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TITLE: EQUATORIAL GUINEA HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT, 1993
DATE: JANUARY 31, 1994
AUTHOR: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
EQUATORIAL GUINEA
Nominally, since 1991 Equatorial Guinea has had a
constitutional democratic government with judicial integrity
and multiparty elections for national offices. The reality is
that President Obiang, in power since 1979, and a small group
of his associates dominate the executive, legislative, and
judiciary, and make no meaningful distinction among the
branches of government or its party, the Democratic Party of
Equatorial Guinea (DPEG). Fraudulent legislative elections
took place in November with the DPEG winning 68 seats out of 80
in the National Assembly. Boycotting the elections were the
main opposition parties and an estimated 60 to 80 percent of
the potential voters. The new Cabinet was made up exclusively
of DPEG members and was expanded from 34 to 42 portfolios.
As the country's senior military officer, Head of State, and
government-party chief, Brigadier General Obiang also dominates
the military and police. Obiang's brother, Armengol Ondo
Nguema, heads the security apparatus, which is responsible for
frequent and severe human rights violations, usually inflicted
to intimidate the population. The authorities took no
meaningful action against any security force member accused of
human rights violations. The large Moroccan Presidential Guard
in country since 1979 departed in August, leaving an estimated
20 Moroccan police to provide protection for the President. A
French-trained and -equipped special force of 200-250 persons,
raised largely from Mongomo youth (Obiang's area), replaced the
Moroccan Presidential Guard.
Equatorial Guineans live increasingly by subsistence
agriculture as well as traditional hunting and fishing. The
small monetary sector, based on export of petroleum, timber,
and cocoa, and heavily subsidized by foreign assistance, has
recovered somewhat from the devastation of the Macias era
(1968-1979) but is far short of preindependence levels. The
Government failed to implement needed economic reforms, and as
a result, the International Monetary Fund in August suspended
an enhanced structural adjustment program agreed to in
January. Pervasive corruption stifles private sector
development and discourages legitimate investment from abroad.
The great majority of the population goes without potable
water, electricity, even minimal health care, or basic
education.
The overall human rights performance deteriorated
dramatically. Despite the historic agreement in March on a
National Pact between the Government and opposition parties for
political reform, and despite its public promises of an open
and free electoral process, the Government continued to repress
perceived opposition and to control the outcome of the
legislative elections. There were extrajudicial killings by
the security forces--in numbers unknown since the 1970's--and
numerous arbitrary arrests, short-term detentions, and
extensive instances of physical abuse of perceived
antigovernment elements. Where prosecution was desired, the
Government used military tribunals which failed to meet minimum
international standards for fair trial. The regime also
attempted intimidation against foreign diplomats, including
expulsion of the Spanish Consul General at Bata as well as
thinly veiled threats by the regime against the Ambassadors of
Spain and the United States.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including
Freedom from:
a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing
There were at least six politically motivated killings, the
highest number in the 14 years since Obiang came to power.
Four of the deaths were opposition party members and two were
members of a minority group protesting government repression on
the remote island of Annobon. The Government did not
investigate seriously any of the incidents.
Police detained Damaso Abaga Nve, an activist in the Popular
Union Party (PU), without warrant in late March in Ebebiyin,
the capital of Kie Ntiem province in the continental portion of
Equatorial Guinea. According to credible sources, he died
during the night of March 30 after police beat him severely. A
committee appointed by the compliance commission, established
by the National Pact, investigated and reported that Abaga had
been illegally detained on oral orders from a senior local
official, that he had died as the result of head injuries
inflicted by the police while in custody, and that senior
authorities had attempted to cover up the truth of his death.
Not having prosecutorial authority, the commission called on
the Government to investigate and take appropriate legal
actions. The Government did not follow up, claiming Nve had
been found dead after his release from detention.
Similarly, police detained arbitrarily Gaspar Mba Oyono, a PU
activist, and several others without warrant in late June in
the district capital of Nsok Nsomo, Kie Ntiem province.
According to credible reports, he was extensively tortured
during 5 days. Because of massive internal hemorrhaging, upon
release Mba's family took him to the Kie Ntiem provincial
hospital at Ebebiyin where he died 4 days later. The
Government did not acknowledge the death to be related to
mistreatment during detention.
