Wayzata World Factbook 1996/The World Factbook - 1996 Edition - Wayzata Technology (3079) (1996).iso/mac/TEXT/HUMANrts/CHAD.TXT

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TITLE: CHAD HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1994
AUTHOR: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DATE: FEBRUARY 1995

                              CHAD


A Transitional Government headed by President Idriss Deby, who
took power in a December 1990 coup, continues to govern Chad.
A 1993 Sovereign National Conference confirmed Deby as Chief of
State for the transition, established the Transitional
Government now headed by Prime Minister Kassire Coumakoye,
elected 57 counselors to the quasi-legislative Higher
Transitional Council (CST), and adopted the Transitional
Charter as an interim constitutional document.  The Charter
provided for a 1-year period of transition to establish a
Constitution and hold elections, with the possibility of a
one-time extension.  Little having been achieved in the first
year of the transition, the CST voted to extend the transition
for a second year, through April 9, 1995, and established
target dates for a constitutional referendum and presidential
and legislative elections.  Under the Charter, there is no
provision for further extension of the transition.

Security forces composed of the army, the gendarmerie, and
police, are responsible for internal security.  President Deby
remained in control of the security forces, which were
responsible for serious human rights abuses, including acts of
reprisal against the civilian population.

Chad has a population of 6.3 million and an estimated annual
per capita income of $180.  Over 78 percent of the population
is engaged in subsistence agriculture, fishing, and stock
raising.  The Government relies heavily on external financial
assistance.  Pervasive corruption at all levels and a heavy
black market trade severely limited government customs
receipts, discouraged local production and marketing, and
restricted the cash economy.  Little was done to reform the
collection of customs duties, the major source of government
revenues.

Killings by security forces and the Government's failure to
prosecute those responsible continued to be the major human
rights abuses.  Army units continued acts of reprisal against
the civilian population, yet enjoyed de facto immunity from
prosecution.  Security force personnel continue to physically
abuse detainees.  There were credible reports that at least one
prisoner had been beaten to the point of unconsciousness by
personnel acting under the authority of the Presidency.  The
criminal justice system remained largely nonfunctional.  Nine
persons who were arrested in October 1993 for allegedly
plotting a coup were never brought to trial.  They were held at
a jail in the presidential compound, possibly with other
political detainees, then granted amnesty by President Deby on
December 1.

Prison conditions were appalling, both at the main prison in
the capital and elsewhere.  Because of the breakdown of the
criminal justice system, persons arrested for crimes had little
hope of a prompt trial.  Additional human rights abuses
included:  abuse of civilians' rights in conflict situations;
discrimination and mistreatment of women and children; and the
inability of citizens to change their government.

The Government did not interfere with freedom of expression.
The state-run radio broadcast statements by opposition leaders,
and an opposition press with limited circulation criticized the
Government's actions.  Labor unions operated freely.

RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Section 1  Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including
           Freedom from:

     a.  Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing

The armed forces continued to commit extrajudicial killings
with impunity in reprisals against civilians accused of
complicity with rebels.  Rebel groups were likewise responsible
for killings and other serious human rights abuses.

On January 23, personnel belonging to the National Front of
Chad (FNT), a rebel group which had earlier come over to the
government side, rebelled against government forces and
attempted to take control of Abeche, the principal city in
eastern Chad.  FNT members attacked army and gendarmerie
headquarters, singling out members of certain ethnic groups.
The FNT rebels beat the mainly northern troops savagely,
allowing southerners to leave.  The revolt ended within a few
hours, and the FNT rebels fled into the countryside.  In the
following days and weeks, the army carried out unrestrained
reprisals against the local population in Abeche and
surrounding villages, accusing the population of complicity
with the FNT.  Army personnel engaged in the killing of unarmed
civilians, looting, and rape.  Subsequent thorough
investigations by human rights organizations and a committee of
the Transitional Parliament counted 201 dead, of which 124 were
FNT, presumably combatants.  This total is probably low;
survivors were traumatized and often reluctant to talk freely
to investigators.  The Government took no action to punish the
army personnel responsible for the killings of noncombatants.

On November 20, the criminal court meeting in Abeche handed
down a verdict against nine persons involved in the August 4,
1993, massacre at the village of Gniguilim.  In that attack, 82
persons were killed and 105 wounded by men armed with automatic
weapons, following an ethnic quarrel.  The court, in its first
session in Abeche since 1987, handed down death sentences
against five persons, four in absentia, and sentenced the
remaining defendants to 12 years in prison.

In the south, both government troops and rebels continued to
terrorize the local population.  One southern rebel group, the
National Re-Awakening Committee for Peace and Democracy
(CSNPD), led by former Lieutenant Moise Kette, negotiated an
agreement with the Government in which the CSNPD agreed to lay
down arms and operate as a legal political party.

