World Report 2022 Book

1 H U M A N. R I G H T S. W A T C H. World Report . 2022. EVENTS OF 2021. HUMA N RIG H TS WATCH. 350 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10118-3299. This 32nd annual World Report summarizes human rights conditions in over 100 countries and territories worldwide in 2021. It reflects extensive investigative work that human rights Watch staff conducted during the year, often in close partnership with domestic human rights activists. H U M A N. R I G H T S. W A T C H. World Report . 2022. EVENTS OF 2021. H U M A N. R I G H T S. W A T C H. Copyright 2022 human rights Watch All rights reserved.

2 Printed in the United States of America ISBN 978-1-64421-121-2. Cover photo: A protester released from prison after three weeks of detention is reunited with her mother in Yangon, Myanmar, March 24, 2021. The three-finger salute, adapted from The Hunger Games, is a widely used sign of civil disobedience. 2021 The New York Times/Redux. Cover and book design by Rafael Jim nez human rights Watch defends the rights of people worldwide. We scrupulously investigate abuses, expose facts widely, and pressure those with power to respect rights and secure justice.

3 human rights Watch is an independent, international organization that works as part of a vibrant movement to uphold human dignity and advance the cause of human rights for all. human rights Watch began in 1978 with the founding of its Europe and Central Asia division (then known as Helsinki Watch). Today it also includes divisions covering Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, and the United States. There are thematic divisions or programs on arms; business and human rights ;. children's rights ; crisis and conflict; disability rights ; the environment and human rights ; international justice; lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights ; refugee rights ; and women's rights .

4 The organization maintains offices in Amman, Amsterdam, Beirut, Berlin, Bishkek, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Goma, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Kiev, Kinshasa, London, Los Angeles, Miami, Moscow, Nairobi, New York, Paris, San Francisco, S o Paulo, Seoul, Silicon Valley, Stockholm, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, Tunis, Washington DC, and Zurich, and field presences in more than 50 other locations globally. human rights Watch is an independent, nongovernmental organization, supported by contributions from private individuals and foundations worldwide. It accepts no government funds, directly or indirectly.

5 World Report 2021. Table of Contents With Autocrats on the Defensive, Can Democrats Rise to the Occasion? 1. by Kenneth Roth COUNTRIES 15. Afghanistan ..17. Algeria ..26. Angola ..33. Argentina ..38. Armenia ..45. Australia ..52. Azerbaijan ..60. Belarus ..82. Bolivia ..89. Bosnia and Herzegovina ..95. Burkina Cameroon ..126. Central African Republic ..142. Chad ..147. China ..159. Colombia ..179. Cuba ..190. TABLE OF CONTENTS. Democratic Republic of Congo ..197. Ecuador ..203. Egypt ..211. El Eritrea ..227. Eswatini ..232. Ethiopia ..237. European France.

6 257. Georgia ..267. Greece ..282. Guatemala ..288. Haiti ..299. India ..319. Iran ..335. Israel and Palestine ..353. Italy ..363. Japan ..369. Jordan ..376. Kazakhstan ..383. Kenya ..391. Kyrgyzstan ..407. Lebanon ..415. World Report 2021. Malaysia ..432. Maldives ..438. Mali ..443. Morocco and Western Sahara ..461. Myanmar ..474. Nicaragua ..489. North Korea ..505. Pakistan ..510. Papua New Peru ..522. Qatar ..541. Russia ..547. Saudi Arabia ..569. Senegal ..577. Serbia ..581. Singapore ..585. Somalia ..590. South Africa ..595. South Korea ..601.

7 South Sudan ..607. Spain ..613. Sri Lanka ..619. Sudan ..625. TABLE OF CONTENTS. Tajikistan ..642. Tanzania ..648. Tunisia ..661. Turkmenistan ..672. United Arab United United States ..711. Venezuela ..732. Zimbabwe ..749. World Report 2022. This annual World Report is dedicated to the memory of our beloved colleague Dewa Mavhinga, Southern Africa director at human rights Watch, who died on December 4, aged 42. Dewa was a respected and principled human rights re- searcher, a fearless advocate and an indefatigable champion for human rights victims across Southern Africa.

8 Colleagues and partners remember him for his unwavering dedication and depth of knowledge, but most of all for his warmth, generosity and unfailing kindness. human rights WATCH. With Autocrats on the Defensive, Can Democrats Rise to the Occasion? By Kenneth Roth, Executive Director The conventional wisdom these days is that autocracy is ascendent, democracy on the decline. That view gains currency from the intensifying crackdown on op- position voices in China, Russia, Belarus, Myanmar, Turkey, Thailand, Egypt, Uganda, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Venezuela, and Nicaragua.

9 It finds support in military takeovers in Myanmar, Sudan, Mali, and Guinea, and undemocratic transfers of power in Tunisia and Chad. And it gains sustenance from the emer- gence of leaders with autocratic tendencies in once- or still-established democ- racies such as Hungary, Poland, Brazil, El Salvador, India, the Philippines, and, until a year ago, the United States. But the superficial appeal of the rise-of-autocracy thesis belies a more complex reality and a bleaker future for autocrats. As people see that unaccountable rulers inevitably prioritize their own interests over the public's, the popular de- mand for rights -respecting democracy often remains strong.

10 In country after country, large numbers of people have recently taken to the streets, even at the risk of being arrested or shot. There are few rallies for autocratic rule. In some countries ruled by autocrats that retain at least a semblance of demo- cratic elections, opposition political parties have begun to paper over their pol- icy differences to build alliances in pursuit of their common interest in ousting the autocrat. And as autocrats can no longer rely on subtly manipulated elec- tions to preserve power, a growing number are resorting to overt electoral cha- rades that guarantee their desired result but confer none of the legitimacy sought from holding an election.