On August 22, security personnel, led by a cabinet member,
forced their entry into the hotel room of Moises Andres Mba
Ada, the leader of the Popular Union Party who had returned
from long exile the previous day, and apprehended Pedro Motu
Mamiaga, a longtime PU political activist. Motu had spent
years in prison during both the Macias and Obiang regimes and
had returned from exile in late July. When Motu demanded to
see a written order for his detention, police severely beat him
by blows from rifle butts as well as kicks and punches as the
arresting team attempted to force him into a police car.
Motu's cries of alarm and struggle attracted the attention of
numerous passersby, and eyewitnesses reported that Motu was
severely injured during his arrest and removal. He died during
the night while in custody as a result of severe further
torture by Secretary of State for National Security Manuel
Nguemba Mba. The Government announced the next day that Motu
had admitted to being the leader of a plot to overthrow the
Government and kill Obiang, and, out of remorse, had committed
suicide. However, the Government refused to return the remains
to the family, buried him at an unknown site, and provided no
written evidence that Motu was involved in a plot or medical
proof that he had committed suicide (see also Section 1.e.).
On August 28 near the town of Bata, four youths had a
nonpolitical altercation with Romualdo Rafael Nsogo, an
activist in the Convergence for Social Democracy (CFDS). Nsogo
claimed he defended himself with a knife, killing one and
wounding another. Despite its lack of jurisdiction in the
matter, a military tribunal on September 18 took 1 day to
convict Nsogo of first degree murder, and a military firing
squad executed him the following day (see Section 1.e.).
On August 13, on the remote island of Annobon, the local
security detachment used excessive force in handling an
incident in which a number of the island's youths, protesting
economic conditions on the island, held hostage the island's
Governor and military commander. In the assault, the security
forces killed an innocent bystander, Simplicio Llorente Yaye,
and later shot and killed one of the young activists, Manuel
Villarrubia, as he attempted to escape. The authorities
arrested 21 others, many of whom had taken no part in the
holding of the officials, and the security forces, according to
credible reports, tortured some of the detainees before taking
them to Bata, where they were tried by a military tribunal for
rebellion and supporting Annobon's secession from Equatorial
Guinea (see Section 1.e.). Eight were convicted in a 1-day
trial in September, but they were pardoned in October; the
other 15 were released without charge but were not returned to
Annobon.
b. Disappearance
There were no documented disappearances. However, families
were often at a loss for days to locate and contact relatives
who had been extrajudicially detained. This was particularly
true of active duty and former military personnel held at
military camps.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment
Police and other security forces continued routinely to
administer torture and other cruel forms of mistreatment to
prisoners. Authorities employed a wide variety of techniques,
including severe beatings, electric shock, pouring irritants
such as diesel fuel on the skin, and hanging trussed victims
from poles and wall hooks. In the case of perceived enemies of
the Government, the primary motives for physical and
psychological torture often appeared to be to punish and
intimidate more than to interrogate or gain confessions.
Police often detained known or suspected opposition supporters
only long enough to administer a beating. A common punishment
session involved 50 or 75 strokes with a rubber truncheon or
short length of electrical power cable on the soles of the
feet, back, buttocks, or other parts of the body. Police also
employed truncheon blows over the kidneys, leaving short-term
hemorrhaging and possible permanent damage, blows to the head,
and open-handed slaps over ear openings causing excruciating
pain and in some cases leaving permanent injury.
In one well documented case, in January the Government arrested
three well-known politicians returning from abroad:
Benjamin-Gabriel Balinga Alene, Secretary General of the Social
Democratic Party (SDP); Antonio Ebang Mbele, President of the
Democratic Progressive Alliance (DPA); and Estanislau Don
Malavo, a senior adviser in the Liberal Party (LP). The
Government announced to the public over television and radio
and to the diplomatic corps by formal note that the three had
attempted to enter the country clandestinely at an unauthorized
crossing point near Ebebiyin, when in fact they presented
themselves for inspection at the Ebebiyin entry point. Despite
assurances to the public and foreign diplomats of fair
treatment, the authorities took detainees to Bata where they
underwent several hours of torture which included truncheon
blows to the lower back and to the soles of the feet, followed
by being forced to jump up and down. Ten months following the
incident, the three still suffered; Don Malavo, in particular,
suffered from kidney damage.
In the trial of the nine active duty or former military members
(see Section 1.e.), all of the accused had been tortured
following their arrests in August. At the trial, according to
a reliable source, it was apparent that Sergeant Jacinto Nculu
Abaga had been so recently tortured that he could not gesture
with either hand; his face was marked; and he walked
unsteadily, likely the result of blows to his ears affecting
balance and coordination.