On June 26, a southern rebel group probably associated with
Lieutenant Moise Kette attacked the market town of Ba-Illi,
which had no military garrison of any significance.  Troops
attacked and killed 24 people and looted the market.  All the
victims but one were Muslims, targeted because of their
religion.

On August 11 near Moundou in southern Chad, a patrol of the
army's first regiment sustained several casualties in a clash
with rebels.  The unit subsequently returned to the village of
Mbalkabra and killed at least 31 villagers suspected of
complicity with the rebels.  Army personnel burned several
villages and tortured a local official.  Although a ministerial
delegation sent by the President established the facts, and
authorities subsequently arrested officers reportedly
responsible for the massacre, the Government did not
acknowledge responsibility for the massacre.  Moreover, its
only public statement about the incident remains a denial by
the Minister of Defense that it took place.  The public
prosecutor's office began an investigation of the charges, but
by year's end no trial had been held.

     b.  Disappearance

There were no reports of disappearances.

     c.  Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading
         Treatment or Punishment

Although the Transitional Charter specifically prohibits
torture and degrading or humiliating treatment, the Government
failed to stop incidents of brutality by security forces.  In
one case, there is a credible report that either the Republican
Guards or the domestic intelligence service (Renseignements
Generaux) used violence in interrogating a prisoner, causing
him to become disoriented and lose consciousness.  That
prisoner, and others, suffered cruel mistreatment in
extrajudicial custody at a prison in the presidency compound
and at other places.  One political detainee reported that he
had been held in a "small, dark, nasty room filled with rats
and insects," that he was given only water and a sandwich every
3 days, and that his hands were kept bound with wire for some
45 days.  He reported that, at some sites, he smelled what he
guessed to be "dead human bodies," and that a fellow prisoner
suffered a paralyzed hand and hearing injury to both ears to
the point of near deafness, indicating his possible torture.

Reports of abuse in custody arose in connection with nine
persons detained in the alleged Koty coup plot.  Their families
and lawyers were denied access to these detainees.  Human
rights groups and doctors were permitted visits, but the Koty 9
have reported to the Chadian League of Human Rights (LTDH) that
2 weeks prior to their May 14 interview some 19 persons were
allegedly tortured overnight at the facility where they were
held, then taken elsewhere.

Prison conditions continued to be appalling and life-
threatening, characterized by overcrowding, poor sanitation,
lack of medical facilities, inadequate food, and mixing of male
and female prisoners.  In March and April, the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) made its first visits to
places of detention linked to the Ministry of Justice, the
National Police in N'Djamena and Abeche.  Later on, the ICRC
obtained authorization to process a second round of visits in
places of detention already visited, as well as ones linked to
the Ministry of Justice and the National Police at Moundou and
Duba, and finally the ones run by the Ministry of Defense in
N'Djamena, Abeche and Moundou, and Doba.

     d.  Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile

The Penal Code and the Transitional Charter provide formal
safeguards against arbitrary arrest, but in practice the
authorities often do not respect these provisions.  Military
and security organizations retained and used the de facto
authority to arrest or detain citizens without a warrant and
without remanding the detainee for a trial.

Security forces reportedly engage in extrajudicial arrests and
detentions.  One detainee reported from personal observation
that as many as 30 persons were held by the domestic
intelligence service near the presidency.

On July 15, soldiers abducted Mahamat Koty, brother of
President Deby's assassinated rival Colonel Abbas Koty, and Dr.
Abdelaziz Kadouk of the Maternity Hospital in connection with
the alleged coup plot of October 1993.  On October 22, police
conducted Dr. Kadouk to the Central Hospital with heart
problems, where Chadian human rights organizations had access
to him.  Police never charged either Koty or Kadouk, and these
2 were among 11 political detainees granted amnesty by
President Deby on December 1 and subsequently released.

The Government did not use exile as a political weapon.

     e.  Denial of Fair Public Trial

Breakdown of the criminal justice system rendered the courts
generally inoperable.  Special courts were inactive, as were
courts-martial.  Most rural areas do not have access to formal
judicial institutions and rely on traditional courts presided
over by village chiefs and chefs de canton or sultans in most
civil cases.  Citizens may appeal their decisions, which in
most cases are respected by the population, to a formal court.

Trials in civil cases continued, but the criminal justice
system tried only one major case in 1994.  Despite emphasis on
reform of the justice system at the 1993 National Conference,
the Government did not implement any reforms.  Government and
military interference contributed to the breakdown of the
judicial system, and members of the security and armed forces
continued to have de facto immunity from prosecution.

     f.  Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
         Correspondence

The Transitional Charter provides for citizens' rights to
privacy of home and correspondence, freedom from arbitrary
arrest and search, and liberties of association.  The Penal
Code further stipulates that police may search homes only
during daylight hours and only with a legal warrant.  In
practice, security forces conducted searches without legal
warrant, day and night.  In some cases, they mistreated and
extorted money from their victims.

