Human rights records throughout region "poor", says US

The human rights records of governments throughout the Central Africa region remained "poor" in 2002 and early 2003, according to a report from the US State Department released on Tuesday. The report, "Supporting Human Rights and Democracy: The US Record 2002 -2003", issued by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, stated that democracy efforts and human rights in Africa faced severe challenges resulting from continuing conflict, weak institutions and leadership, disunity among racial, linguistic, religious, and ethnic groups, corruption, and poor governance. In addition to describing the main human rights violations in each of the countries, the report detailed US efforts to engage government authorities in addressing such deficiencies. In Burundi, the government continued to commit numerous serious abuses, as its security forces committed arbitrary and unlawful killings with impunity, according to the report. The armed forces killed armed rebels and unarmed civilians, including women, children and the elderly, while security forces continued to torture, beat and rape people. In the Central African Republic, the 15 March coup replaced a government whose human rights record, "some limited improvements aside", remained poor in 2002 and early 2003. Security forces continued to commit arbitrary and unlawful killings, according to the report, and police continued to torture, beat, and otherwise abuse suspects and prisoners. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), "although there were improvements in some areas", serious problems remained, according to the report. The security forces were responsible for unlawful killings, torture, beatings, rape, extortion and the arbitrary arrest and detention of citizens, while prison conditions remained harsh and life threatening. In the Republic of Congo, the government continued to commit "serious abuses" with security forces responsible for extrajudicial killings, summary executions, rape, beatings, physical abuse of detainees and citizens, arbitrary arrest and detention, and theft, the report alleged. Prison conditions were poor, and the judiciary was unable to ensure fair and expeditious trials. Rebel militias also committed serious human rights abuses, and actions by both the army and the rebels caused the flow of at least 65,000 internally displaced people from the Pool region. In Rwanda, the majority of human rights abuses committed by security forces were in the neighbouring DRC, the report said. Security forces beat suspects; and arbitrary arrest, detention, and prolonged pretrial detention remained serious problems. The judiciary was subject to executive influence and did not always ensure due process or expeditious trials, while the government continued to conduct genocide trials at a slow pace. In Tanzania, where there have been improvements in respect for human rights in recent years, the government's overall record remained poor, according to the report. Police were more disciplined during the year; however, members of the police and security forces committed unlawful killings and mistreated suspected criminals. The most serious violations of human rights resulted from election-related violence in Zanzibar in 2001 that left approximately 30 persons dead, 300 seriously injured and more than 2,000 displaced. The US said it was buttressing African efforts to improve human rights through election support and corporate responsibility programmes. "We have focused on efforts to resolve conflicts, defuse religious tensions, and strengthen rule of law, free media, and civil society," it stated. "We continue to seek ways to expand capacity building and to professionalise African militaries." The State Department said that the African Growth and Opportunity Act encouraged reform efforts while the Millennium Challenge Account, President George W. Bush's initiative to produce new accountability and results in foreign aid, also stood to benefit Africa "in an enormous way". [For the complete report, go to www.state.gov]