Prison conditions continued to be extremely harsh and life
threatening, but no deaths were attributed directly to those
conditions. With no professional medical attention, no hygiene
facilities in the holding cells beyond slop cans, and limited
food for prisoners, families or friends must take food to
detainees in the morning and evening. Female prisoners are not
singled out for rape or mistreatment, but women prisoners are
not securely separated from men. In October the prison
authorities kept the 49 prisoners at Bata, including 3 women,
locked in their cells for all but two short periods at dawn and
sundown. In December at the main police station in Bata, 28
persons--1 opposition activist and 27 university students,
including 5 women and 1 Roman Catholic priest--were confined
and tortured for a week in a single room without sanitary
facilities.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
Despite constitutional provisions, there was little enforcement
of the rights of persons in detention to be charged or released
within a reasonable period of time, to have access to a lawyer,
or to be released on bail. Arbitrary arrests in nonpolitical
cases by national security forces were commonplace, often on
spurious charges, in order to extort money or to gain personal
revenge. Non-Guinean Africans--mainly petty traders from
Nigeria, Cameroon, and Ghana--were often targets of extortion
by regime agents. Detainees were frequently held incommunicado.
The number of known detainees at any one time does not reflect
the many more who passed through police and special forces
custody for brief periods of time. Many detainees were
physically mistreated, administratively fined by their captors,
and released without being arraigned before a court. During
the National Pact negotiations in February, the opposition
produced a list of 64 names of political detainees, none of
whom had been processed in the civil courts; most of them were
released by April. During widespread detentions in August, the
number of political detainees probably exceeded 100 for a
time. Banishment to home villages--for which there is no legal
provision--continued to be used against perceived political
opponents, particularly former members of the security forces.
Following legislative elections in November, more than 100
persons were detained for various periods, allegedly for
offenses ranging from holding political meetings to promoting
the boycott of the elections. These detentions for the most
part took place in rural towns and villages of the continental
portion of the country.
The number of political and security prisoners held at the end
of 1993 was approximately 50; perhaps as many as 500
politically inspired detentions took place during the year.
While the Government officially welcomes back exiles, it did
not evidence a serious interest in promoting their return or
offering support once back home. The majority of returned
exiles are considered by the Government to be political enemies
and, as a result, were unable to obtain government
employment--despite qualifications--or to engage in the private
sector without harassment. Discouraged and in some cases
intimidated by detentions, several former exiles who had
returned since 1992 and had became active in politics went
abroad again.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
There is no effective separation between the executive and the
judiciary. All personnel of the judicial system, from clerks
to Supreme Court justices, serve at the pleasure of the
President. The executive branch acts with little respect for
judicial independence.
There is a formal court structure with the Supreme Court at the
apex, and also military and customary (traditional) court
systems. Traditional laws and customs are honored when not in
conflict with national law. The Council provided for in the
Constitution to decide constitutional issues was established in
1993; of its five members, only three--including the Chief
Justice--are fully trained lawyers.
The nation's mixture of traditional law, military law, and
Franco-era Spanish rules and procedures results in an
inconsistent system of justice, but one which the Government
evinced little serious interest in reforming. Corruption is
pervasive, in part because judges and court officials are
poorly paid and trained. Appellate proceedings are virtually
nonexistent. Defendants unable to afford legal counsel stand
little chance of acquittal. With perhaps 5 notable exceptions,
most of the country's few lawyers (approximately 36) depend on
their connections to the regime for a livelihood, raising
questions about their impartiality toward defendants.
In a clear trend during 1993, the Government preferred not to
bring political cases before the civilian court system, relying
instead on short-term detentions to intimidate its critics.
Where trials were seen as useful politically, the authorities
employed military tribunals even for civilian defendants or
conducted unfair civilian proceedings.
Military tribunals heard three cases in September which did not
meet international standards of fair trial. On September 11 in
Bata, a military tribunal took 1 day to hear the case against
23 Annobonese civilians (2 in absentia) for attempting to
overthrow the State (see Section 1.a.). With no qualified
attorneys representing the accused, the military tribunal
sentenced the two who had led the protest, Orlando Cartegena
Lagar and Francisco Medina Catalan, to 28 years in prison and
six others to 20 years in prison. It released the other 15
individuals but did not permit their return to Annobon.
Subsequently, in celebration of the 25th anniversary of
independence, on October 11 Obiang pardoned the eight condemned
Annobonese. He simultaneously promoted 14 security force
members who had participated in the August killings and torture
on Annobon.
