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Title: Cape Verde Human Rights Practices, 1995
Author: U.S. Department of State
Date: March 1996
CAPE VERDE
Cape Verde is a parliamentary democracy in which constitutional powers
are shared between President Antonio Mascarenhas Monteiro, an
independent, and Prime Minister Carlos Wahnon de Carvalho Veiga, and his
party, the Movement for Democracy (MPD). The MPD dominates the National
Assembly in which only two of the four official political parties are
represented.
The Government controls the police, which have primary responsibility
for maintenance of law and order. There were no reported human rights
abuses committed by security forces.
Cape Verde has a market-based economy but little industry and few
exploitable natural resources. The country has a long history of
economically driven emigration, primarily to Western Europe and the
United States, and receipts from Cape Verdeans abroad remain an
important source of national income. Even in years of optimum rainfall,
the country can produce food for only 25 percent of the population,
resulting in heavy reliance on international food aid.
The Government generally respected the human rights of its citizens, and
the law and judiciary provide effective means of dealing with instances
of individual abuse. However, societal discrimination and in particular
domestic violence and discrimination against women continued to be
serious problems. The mistreatment of children remained a serious
problem, exacerbated by a poor economic situation which placed stress on
large families in securing food, water, and other necessities. Although
the Government supported legislation to ameliorate these problems, it
failed to adopt, implement, and enforce policies designed to address the
most critical challenges. There were instances of media self-
censorship.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing
There were no reports of political or other extrajudicial killings.
b. Disappearance
There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment
The Constitution prohibits such practices, and there were no reports
that officials employed them.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
The law stipulates that authorities bring charges before a judge within
24 hours of arrest. Police may not make arrests without a court order
unless a person is caught in the act of committing a felony. In
exceptional cases, and with the concurrence of a court official,
authorities may detain persons without charge for up to 5 days. These
laws are observed in practice.
The Ministry of Justice has 40 days to prepare for trial in state
security cases, and may detain persons until trial or for a period not
to exceed 1 year. There is a functioning system of bail.
There were no reports of security detentions or forced exile.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
The Constitution provides for the right to a fair trial. A judiciary
independent of the executive branch generally provides due process
rights, but there are serious delays owing to understaffing.
The judicial system is composed of the Supreme Court and the regional
courts. There are five Supreme Court judges, including one appointed by
the President, one appointed by the National Assembly, and three
appointed by the High Council of Magistrates. Judges are independent
and may not belong to a political party.
Defendants are presumed to be innocent; have the right to public,
nonjury trial; to counsel; to present witnesses; and to appeal verdicts.
Free counsel is provided for the indigent. Regional courts adjudicate
minor disputes on the local level in rural areas. The Ministry of
Justice and Labor appoints local judges, who are usually prominent local
citizens. Defendants may appeal regional court decisions to the Supreme
Court.
The right to an expeditious trial is constrained by a seriously
overburdened judicial system. A backlog of cases routinely leads to
trial delays of 6 months.
There were no reports of political prisoners.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence
The Constitution prohibits such practices, and government authorities
respect these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
The Constitution provides for freedom to express ideas by words, images,
or any other means, and for freedom of the press without censorship.
The Government generally respected these freedoms in practice.
Nevertheless, there was increased criticism by independent political
figures of the performance of the state-controlled television, radio,
and print media for their failure to exercise vigorously their
monitoring role in a multiparty system.
Journalists are independent of the Government and are not required to
reveal their sources. However, self-censorship within government-
controlled media, including the national television and radio networks
as well as the state-owned newspaper Novo Jornal, influences media
criticism of the Government. Journalists in government enterprises have
also been demoted or dismissed allegedly for exceeding the bounds of
accepted criticism. In the case of opposition media, particularly
newspapers, government officials have sought to use the country's strict
libel laws to attack critics for perceived unjustified criticism.
Independent journalists and their newspapers were, however, successful
in the courts in defending their actions. In one case, a court rejected
the accusations of an influential government minister against the
newspaper of the major opposition political party. In a second legal
proceeding involving an ex-director of the same newspaper, the
individual was exonerated of two criminal complaints and found guilty of
one charge. The case is under appeal. In two other cases challenging
dismissals from employment with state-owned media companies, journalists
were successful in gaining compensation against the national radio
network and the predecessor to the government-controlled newspaper.
