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1 EU ANNUAL REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY IN THE WORLD

2021 COUNTRY UPDATES

Contents

Enlargement countries............................................................................................................................5

Bosnia and Herzegovina ..........................................................................................................................6

The Republic of North Macedonia ..........................................................................................................9

Kosovo*1 ................................................................................................................................................11

Montenegro ..........................................................................................................................................13

Serbia ....................................................................................................................................................15

Republic of Turkey ................................................................................................................................16

EEA/EFTA Countries and non-EU Western European Countries .........................................................19

Switzerland ...........................................................................................................................................19

Norway ..................................................................................................................................................20

Iceland ...................................................................................................................................................22

Liechtenstein .........................................................................................................................................23

United Kingdom.....................................................................................................................................24

European Neighbourhood Policy..........................................................................................................25

Armenia ................................................................................................................................................26

Azerbaijan .............................................................................................................................................28

Belarus ..................................................................................................................................................30

Georgia ..................................................................................................................................................32

Republic of Moldova .............................................................................................................................34

Ukraine ..................................................................................................................................................35

Egypt .....................................................................................................................................................38

State of Israel ........................................................................................................................................40

Jordan ...................................................................................................................................................42

Lebanon ................................................................................................................................................44

Libya ......................................................................................................................................................46

Syria ......................................................................................................................................................48

Palestinian Authority (occupied Palestinian territory - oPt) ................................................................50

Kingdom of Morocco ............................................................................................................................52

Western Sahara ....................................................................................................................................54

People's Democratic Republic of Algeria ..............................................................................................55

Republic of Tunisia ................................................................................................................................57

Russia and Central Asia .........................................................................................................................58

Russia ....................................................................................................................................................58

Kazakhstan ............................................................................................................................................61

The Kyrgyz Republic ..............................................................................................................................63

*1 This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ

Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence. 2

Tajikistan ...............................................................................................................................................65

Turkmenistan ........................................................................................................................................66

Uzbekistan ............................................................................................................................................68

Africa .....................................................................................................................................................70

Angola ...................................................................................................................................................72

Benin .................................................................................................................................................... 73

Republic of Botswana ...........................................................................................................................75

Burkina Faso .........................................................................................................................................76

Burundi .................................................................................................................................................78

Cabo Verde ...........................................................................................................................................81

Cameroon .............................................................................................................................................82

Central African Republic........................................................................................................................84

Union des Comores ...............................................................................................................................86

Republic of Congo .................................................................................................................................88

Chad ......................................................................................................................................................90

Côte d'Ivoire ..........................................................................................................................................92

Djibouti .................................................................................................................................................94

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) ....................................................................................................96

State of Eritrea ......................................................................................................................................98

Ethiopia ...............................................................................................................................................102

Equatorial Guinea ................................................................................................................................103

Gabon ..................................................................................................................................................105

Ghana ..................................................................................................................................................107

Guinea Bissau ......................................................................................................................................109

Guinea .................................................................................................................................................111

Kenya ..................................................................................................................................................113

Kingdom of Lesotho ............................................................................................................................115

Liberia .................................................................................................................................................116

Madagascar .........................................................................................................................................119

Democratic Republic of Malawi ..........................................................................................................121

Mali .....................................................................................................................................................123

Mauritania ..........................................................................................................................................125

Mauritius ............................................................................................................................................127

Republic of Mozambique ...................................................................................................................129

Namibia ..............................................................................................................................................131

Niger ...................................................................................................................................................133

Nigeria ................................................................................................................................................135

Rwanda ...............................................................................................................................................137

São Tomé and Príncipe .......................................................................................................................139

Senegal ...............................................................................................................................................141

The Seychelles ....................................................................................................................................143

Sierra Leone ........................................................................................................................................144

Somalia ...............................................................................................................................................146

South Africa ........................................................................................................................................148

South Sudan ........................................................................................................................................150

Sudan ..................................................................................................................................................152

Tanzania ..............................................................................................................................................154

3

The Gambia .........................................................................................................................................156

Togo ....................................................................................................................................................158

Uganda ................................................................................................................................................159

Zambia ................................................................................................................................................161

Arabian Peninsula ...............................................................................................................................165

Bahrain ................................................................................................................................................165

Iraq ......................................................................................................................................................167

Kuwait .................................................................................................................................................169

Oman ..................................................................................................................................................171

Qatar ...................................................................................................................................................172

Saudi Arabia ........................................................................................................................................174

United Arab Emirates ..........................................................................................................................176

Yemen .................................................................................................................................................178

Asia .....................................................................................................................................................180

Afghanistan .........................................................................................................................................180

People's Republic of Bangladesh ........................................................................................................182