A military tribunal on September 17 found Romualdo Rafael
Nsogo, a member of the opposition CPDS, guilty of first degree
murder. A military firing squad executed him the next day (see
Section 1.a.). Guinean civil law experts said that the process
flagrantly violated the country's legal standards as the
military had no jurisdiction over an all-civilian matter, that
Nsogo did not have trained defense counsel, that the defendant
did not have the right of appeal, and that the death sentence
was not confirmed by another court as required in capital
cases. Nsogo would likely have been processed in a civil court
on a lesser charge had it not been for his membership in the
opposition party.
On September 23-24, in a case that grew out of the conspiracy
claimed by the Government to have involved Pedro Motu Mamiaga
(see Section 1.a.), a closed military tribunal in Malabo tried
nine active duty and former military members for conspiracy,
rebellion, and defaming and insulting the Head of State. The
military court found the accused guilty, including Sergeant
Jacinto Nculu Abaga, who received 24 years in prison. The only
accused represented by a qualified lawyer, a civilian, was
released.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence
Although required by the Constitution, search warrants are not
used. The regime frequently places under surveillance persons
it deems suspicious. Many believe telephone conversations are
routinely monitored. There is systematic interference with
correspondence, and there were three attempts by the Government
to inspect sealed diplomatic pouches of Spain and the United
States.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
The Constitution provides for freedom of speech and press.
However, in practice, neither exists.
Most citizens are compelled to practice self-censorship of
political expression. Any vocal dissenter or associate of a
dissenter puts at risk employment, access to public services,
and even life. For a time in 1993, the regime relaxed its
usual heavy media censorship of dissent. The political
opposition appeared nightly on television during the
February-March National Pact negotiations. However, following
its signing, the government-controlled media reverted to
featuring the party of the regime and emphasizing the
personality cult of the President as the sole benefactor of the
country. Opposition voices that gained occasional access to
television after March were dissidents within parties
reflecting intraparty bickering and those parties which had
come to terms with the Government to participate in the flawed
electoral process.
The security apparatus usually equates criticism of the regime
with treason; and tries to prevent distribution of printed
materials unfavorable to the regime. There is no free press.
The controlled media consistently reported on alleged
international plots to back opposition parties and of efforts
to destabilize the Government. The principal targets for these
claims were Spain and the United States which were accused of
working in concert with the three main opposition parties--the
Party of Progress (PP), Popular Union, and the Convergence for
Social Democracy.
Academic freedom is nonexistent.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
The right of assembly and association is provided for in the
Constitution. However, any gathering of more than 10 persons
for discussions that the regime considers political, even in
private homes, is illegal without permission.
Legalized opposition parties experienced difficulty in holding
even private meetings outside of the capital. Contrary to the
law, security officials routinely ignore or deny requests by
the opposition to hold public meetings, and even when approved
there usually is harassment from security and other officials,
particularly outside the capital. None of the opposition's
dozen or so public meetings was given media coverage. However,
the political party of the regime, the DPEG, held hundreds of
public and in-house meetings which were given daily coverage in
the media.
On August 21, the prominent leader of the Popular Union, Andres
Moises Mba Ada, returned to Malabo from 12 years in exile. His
return witnessed an unprecedented show of popular support as
several thousand people appeared at the airport and along the
highway into town. Later a few hundred were gathered peaceably
outside party headquarters when security forces arrived and
without warning violently disbursed the crowd with truncheons
and rifle butts, detaining over 30 and injuring a number of
others who required hospitalization. The regime claimed the
crowd was blocking the street.
c. Freedom of Religion
Equatorial Guinea does not have an official state religion, and
freedom of religion is generally respected, though ministers of
religion are prohibited by law from being members of parties or
making statements critical of regime officials or institutions.
Christianity, mainly Roman Catholicism, is the predominant
religion, often interspersed with traditional religious
practices. The Islamic and Baha'i faiths are also practiced
openly. Jehovah's Witnesses was officially recognized as a
legally inscribed religion in January 1994. Even prior to
recognition, Witnesses had been able to open a center in Malabo
and hold regular services. Proselytizing by Protestant
denominations and construction of new churches were also
permitted. Foreign clergy and missionaries continue to have an
active role in education and health.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign
Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation
Contrary to the Constitution and specific commitments by the
Government with the opposition in the March National Pact,
movement within the country by opposition politicians was
routinely impeded by authorities; passports were routinely
confiscated; and exit visas, required for nationals as well as
foreigners, routinely denied, not only to perceived opponents
but to their families as well, including for medical treatment
abroad. Transportation aboard the government-owned aircraft
and passenger ship was occasionally denied to opposition
politicians, who reportedly were told the transportation was
for government-party loyalists only.
