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TITLE: TOGO HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1993
DATE: JANUARY 31, 1994
AUTHOR: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
TOGO
During 1993 President Gnassingbe Eyadema continued to
consolidate effective state power. He arbitrarily declared the
termination as of December 31, 1992, of the transitional
government including the legislative High Council of the
Republic (HCR), which had been appointed by the National
Conference in 1991. In January he reappointed as Prime
Minister Joseph Kokou Koffigoh, whose Government, though
nominally independent, cooperated closely with the President
throughout the year and regularly took policy positions
consistent with Eyadema's views. On August 25, Eyadena won
reelection as President in an electoral process marred by
serious irregularities and by the nonparticipation of all major
opposition candidates and a majority of Togo's registered
voters. The opposition, known as the Collective for Democratic
Opposition (COD II), and the HCR rejected the President's
moves, including installation of the Koffigoh Government, as
unconstitutional.
Toward year's end, the Government began preparations for
legislative elections to be held in early 1994. The Government
agreed to meet some opposition demands concerning technical
election preparations but did not accede to broader political
demands. Some opposition parties declared their intention to
boycott the polls on the basis that genuinely free elections
were not possible under prevailing circumstances, while others
planned to participate provided that conditions they considered
necessary were met.
The President's power rests on his control of the security
forces, especially the army which is largely composed of
officers (90 percent) and soldiers (70 percent) from the
President's northern ethnic group. The Togolese security
forces, numbering approximately 13,000, consist primarily of
the army, navy, air force, national police (Surete), and
gendarmerie. The Interior Minister is nominally responsible
for the national police, whose director reports in reality to
the President. The Defense Minister nominally supervises the
other Togolese security forces but, in fact, they report
through the General Staff to President Eyadema. Security
forces committed various human rights abuses. The call for the
creation of a politically neutral special security force with
the task of providing election security was one of the key
demands cited by the opposition and independent labor unions in
launching the November 1992-July 1993 general strike, along
with a demand for a declaration of neutrality by the army and a
reshuffling of the Cabinet of Ministers to include more
opposition representatives.
About 80 percent of its 3.4 million people are engaged in
subsistence agriculture, but the country also has an active
commercial sector. Togo has an annual per capita gross
domestic product of less than $500. The 8-month general strike
severely damaged both the public and private sectors of the
economy. Declining prices for Togo's principal exports
(phosphates, coffee, cocoa, and cotton) continued to affect the
economy adversely.
The human rights situation deteriorated significantly in 1993,
with the President turning back the clock on democratic
progress and with the security forces engaging in massive
abuses, including political killings and intimidation of
political opponents and the press. During the year, several
hundred thousand people became displaced or temporarily fled
the country for safety, and the political opposition became
increasingly divided, with some of its partisans committing
serious abuses. The President frequently benefited from the
pattern of army violence, which intimidated the opposition and
strengthened his hold on power.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including
Freedom from:
a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing
Government security forces and, to a lesser extent, opposition
partisans were responsible for political and extrajudicial
killings. On January 25 and 30, members of the security forces
committed a series of extrajudicial killings. In the January
25 incident in Lome, the forces fired on crowds of unarmed
opposition demonstrators, numbering in the thousands, killing
at least 19 and wounding many more, according to credible human
rights sources.
Between January 26 and 30, unknown assailants (but suspected to
be opposition militants) killed and wounded at least four
members of the security forces in Lome, primarily in
opposition-dominated neighborhoods. The military and the
Government blamed COD-II for the killings. On January 30,
members of the security forces responded to these attacks by
firing indiscriminately for a period of 8 hours in various Lome
neighborhoods, killing at least 12 people and wounding 31 or
more. Security forces ransacked several houses belonging to
opposition leaders and looted over 20 stores. Much higher
figures of dead and wounded have been cited for the January 25
and 30 attacks, but these could not be confirmed. The January
30 incident provoked the flight of more than 250,000 Togolese
to neighboring countries. In addition, roughly 125,000 were
displaced within the country as primarily Lome residents fled
the capital's violence for the relatively peaceful countryside.