Finally, the former president of the association of journalists
instituted legal action to overturn his dismissal from his position.
Several important cases are pending which, upon resolution, will have a
significant impact on press freedom.
Government authorization is not needed to establish newspapers, other
printed publications, or electronic media. Independent media outlets
experienced no direct pressure in their daily operations or business
activities. For example, the Catholic radio station signed an agreement
with the British Broadcasting Corporation to broadcast its Portuguese
language newscast. The national radio station broadcasts live National
Assembly sessions and was harshly criticized for announcing that it was
considering reducing such coverage. Independent newspapers and
electronic media, aside from the examples cited above, strongly and
consistently criticize government policies and officials.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
The Constitution provides for freedom of peaceful assembly and
association without authorization and without harassment by the
authorities. Throughout the year, labor organizations, opposition
political parties, civic action groups, and numerous others exercised
this right without government interference or objection. Opposition
political parties routinely ignored the legal requirement that officials
be advised before the holding of demonstrations and experienced no
retaliatory or punitive measures from the Government.
c. Freedom of Religion
The Constitution provides for the freedom of religion and the separation
of church and state. It also prohibits the State from imposing
religious beliefs and practices. The Government respects these rights
in practice.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel,
Emigration, and Repatriation
The law provides citizens with the right to travel and establish
residence without government restrictions. The Constitution provides
for repatriation, and the Government respects this in practice.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
Citizens exercised this right in 1991, after 15 years of one-party rule.
An opposition party won the country's first free legislative and
presidential elections and peacefully assumed power. Promulgation of
the new Constitution in 1992 consolidated this change.
The critical second round of multiparty elections for the National
Assembly was held in December, resulting in a resounding victory for the
governing MPD party of Prime Minister Veiga. Municipal and presidential
elections were scheduled for January and February 1996, respectively.
With its margin in victory the MPD could govern virtually without the
need to consult the two opposition parties represented in the Assembly,
should it elect to do so. Observers saw the election results as a
further repudiation of the discredited one-party government set up after
independence from Portugal in 1975, which had clung to power until the
first free, fair elections in 1991.
The Constitution provides for separation of powers. Cabinet ministers
are not required to be members of the National Assembly, but they are
individually subject to parliamentary confirmation. Collectively, they
must retain the support of a parliamentary majority. The President may
dismiss the Government with the approval of the Council of the Republic,
which is composed of the president of the National Assembly, the Prime
Minister, the president of the Supreme Court, the Attorney General, the
President of the Regional Affairs Council, and four private members.
Referendums may be held under specified circumstances but may not
challenge individual political rights and liberties or the right of
opposition parties to exist and function freely.
There are no restrictions in law or practice regarding the rights of
women or minorities to vote or to participate in the political process.
Women comprise 7.6 percent of the deputies elected to the National
Assembly. The two female ministers in the Cabinet of the Prime Minister
represent 13 percent of the ministerial positions.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights
There are two private human rights groups in Cape Verde--the National
Commission of the Rights of Man and the Cape Verdean League for Human
Rights. No major human rights organizations conducted investigations in
Cape Verde during the year.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion, Disability,
Language, or Social Status
The Constitution prohibits discrimination based on race, sex, religion,
disability, language, or social status. However, the Government does
not effectively enforce all its provisions, resulting in ongoing
discrimination, particularly against women and children.
Women
Domestic violence against women, including wife beating, remains common,
particularly in rural areas. Victims rarely report crimes such as rape
and spousal abuse to the police. Neither the Government nor women's
organizations have addressed directly the issue of violence against
women.
Women continue to face discrimination in several ways. Despite
constitutional prohibitions against sex discrimination and provisions
for full equality, including equal pay for equal work, discrimination
continues. Women experience difficulties in obtaining certain types of
employment. Although they are often paid less than men, they are making
modest inroads in the professions.
The Constitution prohibits discrimination against women in inheritance,
family, and custody matters. However, largely because of illiteracy,
most women are unaware of their rights. Women are often reluctant to
seek redress of domestic disputes in the courts. The Organization of
Cape Verdean Women alleges disparate treatment in inheritance matters
despite laws calling for equal rights.
Women comprise 52.7 percent of the general population, but only 36.8
percent of the employed work force. Among those considered unemployed
within the labor pool actively seeking employment, government figures
indicate that women make up 54.7 percent of those out of compensated
employment. Despite these dire statistics, employment opportunities for
women are improving, as evidenced by the increasing presence of women in
the upper echelons of government and among the legal and medical
professions.