Other citizens generally may travel freely within the country.
However, poorly trained and paid police often extort payments
for passage through traffic checkpoints on major roads.
There are in general restrictions on travel abroad, including
lengthy delays in obtaining passports and the required exit
permit. Many citizens leave the country without formal
documentation for both economic and political reasons to reside
abroad, mostly in Gabon, Cameroon, Spain, and France. The
principal receiving country was Gabon, where an estimated
100,000-135,000 Guineans have settled over the years.
There was one political refugee living in Equatorial Guinea who
had been documented by the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens
to Change Their Government
President Obiang remains the source of political power.
Citizens do not have the right to change their government by
democratic means. There have been no free elections since
1968. All government employees--judges, legislators, mayors,
civil servants, and security forces--serve at the pleasure of
the President.
While President Obiang's political party, the Democratic Party
of Equatorial Guinea (DPEG), is no longer the sole legal party,
it continued to monopolize the political system. Obiang
acknowledged in July that the DPEG was supported by public
funds. The DPEG continued to receive dues from all government
employees, including employees in state-owned enterprises, in
violation of agreements made by the Government in the National
Pact.
In the legislative elections in November, 8 of the 13 legalized
opposition political parties, as well as the United Nations and
most of the international community, concluded a priori that
the electoral process--from voter registration to vote
counting--lacked minimal standards of fairness. While there
was no violence during the elections, there were widespread
indications of irregularities committed by the Government,
including multiple voting by individuals, vote padding, and
miscounting. The Constitution does not require presidential
elections until 1993.
Women and minorities are seriously underrepresented in the
political process. In 1993, for the first time, a number of
women opposition members became outspoken about the regime's
excesses and the need for peaceful change following the
extrajudicial death of political activist Pedro Motu Mamiaga in
August. In November, 3 women, all of the Government's party,
won seats in the 80-member legislature. This is down from the
8 who sat in the previous 60-member body. Two women were
appointed to the 34-member Cabinet, as the Minister and the
Vice Minister for Women's and Social Affairs. There is one
woman judge in the judiciary, a small scattering of women among
the senior levels of the Civil Service, and a handful of women
in noncommissioned and junior-service ranks of the security
services.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations
of Human Rights
There are no local, nongovernmental human rights groups; none
would be permitted to criticize openly the Government's human
rights abuses. The Equatorial Guinean Human Rights Commission
formed in 1991 by President Obiang remained dormant.
The President rejected out of hand the annual report on human
rights in Equatorial Guinea prepared by the United Nations
Human Rights Commission's (UNHRC) special rapporteur, Fernando
Volio Jimenez. As has been the case since the first
UNHRC-approved plan of action made in 1980 by Professor Volio,
the Government did not respond to, or act upon, recommendations
approved at the Commission's annual meeting in March.
The Government did permit the newly-appointed UNHRC Special
Rapporteur, Alejandro Artucio, and human rights consultant
Eduardo Duhalde to visit in October and December. While the
two had wide contact with the general public, visited the two
main prisons, and called on President Obiang, few members of
the Government were willing to receive them.
A special U.N. mission and two pairs of U.N. expert consultants
traveled to Equatorial Guinea in April and July to assess the
electoral process as well as the human rights situation.
However, the Government rejected virtually all recommendations
and offers of assistance extended by the United Nations and
supported by the resident donor community.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) continued
to visit Equatorial Guinea regularly but apparently did not
reach agreement with the Government on prisoner visitation
programs. Amnesty International maintained close watch through
in-country contacts and published extensively on the human
rights situation.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
Disability, Language, or Social Status
Women
Although the Constitution and laws provide for equal rights for
women, they are largely confined by custom to traditional
roles, especially in agriculture. Polygyny, which is
widespread among the Fang, contributes to the secondary status
accorded women by society. According to U.N. data, females
receive only one-fifth as much schooling as males. The
Ministry for the Promotion of Women focuses on agriculture,
handicrafts, and vocational and semiprofessional training. It
is interested in developing women's agricultural cooperatives
and enrolling more women in the country's postsecondary schools.