On March 25, in an attack credibly attributed to armed Togolese
oppositionists, a group of commandos, some based in Ghana,
attacked Lome's main military camp, killing General
Mawulikplimi Amegi, President Eyadema's personal military Chief
of Staff, and severely wounding the Commander of the
Presidential Guard, Lt. Col. Gnandi Akpo, who later died of his
injuries. The apparent aim of the attack was to kill President
Eyadema. In retaliation, over a period of several days
security forces summarily executed at least 20 Togolese, mainly
soldiers. The victims included Colonel Koffi Tepe, Deputy
Chief of Staff of the armed forces, who was later accused
publicly by the Defense Minister of involvement in the March 25
attack, two of Tepe's sons, and one nephew. Well over 300
soldiers sought refuge in Ghana and Benin. Victims of the
purge appear to have included soldiers suspected of involvement
in the March 25 attack, those thought to have opposition or
democratic tendencies, and some simply belonging to southern
ethnic groups.
It was unknown whether these extrajudicial killings referred to
above and variously attributed to elements of the Government or
the opposition were specifically directed by higher authorities
on either side. The Government took no effective action to
arrest or punish the perpetrators of any of the January or
March attacks. It did issue a warrant for the arrest of
opposition political leader Gilchrist Olympio, which was later
withdrawn when Olympio officially declared his candidacy for
the Presidency. COD-II members denied involvement in the March
25 attack.
Political and extrajudicial killings continued throughout the
year. For example, on April 15, members of the security forces
in Cinkasse, northern Togo, shot to death three anti-Eyadema
demonstrators. On election eve, August 24, members of the
security forces in Lome shot and killed gas station attendant
Joseph Akara and wounded Louis Amedome, Secretary-General in
the Mayor's office of Lome, as the two passed close to the
Ghana border during the night. Government spokesmen
subsequently claimed that the security forces had thus foiled a
cross-border incursion by oppositionists, although no evidence
of involvement in the purported incursion by Akara or Amedome
was presented. On August 26-27, 19 persons died under
mysterious circumstances while in police custody. The 19, as
well as others, had been arrested in Agbandi and Diguina, near
Blitta, central Togo, for their alleged destruction of polling
places on election day, August 25. They were beaten at the
time of arrest, and, according to credible reports, the 19 died
of suffocation because of confinement in a cramped, airless
cell. Among those who died were four young boys, aged between
12 and 15. The Government claimed, unconvincingly, that the
fatalities were caused by poisoned food brought by the victims'
friends and relatives.
b. Disappearance
No confirmed cases of disappearances were reported during
1993.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment
Although detailed information was lacking, there were plausible
reports that Togo's security forces tortured detainees on
several occasions in 1993, including, according to the defense
lawyer, the suspects in a July political bombing case (see
Section 1.e.). Torture appears most commonly to take the form
of severe beatings. Detainees are frequently beaten by the
security forces after arrest.
Prison conditions remained very harsh, with serious
overcrowding and inadequate food and medical care. The
International Committee of the Red Cross and local private
organizations are allowed access to prisons for monitoring
purposes with advance government permission.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
Under long-standing Togolese law, persons arrested may be held
incommunicado without charge for 48 hours, with an additional
48-hour extension in cases deemed serious or complex. In
practice, most detentions conform to this provision. However,
prisoners may legally be detained without bail for lengthy
periods once they have appeared before a judge. Bail is rarely
granted for serious crimes. Access is normally granted to
family members and attorneys after the initial 48- or 96-hour
detention period. Warrants are issued by a judge or senior
police official. Although detainees have the right to be
informed of the charges against them, this is not always done
in practice. Pretrial investigation is conducted by a special
judge who examines the adequacy of the evidence and decides on
bail.
