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Title: San Marino Human Rights Practices, 1995
Author: U.S. Department of State
Date: March 1996
SAN MARINO
San Marino is a democratic, multiparty republic. The popularly elected
Parliament (the Great and General Council--GGC) selects two of its
members to serve as the Captains Regent (Co-Heads of State). They
preside over meetings of the GGC and of the Cabinet (Congress of State),
which has 10 other members, all also selected by the GGC. Assisting the
Captains Regent are three Secretaries of State (Foreign Affairs,
Internal Affairs, and Finance) and several additional secretaries. The
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs has come to assume many of the
prerogatives of a prime minister.
Elected officials effectively control the centralized police
organization (the Civil Police) and the two military corps (the
Gendarmerie and the "Guardie di Rocca").
The principal economic activities are tourism, farming, light
manufacturing, and banking. In addition to revenue from taxes and
customs, the Government derives much of its revenue from the sale of
coins and postage stamps to collectors throughout the world and from an
annual budget subsidy provided by the Italian Government under the terms
of the Republic's Basic Treaty with Italy.
The Legal Code extensively provides for human rights, and the
authorities respect its provisions. Although the Parliament and the
Government have demonstrated strong commitment to the protection of
human rights, some laws discriminate against women, particularly with
regard to the transmission of citizenship.
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 law prohibits such practices, and there were no reports that
officials employed them.
Prison conditions meet minimum international standards, and the
Government permits visits by human rights monitors.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
The law prohibits arbitrary arrests, detention, or exile, and the
Government observes these prohibitions.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
The law provides for an independent judiciary, and the Government
respects this provision in practice. The judicial system delegates some
of its authority to Italian magistrates, both in criminal and in civil
cases. Cases of minor importance are handled by a local conciliation
judge. Appeals go, in the first instance, to an Italian judge residing
in Italy. The final court of review is San Marino's Council of Twelve,
a group of judges chosen for 6-year terms (four replaced every 2 years)
from among the members of the GGC.
The judiciary provides citizens with a fair and efficient process.
There were no reports of political prisoners.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence
The law prohibits such practices. Government authorities respect these
prohibitions, and violations are subject to effective legal sanction.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
The law provides for freedom of speech and of the press, and the
Government respects these rights in practice. An independent press, an
effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system
combine to insure freedom of speech and of the press, including academic
freedom.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
The law provides for these rights, and the Government respects them in
practice.
c. Freedom of Religion
The law provides for freedom of religion, and the Government respects
this right in practice.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel,
Emigration, and Repatriation
The law provides for these rights, and the Government respects them in
practice. Although San Marino does not formally offer asylum to
refugees, it has given a few individuals de facto asylum by permitting
them to reside and work in San Marino. Refugees and other foreigners
are eligible to apply for citizenship only after 30 years of residence.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The Constitution provides citizens with the right to peacefully change
their government, and citizens exercise this right in practice through
periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of universal
suffrage.
Women gained the right to vote in the early 1960's and voted in national
elections for the first time in 1964. There have been no impediments to
women participating in government or politics since the passage of a
1973 law eliminating all restrictions. In 1974 the first woman was
elected to the GGC. Since then, women have served on the Council as
Secretary of State for Internal Affairs and as Captain Regent. All
women's branches of the political parties have been integrated into the
mainstream party organizations, and women hold important positions in
the various parties.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights
There are no domestic human rights organizations, although the
Government imposes no impediments to the formation of such
organizations. The Government has declared itself open to outsiders'
investigations of alleged abuses. There have been no known requests of
such a nature.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion, Disability,
Language, or Social Status
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, religion, disability,
language, or social status, and the authorities respect these
provisions. The law also prohibits some forms of discrimination based
on sex, but there remain vestiges of legal as well as societal
discrimination against women.
Women
The law provides for protection of women from violence, and occurrences
of such violence, including spousal abuse, are unusual.
Several laws provide specifically for equality of women in the
workplace and elsewhere. In practice there is no discrimination in pay
or working conditions. All careers are open to women, including careers
in the military and police as well as the highest public offices.
However, there is a law that discriminates against women in stipulating
that a woman who marries a foreigner cannot transmit citizenship to her
husband or children, but that a man who marries a foreigner can do so to
both spouse and children.
Children
The Government demonstrates its commitment to children's rights and
welfare through its well funded systems of public education and medical
care. There is no difference in the treatment of girls and boys in
educational or health care, nor is there any pattern of societal abuse
directed against children.
People With Disabilities
There is no discrimination against disabled persons in employment,
education, or in the provision of other state services. A 1992 law
established guidelines for easier access to public buildings, but
implementation of this has not yet reached all buildings.
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
By law, all workers (except the military, but including police) are free
to form and join unions. A 1961 law sets the conditions for
establishment of a union. The unions may freely form domestic
federations or join international labor federations.
Union members constitute about half of the country's work force (which
numbers about 10,000 San Marinese plus 2,000 Italians, from the
country's total population of about 24,000).
Trade unions are independent of the Government and the political
parties, but they have close informal ties with the parties, which
exercise strong influence on them.
Workers in all nonmilitary occupations have the right to strike. No
strikes have occurred in at least the last 6 years.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
The law gives collective bargaining agreements the force of law and
prohibits antiunion discrimination by employers. Effective mechanisms
exist to resolve complaints. Negotiations are freely conducted, often
in the presence of government officials (usually from the Labor and
Industry Departments) by invitation from both the unions and the
employers' association. For the last several years, all complaints have
been resolved amicably by a "conciliatory committee" composed of judges
and government officials.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
The law prohibits forced or compulsory labor and is enforced.
d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children
The minimum working age and compulsory education age is 16 years. The
Ministry of Labor and Cooperation permits no exceptions. Most students
continue in school until the age of 18.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
Since January 1, 1995, the legal minimum wage has been approximately
$1,100 (1.8 million lira) per month. This affords a decent living for a
worker and family. Wages are generally higher than the minimum.
The law sets the workweek at 36 hours in public administration and 37
1/2 hours in industry and private business, with 24 hours of rest per
week for workers in either category.
The law sets safety and health standards, and the judicial system
monitors them. Most workplaces implement the standards effectively, but
there are some exceptions, notably in the construction industries.
??
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SAN MARINO
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