The Government also engaged in telephone surveillance of its
citizens without judicial supervision.

     g.  Use of Excessive Force and Violations of Humanitarian
         Law in Internal Conflicts

Continuing conflict between rebel groups and the army led to
serious human rights abuses by both sides, victimizing the
civilian population.  Chadian armed forces, with impunity,
routinely abused the rights of the civilian population.  In
addition, customs personnel routinely used excessive and
sometimes lethal force against the population, including one
shooting in the N'Djamena market in October which led to a
sympathy strike by all merchants.

Section 2  Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

     a.  Freedom of Speech and Press

The Transitional Charter provides for freedom of speech and
press, but in practice the Government controls access to radio,
the most important medium, and to the sole television station,
TVT, which it also runs.  Although opposition statements are
generally broadcast on both radio and television, opposition
politicians complained that in some instances their
declarations were not broadcast on government radio.  The
independent press publishes articles openly criticizing the
Government and political figures.  Opposition tracts are
distributed without interference by the Government.

The academic system is primarily state supported.  Academic
freedom is respected.

     b.  Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association

The Transitional Charter provides for freedom of association
and assembly, and in general these rights were respected.

Authorities routinely granted permits for political and
nongovernmental organization (NGO) meetings, and the Government
generally did not interfere in meetings or press conferences.
In one case, however, a former prime minister's party was
denied the use of a government facility.  The Minister of
Interior barred human rights groups from presenting a series of
preelection seminars in Sarh, Moundou, and other major
population centers, despite the fact that the Prime Minister
had authorized the seminars.  On December 23, the Minister of
Interior prevented a meeting of opposition parties, despite the
signing by the President a few days earlier of a law
guaranteeing political parties the right to meet freely.

There are now about 50 authorized political parties and several
hundred NGO's.

     c.  Freedom of Religion

Chad is a secular state, and all faiths worship without
government constraint.

     d.  Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign
         Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation

The Government did not require special permission for travel
within most areas of the country.  Security forces, rebels and
armed criminals continued to operate illegal roadblocks in the
countryside, in contravention of the orders of the Transitional
Government.

Chadians were free to emigrate.  About 3,600 refugees remained
in Niger, a consequence of the mid-1992 fighting between
government forces and rebels in the Lake Chad region.
Approximately 21,000 refugees who fled after their villages
were attacked by the Republican Guard in early 1993 remained in
the Central African Republic.  There are about 43,000 Chadian
refugees in Cameroon, the majority of whom fled when Hissein
Habre took power in 1982.  These refugees are free to
repatriate but have chosen not to do so, fearful of unsafe
security conditions in their home regions.

Section 3  Respect for Political Rights:  The Right of Citizens
           to Change Their Government

Citizens do not have this right.  By definition, the regime
government is a transitional one, with the limited mandate to
rule in accordance with the Transitional Charter.  President
Deby pledged free and fair elections before the end of the
transition in April 1995, but there was little progress in 1994
in creating the conditions for free and fair elections, making
it unlikely that this goal can be met.  The CST adopted a law
creating an electoral commission which was signed by President
Deby in December, but opposition parties are still negotiating
with the Government over conditions for their participation in
the commission.

Although the law grants women political equality and
protection, women are underrepresented in the Government.
While women were active in the National Conference, cultural
biases prevent their full integration into political life.
There is only one female cabinet member, and only 4 of the 57
members of the Transitional Parliament are women.

Section 4  Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
           Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations
           of Human Rights

A number of human rights organizations including the Chadian
Human Rights League continued to operate.  These groups
published reports of human rights abuses without government
constraint.  The Transitional Parliament (CST) commissioned a
special investigation and report on the January massacres at
Abeche.  The CST also denounced human rights abuses by security
personnel in gathering fees from citizens, but its oversight of
government conduct did not lead to effective action to punish
those responsible.

The United Nations Human Rights Commission's Special Rapporteur
for Chad, Mrs. M'Bam Diarra N'Doure, President of the Human
Rights League of Mali, investigated human rights conditions in
November.  The ICRC visited Chad regularly and was allowed
access to prisons.  An international organization, the
Association for Victims of Repression in Exile has been active
in the rehabilitation of victims of torture.  A delegation of
the International Human Rights Federation visited in October
and met with President Deby.

Section 5  Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
           Disability, Language, or Social Status

The Transitional Charter provides for equal rights for all
citizens, regardless of sex, race, religion, or origin.  In
practice, however, women experience significant job
discrimination and spousal abuse.

     Women

Although the Transitional Charter provides that women have
equal rights with men, culture and tradition among various
ethnic groups perpetuate the de facto subordinate status of
women, especially in rural areas where women do much of the
heavy farm labor and have little opportunity for education or
wage employment.  Women receive one-third of the education of
men.  The law does not discriminate against women in property
and inheritance rights, but traditional practice favors men.