Nevertheless, the shortage of qualified judicial personnel,
especially judges, the lack of training and material resources,
and official indifference have produced a backlog of prisoners
who are held for long periods of time--in some cases 1 to 3
years--before being brought to trial. Most pretrial detainees
are accused of common crimes, but a few are accused of
politically motivated crimes. The Government frequently used
brief investigative detentions of less than 48 hours, some of
which were related to the detainee's opposition political
activity. For example, Alessi Wilson, the treasurer of the
Togolese Human Rights League, was held by authorities for more
than a day due to his investigation of the killing of Isaac
Gbikbi.
The number of political detainees held by the Government at
year's end was unknown, but there were at least several,
despite government denials. Ex-Corporal Bikagni Nikabou, who
was alleged to have smuggled arms into Togo for use by
opposition militants, has been detained without trial since
October 1992. His father and brother, who were arrested
shortly thereafter, continued to be detained without charges
being brought against them.
In 1993 there were no persons formally exiled from Togo.
However, most opposition leaders left Togo for an extended
period for reasons of personal safety following the January 30
random shootings in Lome. Subsequently, most top opposition
leaders returned to Togo by July.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
The judicial system, while formally independent of the
Government, is subject to intervention and manipulation by the
executive branch. This was most evident in the 1993 Supreme
Court's decision to exclude Gilchrist Olympio from the
presidential race.
The judicial system employs both African traditional law and
the Napoleonic Code in trying criminal and civil cases. The
Supreme Court stands at the apex of the court system. Special
courts exist to handle cases related to public security (State
Security Court), embezzlement of public funds (Tribunal for
Recovery of Public Funds), and violent crimes (Court of
Assizes). The State Security Court has not convened in recent
years.
The court system remained overburdened and understaffed (see
Section 1.d.). The result was a serious impediment to the
delivery of justice. Trials are open to the public, and
judicial procedures are respected. Defendants have the right
to counsel from the preliminary investigative phase, may
confront witnesses and present evidence, and enjoy a
presumption of innocence. Lower court decisions may be
appealed to two higher courts. In rural areas, the village
chief or Council of Elders may try minor criminal and civil
cases. Those who reject the traditional ruling may take their
case to the regular court system, which is the starting point
for cases in urban areas.
There were no clear cases of political prisoners (as distinct
from political detainees) in Togo in 1993. On September 10,
the Third Chamber of the Lome Criminal Court convicted two
members of the opposition political party Democratic Convention
of the African People (CDPA), Gerard Akoumey and Stephane
Koudossou, of placing a bomb in July at the headquarters of the
Action Committee for Renewal (CAR) opposition political party.
The bomb caused minor injuries to several persons and modest
damage to the CAR headquarters and the adjacent National Human
Rights Commission offices. The defendants publicly confessed,
but some opposition figures asserted that the charges were
trumped up. The lawyers for the defendants withdrew from the
case when their arguments alleging that one defendant was
underage and that the confessions had been coerced were
rejected by the Court. The defendants were convicted
nonetheless in the absence of counsel. The trial fell short of
a fair trial by internationally accepted standards.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence
In criminal cases, searches of private residences may be
authorized by a judge or senior police official. In political
and national security cases, the security forces need no prior
authorization. Telephone taps and monitoring of correspondence
are once again being practiced by the Government after a year's
hiatus. The police and Gendarmerie continue to maintain
domestic intelligence services.
There were massive violations of privacy and home by security
forces in the January and March disturbances (see Section
1.a.). Death threats and apparent surveillance by government
forces directed against opposition leaders were common. Some
prominent figures avoided living at home because of the
perceived threat to their safety. The Government has
undertaken no investigations of these abuses.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
The Constitution provides for freedom of speech and press.
These rights, however, were often constrained by threats,
harassment, damage to property, and personal violence. Forces
sympathetic to the Eyadema Government were most likely
responsible for these actions.
Approximately 15 independent weekly or biweekly newspapers were
published in 1993 and were often critical of the Government.