With the impetus gained from the preparatory work for the United Nations
Fourth World Conference on Women, women's organizations launched new
efforts to improve the plight of poor and economically disadvantaged
women, holding several symposiums and conferences. They demanded new
laws protecting women against violence and abuse and the enforcement of
constitutional provisions establishing equal rights. In March a group
of women incorporated the Cape Verdean Association for the Protection of
the Family, whose stated goals were the promotion of the rights of the
family, protection of the mother and child, women's health care
(including the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases), and the
promotion of family planning. According to women's groups, large,
unplanned families represent the main cause of poverty and lack of job
opportunity for women.
Children
Child abuse is a continuing problem. Although the Government may remove
children from abusive parents and place them in orphanages, it seldom
took such actions. The Government maintained its effort to highlight
the costs to society of such mistreatment and to promote the legal
protection of abused minors. The government-controlled newspaper
published a multipage expose on the plight of abandoned children left to
roam the streets, noting that such situations lead to violent abuse of
children, crime, and prostitution. Local experts, mental health
professionals, and social workers have called on government officials
and the larger population to reject an indifferent attitude and strive
to reduce and eliminate the problem. In conjunction with the United
Nations Children's Fund, the Cape Verdean Institute for Minors published
the book "Legal Protection of Children" as a working document for
government officials and others, setting out the laws and
rights pertaining to the protection of minors and the social and
governmental institutions with responsibility for enforcing those
rights.
As a result of the devastating effects of the cholera epidemic, the
Government focused more attention on preventive treatment, especially
regarding the health care of children. It instituted a broad based
immunization campaign for young children. Throughout the year the
official media broadcast and diffused public service messages imploring
mothers to seek prenatal care for their babies.
People with Disabilities
The Government does not mandate access to public buildings or services
for the disabled. It does provide transportation (a combination
wheelchair and three-wheel motor scooter) for handicapped persons.
Physically disabled persons are not subject to discrimination in
employment or education.
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
Workers are legally free to form and to join unions without government
authorization or restriction. There are two umbrella union
associations: the Council of Free Labor Unions, formed after the change
in government and composed of 11 unions with about 7,000 members, and
the National Union of Cape Verde Workers, formed by the former ruling
party but operating independently, composed of 13 unions with about
15,000 members. The Government does not interfere with the activities
of these organizations, but both suffer from a shortage of funds.
The Constitution provides union members with the right to strike, and
the Government respects this right. By law, an employer must reinstate
a worker fired unjustly.
Unions are free to affiliate internationally and have ties with African
and international trade union organizations.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
The Constitution provides for the right to organize and operate without
hindrance and to sign collective work contracts. Workers and management
in the small private sector, as well as in the public sector, reach
agreement through collective bargaining. As the country's largest
employer, the Government continues to play the dominant role by setting
wages in the civil service. It does not fix wages for the private
sector, but salary levels for civil servants provide the basis for wage
negotiations in the private sector.
A 1991 legislative decree bans antiunion discrimination by employers,
with fines for offenders. There were no reported cases of such
discrimination.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
Forced labor is forbidden by law and is not practiced.
d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children
The legal minimum age for employment is 14 years. The law prohibits
children under the age 16 from working at night, more than 7 hours per
day, or in establishments where toxic products are produced, but the
Government rarely enforces the law. In practice, the Ministry of
Justice and Labor enforces minimum age laws with limited success, and
only in the urban, formal sectors of the economy.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
There are no established minimum wage rates in the private sector.
Large urban private employers link their minimum wages to those paid to
civil servants, which for an entry level worker is $180 (15,000 escudos)
per month. The majority of jobs pay wages insufficient to provide a
worker and family a decent standard of living; therefore, most workers
also rely on second jobs, extended family help, and subsistence
agriculture.
The maximum legal workweek for adults is 44 hours. While large
employers generally respect these regulations, many domestic servants
and rural workers work longer hours.
The Director General of Labor conducts periodic inspections to enforce
proper labor practices and imposes fines on private enterprises which
are not in conformity with the law. However, the Government does not
systematically enforce labor laws and much of the labor force does not
enjoy their protection. There are few industries that employ heavy or
dangerous equipment, and work-related accidents are rare.
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