There is discrimination against women regarding inheritance and
family laws. For an estimated 90 percent of the women in the
country--i.e., virtually all ethnic groups except the
Bubi--tradition dictates that if a marriage is dissolved, the
woman must return the dowry given her family by the bridegroom
at the time of marriage and the husband automatically receives
custody of all children from the union. Similarly, in the
Fang, Ndowe, and Bisio cultures, primogeniture is practiced
and, as women become members of their husband's families upon
marriage, they are usually not accorded inheritance rights. In
theory, women may buy and sell property as well as goods, but
in practice, the male-dominated society permits few women to
have access to sufficient funds to engage in more than petty
trading or to purchase real property beyond a garden plot or
modest home.
Violence against women, particularly wife beating, is common,
according to medical professionals.
Children
The Government has given little attention to children's welfare
issues, and there are no groups that specifically address the
needs of children. Child abuse is uncommon.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Although the law provides for equal treatment for all citizens,
all ethnic groups are not granted the same rights and
privileges. The Fang comprise 83 percent of the population,
the Bubi 10 percent, and other groups--primarily closely
related to the Fang--the remainder. A small number of Fang
clans, especially those of the President and relatives by
marriage, dominate all aspects of the regime as well as the
economy and social life. Discrimination against the Bubi and
Fernandino of Bioko Island, the Annobonese, and the Ndowe and
associated coastal groups from the continent, is consistent,
whether in the granting of political office or the approval of
academic scholarships.
Although all ethnic groups were represented in the Cabinet,
only Fang occupied positions of real power. Following the
November elections, the expanded (from 60 to 80 seats)
legislature and the enlarged (from 34 to 42 members) Cabinet
diluted the number and potential influence of minorities in
those bodies. Virtually all members of the security forces, as
well as the presidential household, are Fang, and all policy
and command positions in government are dominated by the
President's closest ethnic associates from Mongomo.
For the first time since independence in 1968, a minority
ethnic group made its political presence felt. An underground
Bubi-interest group emerged shortly before the November
elections and publicly demanded a referendum on the island's
independence. Calling itself the "Movement for the
Self-Determination of Bioko Island" (MSBI), the group
spearheaded an electoral abstention rate estimated at 90-95
percent among the Bubi, the island's largest ethnic group.
People with Disabilities
There is no constitutional or legal provision for the
physically disabled with respect to discrimination in
employment, education, or provision of other state services.
The Government has not enacted legislation mandating
accessibility for the disabled.
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
The right to organize unions is provided for in the
Constitution. However, no enabling legislation has been
passed, and in the small wage-economy no labor organizations
exist, although there are a few cooperatives with limited
power. Strikes are prohibited by law. There is a Labor Code
which aims to uphold the dignity of the worker, but it is not
generally enforced.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
There is no legislation regarding these rights or addressing
antiunion discrimination and no evidence of collective
bargaining by any group. Wages are set by the Government and
the employers, with little or no input by workers. The
employer must meet the minimum wage set by the Government, and
most companies pay above the government established minimum.
The Labor Code has served as a useful law in the mediation of
selected cases involving compensation to discharged workers.
There are no export processing or free trade zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
Forced labor and slavery are prohibited by law, and slavery
does not exist. However, numerous convicted prisoners and
persons detained without formal charges perform day labor in
households and businesses, on farms, and at residential
construction sites of senior officials, including the
presidential household. There is no monetary compensation for
forced labor, although two meals a day are accorded some
household help. The workweek is often 7 days for prison
laborers.
d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children
The legal minimum age for employment is 16, but there is no
enforcement of this law. Children younger than 16 commonly
assist rural families with agricultural production and in town
in street vending.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
There is only a small industrial sector in the country. Most
salaried employment is provided by the Government, construction
companies, businesses providing retail goods and services, and
the plantation agricultural sector.
A sliding scale of minimum wages was established in 1990.
Entry-level positions begin at approximately $47 (CFA 14,000)
per month. However, the minimum wage law is not widely
enforced, and agricultural workers frequently receive less than
prescribed by law. Government employees are explicitly
exempted from the minimum wage law's provisions. The minimum
wage by itself does not provide a worker and family with a
decent living, and most of those with regular salaried income
have to supplement their earnings with income from other
sources or by farming.
The law limits the regular workweek to 48 hours and guarantees
employees 1 24-hour rest period per week, plus regularly
scheduled national holidays. The Labor Code offers
comprehensive protection for workers from occupational hazards,
but the Ministry of Labor does not effectively enforce the
standards. Safety and health committees which are explicitly
sanctioned by the Code do not function, and employees who
protest unhealthy or dangerous working conditions risk losing
their jobs.
[end of document]
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