While opposition newspapers are widely available in Lome, some
have reported difficulties in distributing their editions in
interior regions because of harassment from supporters of
President Eyadema.
On February 26, unknown assailants severely wounded the editor
in chief of the opposition newspaper Ablode, Leopold Ayiti, who
also was a spokesman for COD II. So far as is known, no
efforts have been made to apprehend the perpetrator of the
crime. On April 15, a group of persons, some reported to be in
military uniform, entered and ransacked the offices of the
Tribune Des Democrates, an opposition newspaper, beating
members of the newspaper staff who were present. It is again
believed that the perpetrators were members of the security
forces, possibly angered by articles strongly critical of the
security forces.
On May 25, a bomb exploded at the Grandes Editions printing
plant, publisher of three opposition newspapers. Two of these
newspapers are now printed in Benin. On June 4, a small
explosion shattered the windows of the building housing the
opposition newspaper Atopani Express. Pro-Eyadema elements,
perhaps associated with the security forces, were the likely
perpetrators.
The 8-month general strike (November 1992-August 1993) had a
deleterious effect on the news industry. The strike, triggered
by public outrage over soldiers taking members of the HCR
hostage in November 1992, had primarily political aims,
including calls for a politically neutral security force to
provide election security, neutrality by the army, and more
opposition representation in the Cabinet. When the strike
began, most journals suspended publication as a gesture of
support for the strike. As the strike wore on, opposition
newspapers began to publish special editions at half the
regular price or, in some cases, had to suspend operations for
lack of income. Most of the major independent weekly and
biweekly newspapers had resumed regular publication by
September 1993.
The Minister of Communications and Culture convened a meeting
in May with representatives of the independent media and
cautioned them to be more responsible in their reporting. The
Interior Minister in August warned newspapers and tract
publishers that they would be prosecuted for publishing
defamatory material and that the offending publications would
be seized.
In the last quarter of 1993, official harassment of the
opposition press increased, including through the courts.
Government authorities seized several opposition newspapers on
the grounds that they lacked complete information in their
mastheads as required by law. In November the authorities
detained a representative of the opposition newspaper Ibanou
Express, Claude Gumzoe, for more than a week when he was found
carrying a copy of the Express into the countryside. On
November 17, they arrested Katakpaou Toure, the director of the
opposition newspaper Lettre de Tchaoudjo, for publishing an
alleged defamatory article. Subsequently, a court fined Toure
$20,000 (5.5 million CFA francs) and gave him a 12-month prison
sentence, with 11 months suspended, for defaming President
Eyadema and Defense Minister Bouraima. Toure was released
immediately since he had already served more than 1 month in
jail awaiting trial. However, three other members of his
newspaper's staff, arrested at the same time as Toure,
apparently on similar grounds, remained in custody without
trial at year's end.
In another case, on November 24, the Government tried in
absentia in the Lome Criminal Court the director of publication
of Ibanou Express, Komlan Ihougan, and a staff writer, Angele
Kpanouvi, on charges of defaming President Eyadema. On
December 17, the Court sentenced Ihougan and Kpanouvi in
absentia to 3 years' imprisonment and fined them $7,275 (2
million CFA francs). Court proceedings in a case stemming from
charges of defamation brought in September 1992 against the
director of a leading weekly, La Parole, had yet to be
concluded.
In 1993 the official media (two radio stations, one television
station, one daily newspaper) provided coverage that was
strongly slanted in favor of President Eyadema and the
Government. Except for the 2-week official campaign period
just before the August 25 presidential election, which the
opposition boycotted, the state media deliberately ignored
opposition activities or statements and any international
commentary critical of the Government.
Two private Ghana-based Togolese radio stations broadcast
opposition views in 1993. One, Radio Liberte, broadcast a call
to arms to the Togolese people as the March 25 attack on Lome's
main military camp was under way. These stations were heavily
jammed by the Togolese Government. Two pro-Eyadema private
radio stations were established in 1993.