Several women hold high positions in the Government as well as
in commerce and the professions.  There are many women's
advocacy groups, such as the Association of Women in Distress
in Chad and the Association of Women Jurists.

Domestic violence against women, including wife beating, is
common, and women have only limited recourse against abusive
practices.  Police rarely intervene; women usually rely on
family or ethnic leaders to resolve such cases.

     Children

Neither the Transitional Charter nor other laws provide
explicitly for the rights of children, and there are few active
programs that address them.

Female Genital mutilation (FGM) is widespread and performed on
females at a young age.  The practice is deeply rooted in
tradition, both in the north and the south.  Despite its severe
adverse consequences for women's physical and mental health, it
and is strongly advocated by many Chadians, women as much as
men.  The Government took no action to prohibit this practice.

     National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities

The approximately 200 ethnic groups are roughly divided among
Saharan/Sahelian and Arab Muslims in the northern, central, and
eastern regions, and Sudanian zone ethnic groups, who practice
Christianity or animist religions, in the south.  Much of the
sustained civil conflict since 1964 has revolved around ethnic
differences.  Currently, well-armed ethnic minorities close to
the President, representing just over 1 percent of the
population, exercise authority over military and civilian
government decisions.  Ethnicity also influences ministerial
appointments.

     People with Disabilities

Although there is no official discrimination directed against
the disabled, the Government has taken no action to improve
conditions or access for disabled persons.  The disabled have
little opportunity for wage employment, advanced therapy, or
special education, although private associations for the
disabled exist and are active.

Section 6  Worker Rights

     a.  The Right of Association

The Transitional Charter specifically recognizes labor's right
to organize.  Workers are free to join or form unions of their
choice.  Only the military are prohibited from joining unions,
and government authorization is required before unions can
operate.

The right to strike and organize was generally respected.  An
exception was an April 29 decree which attempted to regulate
the right to strike, which was abrogated after widespread
protests and a brief police occupation of the labor union
headquarters which ended without violence after a few days.

Most Chadians work in subsistence agriculture or livestock
raising.  Government employees, including teachers and workers
in the few state-owned enterprises, constitute the majority of
union members.  The dominant union federation remained the
Federation of Chadian Unions (UST), whose major component is
the Teachers' Union of Chad.  A second, smaller federation, the
Free Federation of Chadian workers, continued to operate.
Neither union had organizational, financial, or procedural ties
to the Government.

Although no information is available about the outcome of
specific cases, International Labor Organization (ILO) bodies
regularly reviewed complaints from the UST against the
Government stemming from antiunion discrimination, firings,
forced retirements and other actions.  The Government's labor
relations suffered when it was not able to keep its side of a
social pact with the unions, which provided for a 10 percent
wage increase.

     b.  The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

The law does not specifically protect collective bargaining.
Both the Transitional Charter and the pre-Transition Labor Code
still in effect contain only generalized provisions for the
rights of labor.  Under the current law, the Government sets
minimum wage standards and unions may bargain collectively.

The law does not specifically prohibit antiunion
discrimination.  Although no complaints of such discrimination
were reported, there is no formal mechanism for resolving them
should they arise.

There are no export processing zones.

     c.  Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

Although there is no specific legal prohibition on forced or
compulsory labor, no evidence indicates forced or compulsory
labor occurs.

     d.  Minimum Age for Employment of Children

The law stipulates that the minimum age for employment of
children is 14 in the wage sector, but the Ministry of Civil
Service and Labor does not effectively enforce this law.  In
practice, children are rarely employed except in agriculture.
Several hundred young people between the ages of 14 and 17
reportedly serve in the armed forces.

     e.  Acceptable Conditions of Work

The Government continued to review a draft labor and social
welfare code conforming to international conventions.  Wage
standards established under previous governments remain
unchanged.

Wages remain insufficient to support subsistence, much less
maintain an adequate standard of living.  For example, the
minimum monthly professional wage in 1994 was about $46 (24,000
CFA).  In addition, salary arrears of 4 to 5 months in
N'Djamena and up to 8 months in rural areas for civil servants,
combined with no pay for some soldiers, have forced most
employees to seek other employment, engage in subsistence
agriculture, or rely on the extended family.

The law limits most nonagricultural work to 48 hours per week,
with overtime paid for supplementary hours.  Agricultural
workers are statutorily limited to 2,400 workhours per year.
All workers are entitled to 24 consecutive hours of rest per
week.  The Labor Code recognizes the need for occupational
health and safety standards, including labor inspectors with
the authority to enforce them.  There is, however, no
indication that such health and safety standards exist in
practice, nor that inspectors have been appointed.