Kingdom of Bhutan .............................................................................................................................184

Brunei Darussalam ..............................................................................................................................185

Kingdom of Cambodia .........................................................................................................................187

People's Republic of China ..................................................................................................................188

Hong Kong Special Administratiǀe Region of the People's Republic of China .....................................191

Macao Special Administratiǀe Region of the People's Republic of China ...........................................193

Taiwan .................................................................................................................................................194

Iran ......................................................................................................................................................195

Republic of Korea ................................................................................................................................196

Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) ...................................................................................198

India ....................................................................................................................................................199

Indonesia ............................................................................................................................................202

Japan ...................................................................................................................................................203

Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) .....................................................................................205

Malaysia ..............................................................................................................................................207

Maldives ..............................................................................................................................................209

Mongolia .............................................................................................................................................210

Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ................................................................................................213

Pakistan ...............................................................................................................................................215

Philippines ...........................................................................................................................................217

Singapore ............................................................................................................................................219

Sri Lanka ..............................................................................................................................................221

Thailand ..............................................................................................................................................223

Timor-Leste .........................................................................................................................................225

Vietnam ...............................................................................................................................................227

Oceania ...............................................................................................................................................229

Australia ..............................................................................................................................................229

4

Fiji ........................................................................................................................................................230

The Federated States of Micronesia ....................................................................................................233

Republic of Kiribati ..............................................................................................................................235

Nauru ..................................................................................................................................................237

New Zealand .......................................................................................................................................238

Palau ...................................................................................................................................................240

Independent State of Papua New Guinea ..........................................................................................241

Republic of Marshall Islands ...............................................................................................................244

Samoa .................................................................................................................................................246

Solomon Islands ..................................................................................................................................248

Tuvalu .................................................................................................................................................252

Vanuatu ..............................................................................................................................................253

The Americas ......................................................................................................................................255

Belize ..................................................................................................................................................255

United States of America ...................................................................................................................257

Canada ...............................................................................................................................................259

The Bahamas ......................................................................................................................................261

Barbados and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States countries (Antigua and Barbuda,

Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the

Republic of Costa Rica ........................................................................................................................265

Republic of Cuba ................................................................................................................................267

Dominican Republic ............................................................................................................................270

El Salvador ..........................................................................................................................................271

Guatemala ..........................................................................................................................................274

Co-operative Republic of Guyana .......................................................................................................276

Haiti ....................................................................................................................................................277

Honduras ............................................................................................................................................279

Republic of Argentina .........................................................................................................................281

Plurinational State of Bolivia ..............................................................................................................283

Federative Republic of Brazil .............................................................................................................. 285

Republic of Chile .................................................................................................................................288

Republic of Colombia ..........................................................................................................................290

Republic of Ecuador ............................................................................................................................293

Republic of Paraguay ...........................................................................................................................295

Republic of Peru ..................................................................................................................................297

The Oriental Republic of Uruguay .......................................................................................................299

Republic of Venezuela .........................................................................................................................301

Jamaica ...............................................................................................................................................303

Mexico ................................................................................................................................................306

Nicaragua ............................................................................................................................................309

Republic of Panama ............................................................................................................................311

Republic of Suriname ..........................................................................................................................312

Trinidad and Tobago ...........................................................................................................................315

5

Enlargement countries

Albania

1. Overview of the human rights and democracy situation: General elections were held on

25 April 2021, following the cross-party agreement of 5 June 2020 that led to a wide-ranging

electoral reform, in line with the recommendations of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE/ODIHR). Its final assessment found that elections were generally well organised. The new electoral administration gained the trust of most stakeholders. Concerns remained related to the misuse of public resources or official functions, to allegations of vote buying, and to the leaking of sensitive personal data covering the political preferences of citizens. These cases are being investigated. With regard to EU reforms, the parliament adopted a number of significant path towards the EU, despite the challenge of addressing the negative social and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the new legislature, the majority and the opposition will need to improve political dialogue and work together with all parts of society to further advance the EU reform agenda and accession negotiations. Limited progress has been made to implement the roadmap on creating an enabling environment for civil society. Nonetheless, Albanian civil society has been able to provide support and services to people in most vulnerable situations affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Albania complies overall with international human rights instruments and has ratified most international conventions related to the protection of fundamental rights. During 2021, there was progress on property rights as regards the registration, digitisation and implementation of the compensation scheme. On the rights of persons belonging to minorities, there was progress in the adoption of implementing bylaws related to the 2017 framework law on the protection of national minorities. The country has to adopt the remaining implementing legislation, including on self-identification and use of minority languages. The Population and Housing Census Law was adopted in line with international standards. The legal framework on anti-discrimination further improved but the case law has not yet substantially developed. Discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) persons remains pervasive and dominant in the Albanian society, and policy initiatives need appropriate financial resources and political will to produce visible results. Progress was made in other aspects of fundamental rights, for instance on the enforcement of the rights of persons with disabilities and on gender equality, with a new strategy on gender equality 2021-

2030 adopted in June 2021. By-laws linked to the Law on Social Housing were adopted.