The University of Benin, Togo's sole university, was closed
during much of the long general strike. Most primary and
secondary schools were closed as well. Academic freedom exists
in the sense that there is an atmosphere in which ideas and
differences of opinion can in principle be debated, but in
practice opinions expressed in academic forums tend to be muted
because of concerns about potential government harassment.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
Under the Constitution, Togolese are free to assemble and to
organize in associations and political parties. Public
demonstrations require advance notification, and on occasion
the Government bans demonstrations or modifies their time or
place, citing grounds of public safety or interference with
public business. In September the Government issued a
declaration that henceforth demonstrations would be banned on
weekdays in order to avoid interference with work.
In practice, security forces repeatedly used excessive force to
prevent political assembly and demonstrations and to harass
opposition leaders (see Section 1.a.). On January 19,
government security forces shot and wounded four persons in a
crowd of citizens gathered in a peaceful prodemocracy
demonstration to show support for the High Council of the
Republic.
Political groups from southern Togo hesitated to campaign in
the north, the President's home area, where they were sometimes
harassed or attacked by supporters of the President.
Progovernment figures, including the Prime Minister, were
occasionally subject to harassment when visiting opposition
strongholds in southern Togo.
There are a number of private associations. In order to be
officially recognized, private associations must register with
the Government, a procedure that is not unduly burdensome.
c. Freedom of Religion
The Constitution provides for religious freedom, which is
enjoyed in practice in terms of religious belief, clergy, and
religious publications. Non-Togolese clergy are welcome in
Togo. They are free to proselytize and engage in other
religious activities.
Local religious groups are free to maintain contacts with
coreligionists in other countries. There are no restrictions
on travel for religious purposes. All official religious
observances are ecumenical in nature, and the Government does
not favor any specific religion. Membership in a particular
religious group confers no advantage or disadvantage in the
regime.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign
Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation
The right of domestic and foreign travel and emigration, the
right to change residence or workplace, and the right to return
to the country are generally respected.
More than 250,000 Togolese, mainly southerners, fled to
neighboring Benin and Ghana, and roughly 125,000 persons moved
from their homes to new locations within Togo after the January
and March events. By the end of the year, many Togolese, with
government encouragement, had returned from Benin and Ghana and
from the interior, although others remained in their place of
refuge, concerned about unsettled conditions and their personal
safety.
Refugees are permitted to stay in Togo and are not forced to
return to countries in which they fear persecution. An
estimated 300 officially recognized refugees reside in Togo.
They are mainly Ghanaians and Liberians.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens
to Change Their Government
In 1993 the people of Togo did not enjoy the right to change
their government by peaceful means. President Gnassingbe
Eyadema dominated the Government. Declaring that the
transition government and its institutions in their present
form expired on December 31, 1992, President Eyadema on January
18 unilaterally reappointed Joseph Koffigoh as Prime Minister.
The opposition and the High Council of the Republic rejected
Koffigoh's appointment as unconstitutional, since the HCR under
the interim Constitution has the power to name or change the
Prime Minister. This dispute left the Prime Minister and the
Government he formed in February in an ambiguous legal status.
While nominally independent, the crisis Government headed by
Prime Minister Koffigoh was, in fact, subordinate to President
Eyadema.
The legislative branch, the HCR elected by the National
Conference in 1991, did not function in 1993. Most HCR members
fled Togo after the January 30 shootings in Lome, making it
difficult or impossible to gather a quorum.
Presidential elections held on August 25 were seriously
flawed. Although the modalities for the elections had been
agreed in difficult negotiations between the opposition and the
President's representatives, culminating in the Ouagadougou
Accords of July 11, the Eyadema regime did not faithfully
implement them. One major opposition candidate, Gilchrist
Olympio, was excluded from running by the Supreme Court on
essentially technical grounds. The other two major opposition
candidates, Edem Kodjo and Yaovi Agboyibor, ultimately
boycotted the elections and called on their supporters also to
boycott the polls, publicly basing their decision on the tardy
and flawed electoral preparations. After Kodjo's withdrawal,
the four opposition members of the independent National
Electoral Commission withdrew from the Commission, as did some
opposition supporters on the local electoral commissions and
polling staffs. The opposition parties did not provide
delegates to observe polling operations as allowed by the
Electoral Code and generally failed to demonstrate a commitment
to prepare seriously for the elections.
