2007.
- Annual Report: Chad Archived 2011-02-18 at the Wayback Machine Amnesty International. Accessed on September 4, 2007.
- "Chad: Government Keeps Children in Army Ranks" Archived 2008-11-10 at the Wayback Machine Human Rights Watch. Accessed on September 4, 2007.
- "Chad: Army Forcibly Recruiting Youths, Rights Group Says" allAfrica.com. Accessed on December 16, 2007
- "Corruption Perceptions Index 2007" Transparency International. Accessed on December 16, 2007.
- "'Isolated' Deby clings to power" BBC News. April 13, 2006. Accessed on September 4, 2007.
- Country profile: Chad BBC News. Last updated: August 28, 2007. Accessed on September 4, 2007.
- "Deby re-elected president of Chad" CNN. May 28, 2001. Accessed on September 4, 2007.
- "Deby claims Chad electoral victory" BBC News. May 28, 2001. Accessed on September 4, 2007.
- Background Note: Chad United States Department of State. Accessed on September 4, 2007.
- Freedom House (2012). "Country ratings and status, FIW 1973-2012" (XLS). Retrieved 2012-08-22.
- United Nations. "United Nations Treaty Collection: Chapter IV: Human Rights: 1. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Paris, 9 December 1948". Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
- United Nations. "United Nations Treaty Collection: Chapter IV: Human Rights: 2. International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. New York, 7 March 1966". Archived from the original on 11 February 2011. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
- United Nations. "United Nations Treaty Collection: Chapter IV: Human Rights: 3. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. New York, 16 December 1966". Archived from the original on 17 September 2012. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
- United Nations. "United Nations Treaty Collection: Chapter IV: Human Rights: 4. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. New York, 16 December 1966". Archived from the original on 1 September 2010. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
- United Nations. "United Nations Treaty Collection: Chapter IV: Human Rights: 5. Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. New York, 16 December 1966". Retrieved 2012-08-29.
- United Nations. "United Nations Treaty Collection: Chapter IV: Human Rights: 6. Convention on the non-applicability of statutory limitations to war crimes and crimes against humanity. New York, 26 November 1968". Retrieved 2012-08-29.
- United Nations. "United Nations Treaty Collection: Chapter IV: Human Rights: 7. International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid. New York, 30 November 1973". Archived from the original on 18 July 2012. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
- United Nations. "United Nations Treaty Collection: Chapter IV: Human Rights: 8. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. New York, 18 December 1979". Archived from the original on 23 August 2012. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
- United Nations. "United Nations Treaty Collection: Chapter IV: Human Rights: 9. Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. New York, 10 December 1984". Archived from the original on 8 November 2010. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
- United Nations. "United Nations Treaty Collection: Chapter IV: Human Rights: 11. Convention on the Rights of the Child. New York, 20 November 1989". Archived from the original on 11 February 2014. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
- United Nations. "United Nations Treaty Collection: Chapter IV: Human Rights: 12. Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty. New York, 15 December 1989". Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
- United Nations. "United Nations Treaty Collection: Chapter IV: Human Rights: 13. International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families. New York, 18 December 1990". Archived from the original on 25 August 2012. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
- United Nations. "United Nations Treaty Collection: Chapter IV: Human Rights: 8b. Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. New York, 6 October 1999". Retrieved 2012-08-29.
- United Nations. "United Nations Treaty Collection: Chapter IV: Human Rights: 11b. Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict. New York, 25 May 2000". Retrieved 2012-08-29.
- United Nations. "United Nations Treaty Collection: Chapter IV: Human Rights: 11c. Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. New York, 25 May 2000". Retrieved 2012-08-29.
- United Nations. "United Nations Treaty Collection: Chapter IV: Human Rights: 15. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. New York, 13 December 2006". Archived from the original on 19 August 2012. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
- United Nations. "United Nations Treaty Collection: Chapter IV: Human Rights: 15a. Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. New York, 13 December 2006". Archived from the original on 13 January 2016. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
- United Nations. "United Nations Treaty Collection: Chapter IV: Human Rights: 16. International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. New York, 20 December 2006". Retrieved 2012-08-29.
- United Nations. "United Nations Treaty Collection: Chapter IV: Human Rights: 3a. Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. New York, 10 December 2008". Retrieved 2012-08-29.
- United Nations. "United Nations Treaty Collection: Chapter IV: Human Rights: 11d. Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure . New York, 19 December 2011. New York, 10 December 2008". Archived from the original on 25 August 2012. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
External links
- 2012 Annual Report, by Amnesty International
- Freedom in the World 2012 Report, by Freedom House
- Review of Chad by the United Nations Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review, May 5, 2009. (Scroll down past Belize.)