For more information please refer to the European Commission's 2021 Report for on Albania.

2. EU action - key focus areas: The EU continues to monitor the protection of human rights,

including the progress on the first registration of properties and transitional ownership rights, the protection of minorities and of persons in vulnerable situations, as well as improvement of detention and probation conditions in the Albanian prison system. Significant attention was also dedicated to independence of media and freedom of expression, as well as to actions in the area of the right to life, prevention of torture and ill-treatment in the prison system, protection of personal data and freedom of thought, conscience and religion. 6 In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2021 elections, the EU urged the authorities to make further efforts to prevent, protect and provide services to groups in vulnerable situations and to victims of violence.

3. EU bilateral political engagement: Albania continues to fulfil the conditions for opening

accession negotiations. Discussions continue in view of adopting the Negotiating Framework and holding the first Intergovernmental Conference as soon as possible. Human rights and democracy remained a central focus of the political dialogue with the authorities in 2021, notably in the context of the EU-Albania Stabilisation and Association Council, as well as its sub-committees.

4. EU financial engagement: During the reporting period, the EU pursued the implementation

of programmes and projects in the field of human rights and democracy. An Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) project implemented by the OSCE (EUR

650,000) contributed to strengthening the public broadcaster and the public school of

journalism, while three IPA 2020 (nearly EUR 600,000) projects aimed at enhancing investigative journalism and reinforcing independent journalism through multimedia and data quality. The implementation of additional support (approx. EUR 799,000) deployed from the IPA 2018-2019 instrument for the recovery of children and families in vulnerable situations - including children with disabilities - affected by the COVID-19 pandemic continued. The IPA

2019 programme on Social Inclusion with a budget of EUR 70 million is focusing on families in

vulnerable situations, including those affected by COVID-19 crisis, Roma and Egyptian families, and older persons. Regarding property rights, implementation of two projects under the IPA

2020 (EUR 1.36 million) has started.

The European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) contributed with a budget of EUR 2.2 million supporting in particular the rights of the child, promotion of the rights of LGBTI persons, human rights of persons in detention, inclusive education, missing persons and the role of civil society in the democratic process. The IPA Civil Society Facility and Media Programme provided a budget of EUR 3.44 million of EU contribution with projects focusing notably on youth and ciǀil society's role in implementation of human rights, support to investigative journalism and independent media institutions, as well as social inclusion. Cooperation under the EU/Council of Europe Horizontal Facility phase II continued with focus on ensuring justice, fighting corruption and organised crime, promoting equality, human rights and social inclusion. The allocation for Albania is more than EUR 4 million.

5. Multilateral context: Albania continued its dialogue and cooperation with national,

European and international human rights organisations and monitoring bodies. Following the adoption of the Universal Periodic Review by the UN Human Rights Council (in September

2019), national institutions engaged in a dialogue on human rights in order to better integrate

human rights in strategic and development policies and to identify focus areas. Several Council of Europe and OSCE missions took place during the reporting period.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

7

1. Overview of the human rights and democracy situation: The legislative and institutional

framework on fundamental rights and democracy is largely in place and overall in line with the relevant international and European standards. However, Bosnia and Herzegovina has yet to adopt a comprehensive strategic framework and the protection of human rights continues to be uneven across the country. Significant reforms are needed to bring the Constitution in line with the European Convention on Human Rights, ensuring that all citizens are able to exercise their political rights (Sejdić-Finci ECtHR case law), and to overcome the practice of education for all children. On freedom of expression and of the media, no progress was made on ensuring the appropriate judicial follow-up to cases of threats and violence against journalists, especially in the Republika Srpska entity, or on ensuring the financial sustainability of the public broadcasting system. Challenges persist as regards the freedom of assembly, particularly in the Republika Srpska entity. Gender-based violence, ill treatment of detainees and the protection of persons belonging to minorities, including Roma, continued to be issues of concern. The protection of rights and social inclusion of LGBTI persons remain to be improved. Bosnia and Herzegovina needs to amend the Law on the Human Rights Ombudsperson to improve its independence and effectiveness and designate it as a national preventive mechanism against torture and ill-treatment - an international obligation of the country. The second half of 2021 was marked by a prolonged political crisis, with the blockage of Presidency, Parliament and Council of Ministers by Republika Srpska-based political parties, which also took initiatives towards withdrawing the entity from key State-level agencies. This severely undermined the functionality of political institutions and led to a standstill on reforms on the EU path. Since the 2018 elections, the Federation entity government has acted in a caretaker role. No progress was made in improving electoral standards and ensuring transparency of political party financing. For more information, please refer to the European Commission's 2021 Report on Bosnia and

Herzegovina.