In the absence of meaningful opposition, and with only a
minority of voters going to the polls, President Eyadema won
reelection by default for a 5-year term. There were many
irregularities, e.g., inflated and inaccurate electoral lists
and double voting. There was also intimidation and sacking of
polling places by opposition sympathizers intended to impede
the elections.
French official observers, as well as private observers,
specially selected and invited by the Togolese Government,
remained to monitor the elections, while an official German
delegation and a joint National Democratic Institute/Carter
Center delegation, led by former President Carter, withdrew
after all remaining major opposition candidates decided to
boycott the elections. The Government allowed some
nongovernmental organizations to observe the elections but
failed to grant permission to others such as the Inter-African
Union for Human Rights.
There are no restrictions in law on the participation of women
in political activities, and many women do participate through
membership in associations and political parties, teachers'
unions, and protest groups. However, the total number of women
in government is small. Five women are in the 79-member HCR,
and 1 woman is a Minister in the Government.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations
of Human Rights
Several private human rights groups exist, among them the
Togolese Human Rights League and the Association for the
Promotion of the Rule of Law. The Togolese Human Rights League
prepared some reports in 1993 on the Togolese human rights
situation. However, the Eyadema-controlled security forces
subjected human rights monitors to threats and harassment. In
the wake of the January 30 violence, many human rights monitors
left Togo. None was able to function effectively as a result.
The National Human Rights Commission (CNDH), established and
funded by the Government, was also largely inactive through
much of 1993 because of the closure of its office during the
extended general strike and the departure abroad of its
president because of security forces' threats against him.
Citing the long-term absence of the CNDH's president from Togo
and the expiration of the terms of office of CNDH members, the
Government in October issued a decree designating four members
of the CNDH's Executive Committee to take charge of current
operations until a new permanent commission was formed, as
called for by the Constitution. The president of the CNDH, a
strong critic of the Eyadema regime, was excluded from the
reconstituted CNDH Executive Committee, and denounced the
Government's move as illegal interference with the Commission's
affairs.
A Ministry of Human Rights also exists, but since September
1992 it has been combined with the Ministry of Social Welfare.
This Ministry conducted little activity in 1993, due in part to
the general strike which emptied many government offices.
The Government received visits from representatives of
governmental and nongovernmental international human rights
organizations in connection with observation of the August 25
elections. In addition, in December a representative of the
Montreal-based International Center for Human Rights and
Democratic Development visited Togo. On March 11, the United
Nations Human Rights Commission adopted a resolution deploring
the repeated acts of violence which resulted in many civilians
being killed or wounded and the use of force by the armed
forces during peaceful gatherings. Amnesty International
published a critical report on Togo's human rights situation on
October 5. The Government responded publicly, asserting that
Amnesty International favored the opposition and was engaging
in a maladroit attempt to destablize the country.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
Disability, Language, or Social Status
The Constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of
ethnic group, regional or family origin, sex, religion, social
or economic status, or personal political or other
convictions. Legal mechanisms exist for redress of
discrimination complaints, but they are not very effective.
Private sector discrimination on the basis of ethnic group and
gender, while not officially sanctioned, is common.
Women
Notwithstanding constitutional protections and economic and
social rights, including maternity leave benefits, set forth in
the Family Code adopted in early 1980, in practice women
continue to be subjected to discrimination, especially in
education, pension benefits, and traditional law. A husband
may legally oppose his wife's right to work and assert control
over her salary. Employers are often reluctant to hire women,
especially to positions of responsibility. Far fewer women
than men receive university education, and the number of women
graduates from secondary schools is low, which accounts for a
low female literacy rate of 31 percent (compared with 56
percent for males).
