Human rights in Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea is known for human rights abuses. Under the current government it has "limited ability of citizens to change their government; increased reports of unlawful murders of civilians by security forces; government-sanctioned kidnappings; systematic torture of prisoners and detainees by security forces; life threatening conditions in prisons and detention facilities; impunity; arbitrary arrest and detention and incommunicado detention; harassment and deportation of foreign residents with limited due process; judicial corruption and lack of due process; restrictions on the right to privacy; restrictions on freedom of speech and of the press; restrictions on the rights of assembly, association, and movement; government corruption; violence and discrimination against women; suspected trafficking in persons; discrimination against ethnic minorities; and restrictions on labor rights."[1]

Politics of Equatorial Guinea
Constitution
Government
Parliament
Administrative divisions
Elections
Foreign relations

There were multiple irregularities in the 2009 legislative elections, but they were considered an improvement over the flawed 2002 and 2004 elections.[1] There is a cult of personality in Equatorial Guinea around the leader. In order to improve his image, long time autocrat Teodoro Obiang hired Racepoint, a global marketing and public relations firm, for $60,000 a year to improve Equatorial Guinea's image.[2] Transparency International includes Equatorial Guinea as one of its most 12 corrupt states.[3][4]

Equatorial Guinea also had the death penalty. In September 2022, this was cancelled by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo and Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue.[5]

Political prisoners

In June 2007 the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention visited Equatorial Guinea and reported that political prisoners are sometimes tried by military rather than civilian courts.[6] Nongovernmental sources cited around 100 prisoners jailed for political reasons, with many held at the notorious Black Beach Prison.

According to parliamentary testimony, on October 6, 2007, Salvador Ndong Nguema, a member of the opposition party Convergence for Social Democracy (CPDS), died from torture in custody of security forces. Two members of the security forces were taken in, but released and assigned to other security duties.[1]

On March 12–13, 2009, Saturnino Ncogo Mbomio, a member of banned political party died in police detention at Evinayong, ostensibly in possession of weapons for a coup. He died from a fractured skull, allegedly gotten in a suicide attempt falling from his bunk bed.[1]

In March 2017, the Centre for Development Studies and Initiatives was ordered to suspend its activities, and its vice president Alfredo Okenve Ndoho was fined 10 million XAF and imprisoned for 16 days.[7]

In September 2017, cartoonist Ramón Esono Ebalé was imprisoned at Black Beach in Malabo for creating work critical of the ruling party in Equatorial Guinea.[8] He was released in March 2018.[9]

Historical situation

The chart shows Equatorial Guinea'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".[10]1

International treaties

Equatorial Guinea's stances on international human rights treaties are as follows:

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
  1. "Equatorial Guinea".
  2. "How a U.S. agency cleaned up Rwanda's genocide-stained image" – via The Globe and Mail.
  3. e.V., Transparency International. "Research - CPI - Overview". www.transparency.org. Archived from the original on 2019-01-12. Retrieved 2012-02-02.
  4. "Equatorial Guinea profile". 20 September 2017 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  5. "Equatorial Guinea abolishes death penalty, state television reports". TheGuardian.com. 19 September 2022.
  6. "OHCHR -". www.ohchr.org.
  7. "Equatorial Guinea: arbitrary detention and judicial harassment of Alfredo Okenve Ndoho". International Federation for Human Rights. 20 March 2019. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  8. Cavna, Michael (November 6, 2017). "An imprisoned West African graphic novelist received the Courage in Cartooning award. Will it help?". The Washington Post. Washington, DC. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  9. "Ramón Esono Ebalé Released from Prison". CARTOONISTS RIGHTS NETWORK INTERNATIONAL. 2018-03-07. Retrieved 2022-06-07.
  10. "Country ratings and status 1973-2014" (XLS). Freedom in the World. Freedom House. 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  11. 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.
  12. 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.
  13. 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.
  14. 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.
  15. 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". Archived from the original on 2019-03-24. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
  16. 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". Archived from the original on 2018-11-16. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
  17. 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.
  18. 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.
  19. 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.
  20. 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.
  21. 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.
  22. 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.
  23. 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". Archived from the original on 2011-05-20. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
  24. 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". Archived from the original on 2016-04-25. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
  25. 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". Archived from the original on 2013-12-13. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
  26. 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.
  27. 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.
  28. 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". Archived from the original on 2019-07-17. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
  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". Archived from the original on 2012-07-18. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
  30. 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.
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