2. EU action - key focus areas: The EU continues to closely monitor the respect for human

rights, including freedom of assembly and association and freedom of expression, the rights of persons in vulnerable situations including persons belonging to minorities, as well as gender equality, as part of the EU integration process. Six out of the fourteen key priorities set out in the 2019 Commission Opinion on the EU membership application of Bosnia and Herzegovina focus on fundamental rights. They call upon the country to strengthen non-discrimination and gender equality, ensure the prohibition of torture, guarantee freedom of expression and media freedom, improve the protection and inclusion of groups in vulnerable situations, and promote an environment conducive to reconciliation.

3. EU bilateral political engagement: The Stabilisation and Association (SA) Parliamentary

Committee was held in June 2021, after a five-year stalemate. The SA Council held its fourth meeting in July 2021. The blockage of State institutions impeded the holding of the SA Committee in November and of the SA subcommittee on Justice, freedom and security in December. Since the outbreak of the political crisis, the EU has engaged in intense advocacy and facilitation efforts, as well as in high-level visits to engage with political actors with the 8 aim to ease tensions and find solutions to the crisis. In parallel, the EU and the United States, alongside the Council of Europe's Venice Commission and the OSCEͬODIHR, haǀe worked closely with political stakeholders to facilitate constitutional and electoral reforms. These reforms aim at ending ethnic- and residence-based discrimination, thus complying with the Sejdić-Finci ECtHR case law, and ensure more transparent, inclusive and democratic elections, addressing OSCE/ODIHR and CoE Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) recommendations.

4. EU financial engagement: EU support via the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance

focuses on the areas of judiciary (EUR 6.4 million), gender equality and non-discrimination, and support to persons in vulnerable situations (including children, persons with disabilities, Roma), as well as support to civil society and the media. EU funding contributes to accounting for missing persons (EUR 3 million to support the International Commission on Missing Persons), supporting and monitoring the processing of war crime cases (EUR 5 million), and fighting against corruption, including in healthcare (EUR 1.5 million). EU funds are helping to strengthen the institutional mechanisms for gender equality (EUR 500,000) and fighting discrimination, empowering persons in vulnerable situations (EUR 1 million). Bosnia and Herzegovina is making good progress in the implementation of the EU-funded Regional Housing Programme (EUR 65 million regionally), which continues to provide durable housing solutions to refugees in vulnerable situations, internally displaced persons and returnees. Around 1,900 vulnerable families have already obtained a new home, and around 3,100 housing units are planned to be constructed by June 2023. The Civil Society and Media Facility, (EUR 11.5 million) also continues to support 25 projects for the capacity building of civil society organisations (CSOs) in the areas of health, social inclusion and social entrepreneurship, enǀironment, youth, culture, local economy, women's rights, freedom of expression, anti-corruption and political pluralism.

17 projects funded via the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EUR 3

million) continue supporting women victims of violence, capacity building of gender equality commissions at the municipal level, capacity building of women human rights defenders, protection of rights and psychosocial support to LGBTI persons, protection and promotion of the rights of the child, consumer rights and youth. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the EU/Council of Europe Horizontal Facility has financed activities aimed at strengthening human rights treatment of persons in detention; preventing and combatting trafficking in human beings; promoting diversity and equality (members of national minorities and LGBTI persons); quality education for all; and freedom of expression and freedom of the media. A new EU-funded reception centre for migrants and refugees was opened in Lipa (Bihać) in Noǀember 2021, with a capacity to host up to 1,500 persons in need.

5. Multilateral context: Bosnia and Herzegovina continued its dialogue and cooperation with

national, European and international human rights organisations and monitoring bodies. Bosnia and Herzegovina did not systematically follow up to the 204 accepted recommendations from the November 2019 Universal Periodic Review (UPR). In October

2021, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights issued 79 recommendations

application of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. 9

The Republic of North Macedonia

1. Overview of the human rights and democracy situation: The legal framework on the

protection of fundamental rights is largely in line with European standards. The Law on the Prevention and Protection against Discrimination and the Commission for the Prevention and Protection against Discrimination are in place, thus enhancing the legal framework of the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms and of the rights of, inter alia, LGBTI persons. The deinstitutionalisation of childcare made real progress. Important progress was achieved with the adoption of the Law on Prevention and Protection from Violence againstquotesdbs_dbs25.pdfusesText_31

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