In the urban economic sphere, women dominate both local market
activities and commerce with Togo's neighbors, often amassing
considerable wealth in the process. However, harsh economic
conditions in rural areas, where most of the population lives,
leave women with little time for anything other than taxing
domestic and agricultural field work. More than civil law,
customary or traditional law--which affects the vast majority
of women--discriminates against women, e.g., a wife has no
rights in the case of divorce, separation, or death of a spouse.
Violence against women, including wife beating, occurs in
Togo. Mechanisms exist within both the traditional extended
family and formal judicial structures for redress, but the
police rarely intervene in domestic violence cases. In recent
years, instances of trafficking in Togolese women for purposes
of prostitution have come to public attention. Local houses of
prostitution exist. In addition, Togolese women have been
promised jobs in the Middle East or Europe, transported there
and then forced into prostitution and sometimes otherwise
abused. There are no specific laws dealing with trafficking of
this nature, and the Government has made no visible efforts to
curtail it.
Children
The Government devotes few resources to children's welfare.
For example, there are only a handful of juvenile courts, and
children are often mixed with adult criminals in jails.
Orphans or other needy children are aided more by extended
families or private organizations than by the State. Tradition
often dictates that, especially in financially strapped
families, a male child is selected to be educated in preference
to a female. In fact, females receive only one-third of the
schooling of males, according to a U.N. study.
Female genital mutilation (circumcision) is performed at an
early age and is practiced by a few ethnic groups in Togo's
northern and central regions. While some reports indicate the
practice may be gradually diminishing, an expert in the field
indicates that as many as 50 percent of the females may have
been mutilated.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities
The security forces are dominated by northern ethnic groups,
while commerce and the professions tend to be the preserve of
southerners. Most political parties are dominated by
southerners, except for the pro-Eyadema party. Ethnic
rivalries dating from precolonial times have been exacerbated
by the civil unrest of recent years and inadequate law
enforcement.
With the rise in tensions between the north and south of Togo,
some residents of minority ethnic groups in those regions have
been harassed and attacked by their neighbors belonging to the
majority groups and consequently moved back under pressure to
their home regions. Southern Togolese were predominant among
those who fled from Togo to neighboring Benin and Ghana after
the January 30 shooting spree by security force members.
People with Disabilities
The Constitution obliges the Government to aid disabled persons
and shelter them from social injustice, but government
assistance is limited in practice. Although disabled persons
are not subject to official state discrimination and hold some
responsible positions in the Government, disabled persons have
no meaningful recourse against private sector discrimination.
Some disabled persons find assistance and a livelihood in
privately supported workshops, while many others are compelled
to beg in the streets. The Government does not mandate
accessibility of public or private facilities.
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
The Constitution gives most workers the right to join unions
and the right to strike. Members of the security forces,
including firemen and policemen, are not allowed to join unions
or strike, and government health care personnel do not have the
right to strike. As approximately 80 percent of the population
is engaged in subsistence agriculture, the work force in the
formal (wage) sector is small, involving some 80,000 to 100,000
workers, of whom 60-70 percent are estimated to be members or
supporters of a union.
Prior to 1991, the Government effectively limited the right of
association by requiring all workers to pay dues to the
National Confederation of Togolese Workers (CNTT), which was
formerly associated with the ruling party, a practice that had
been criticized for years by the International Labor
Organization (ILO). This practice gave the CNTT a de facto
monopoly on the labor movement, although trade unions could and
did exist outside the CNTT. In August 1991, the National
Conference suspended the automatic withholding of CNTT dues for
all workers, and it froze CNTT's assets. A number of trade
unions left the CNTT, some of which then affiliated with two
new federations: the Labor Federation of Togolese Workers
(CSTT) and the National Union of Independent Syndicates
(UNSIT). The CNTT has probably been surpassed in membership by
these new unions which, while independent of any political
party, cooperated closely with the opposition parties in the
recent 8-month general strike. While the CNTT no longer has a
formal government affiliation, it remains associated with the
Government and the former sole political party, the RPT (Rally
of the Togolese People).
