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| US Department of State released its country human rights report 2007 |
| The US Department of State released its country specific annual report (2007) on "Human Rights Practices". |
| US Dept. of State: Human rights situation worsened in Bangladesh |
The US Department of State released its annual report (2007) on "Human Rights Practices". Few days after its release, on 14 March 2008, the Bangladesh authorities’ official comments were published in most of the national daily newspapers. The Bangladesh Government’s spokesman said the report was “disappointing for its "lack of balance" in presenting the country's ground realities (…) and in its failure to mention the significant reform measures taken by the caretaker government for consolidating and sustaining democracy.” However, as stated by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), such comments and denials from the Bangladesh government are common and clearly representative of their mindset.
The US report describes a similar human rights situation as the one reported in GHRDs Bangladesh annual human rights report 2007. The report concludes that the human rights record in Bangladesh worsened as the state of emergency continues with elections remaining postponed. Around 200 former politicians, government officials and business leaders have been arbitrarily arrested on suspicion of corruption, extortion and other power abuse without having any formal charges or arrest warrants against them. Security forces including Bangladesh Rifles, military and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) also committed many extrajudicial killings while the government did not take any action or initiate any public measures to investigate the cases.
The report also emphasises that the caretaker government has used the Emergency Power Rules (EPR) to curtail the freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Both individuals and the press are not able anymore to criticise the government publicly without fear of strong pressure or reprisal.
The US report further recognised that women, children, those with disabilities, the minority communities and indigenous people are suffering severely and that domestic violence for women is yet widespread; up to 50 percent of all women experienced domestic violence at least once and the main cause appears to be the dispute about dowries. |
| Click here to read the entire report |
| Click here for GHRD's Bangladesh Annual Human Rights Report 2007 |
US Department of State’s Country reports on human rights practices 2007
The Daily Star, 14 March 2008
AHRC’s statement, 17 March 2008 |
US Dep. State 2007 report: Discrimination against ethnic Nepalese minorities continue in Bhutan |
The US Department of State does not report any arbitrary and unlawful deprivation of life, disappearance, torture and arbitrary arrest and detention cases in Bhutan. This is noticeable since in 2007, many people were being arrested on arbitrary charges and allegations of so-called ‘anti-national activities’ in Bhutan. For example, GHRD received reports of 30 cases of male and female Bhutanese aged between 18 and 75 years, mainly living in the district of Samchi, the South of Bhutan, who were arrested between May 25 and June 19, 2007 by the Royal Bhutan Police and the Royal Bhutan Army.
The discrimination against the ethnic Nepalese minority is, however, acknowledged by the US report. The government resettled Drukpa Bhutanese in the southern part of the country on land vacated by the ethnic-Nepalese Bhutanese. Human rights groups maintained that this prejudiced any eventual outcome of negotiations over the return of the refugees to the country. The government maintained that it occasionally resettled Lhotsampa from the south on more fertile land in other parts of the country. According to the government, the resettlement scheme was part of a nationwide programme to discourage migration to urban centres and reduce the dependence of landless persons of migrant farming.
Another issue raised by the US report is that legal human rights organizations are not allowed in Bhutan. The government regarded human rights groups established by ethnic-Nepalese Bhutanese as political organizations and did not permit them to operate in the country (except for the International Committee of the Red Cross - ICRC).
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| Click here to read the entire report |
US Dep. State 2007 report: Torture, rape, beheadings and kidnapping in Kashmir |
The US report concludes that the human rights situation in Jammu Kashmir is poor; in particular, the living conditions for the refugees, discrimination and violence against women and access to basic social provisions, have been of major concern. An estimated 30,000 to 35,000 persons died during two decades of conflict in Jammu and Kashmir. Security forces committed thousands of serious human rights violations over the course of the insurgency, including extrajudicial killings, disappearances, and torture.
Under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) of 1990, which applies only in Jammu and Kashmir, State authorities are permitted to shoot suspected lawbreakers and those disturbing the peace and to destroy structures suspected of harbouring violent separatists or containing weapons and detain persons without charge and judicial review for up to two years. According to the Office of Director General of Jammu and Kashmir Police, authorities arrested 473 persons in 2005 and 420 in 2006 under PSA.
The report highlights how torture victims and their relatives reportedly had difficulty filing complaints, as local police allegedly were instructed not to open a case without permission from higher authorities.
Terrorists and insurgents operating in Jammu and Kashmir repeatedly targeted the minority Pandit (Hindu Brahmin) community, killing entire families in several incidents throughout the year. Torture, rape, beheadings, kidnapping and extortion were common forms of abuse according to the US report. |
| Click here to read the entire report |