The Constitution prohibits discrimination against workers'
rights for reasons of sex, origin, beliefs, or opinions. There
is no specific law prohibiting retribution against strikers.
Many civil servants were transferred in the wake of their
participation in the general strike, and such transfers were
widely denounced by labor leaders and opposition politicians as
arbitrary and discriminatory.
After the military takeover of the HCR in October 1992, the
independent unions belonging to the Independent Collective of
Unions (CSI) called for an unlimited general strike, which
began on November 16, 1992. It officially ended August 2,
1993, after the signing of the Ouagadougou Accords which called
for multiparty presidential elections. Striker demands were
primarily political. Because of the long general strike, there
was little or no collective bargaining or other labor activity
in 1993.
The various federations and unions are free to associate with
international labor groups. The CNTT and the UNSIT are
affiliates of the International Confederation of Free Trade
Unions.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
The Labor Code guarantees workers the right to organize and
bargain collectively. All formal (wage) sector employees are
nominally covered by a collective bargaining agreement.
However, true collective bargaining is limited by the
Government's role in producing one tripartite bargaining
agreement signed by the unions, management, and the
Government. This agreement sets wage standards for all formal
sector employees. Individual groups in the formal sector can
attempt, through collective bargaining, to negotiate a more
favorable package, and some do, though it is not a common
practice. The CNTT had a role in the bargaining process when
it was the de facto monopoly labor federation, but it acted
more as a spokesman for labor interests within the Government
and ruling party than as an independent labor federation.
Since 1991 the CNTT, as well as the newer labor federations,
have taken a more active role in independent collective
bargaining.
The 1974 Labor Code prohibits antiunion discrimination. The
Ministry of Labor is charged with resolving labor-related
complaints.
A law allowing the establishment of export processing zones
(EPZ's) was enacted in late 1989. A number of companies have
received EPZ status, and about a dozen have begun operations.
The EPZ law provides exemptions from some provisions of the
Togolese Labor Code, notably the regulations on hiring and
firing workers. Employees of EPZ firms do not enjoy the same
protection against antiunion discrimination as do other workers.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
Although the law is silent on the question, forced or
compulsory labor does not exist in practice.
d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children
The Labor Code prohibits the employment of children under the
age of 14 in any enterprise. Some types of industrial and
technical employment require a minimum age of 18. These age
requirements are generally enforced in the formal sector in
urban areas by inspectors from the Ministry of Labor. In both
urban and rural areas, particularly in farming and petty
trading, very young children traditionally assist in their
families' work.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
Minimum wages are set by the Government for different
categories, but less than the official minimum wage is often
paid in practice. Official minimum wages range from
approximately $55 to $90 (14,000 to 22,000 CFA francs) per
month. Many workers cannot maintain a decent standard of
living at the lower official minimum wages, and many must
supplement their incomes through second jobs or subsistence
farming. The Ministry of Labor is ostensibly responsible for
enforcement of the minimum wage system, but there is no
effective enforcement in practice. Labor practices are
regulated by the Labor Code. The Code stipulates that there
should be equal pay for equal work, regardless of sex, and this
provision is generally observed in the formal sector.
Working hours of all employees in any enterprise, except for
agricultural enterprises, normally must not exceed 40 hours per
week; at least one 24-hour rest period per week is compulsory;
and workers must receive 30 days of paid leave each year.
Enforcement is weak, however, and these provisions are not
universally respected.
Health and safety standards in the workplace are determined by
a technical consulting committee in the Ministry of Labor,
which may levy penalties on employers who do not meet the
standards. In practice, the Ministry's enforcement of the
various provisions of the Labor Code is limited. Larger
enterprises are required to provide medical services for their
employees and usually attempt to respect occupational health
and safety rules, but smaller firms often do not.
[end of document]
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