Myths
and Facts - Human Rights in Arab Countries
MYTH
"The governments of Arab states grant basic human rights to their
citizens."
FACT
While much attention has been focused on alleged Israeli human rights
violations in the volatile West Bank and Gaza, the popular press has
chosen to virtually ignore violations of fundamental human rights that
take place daily in almost every Arab country. According to annual
reports compiled by the State Department, most of the Arab states are
ruled by oppressive, dictatorial regimes, which deny their citizens
basic freedoms of political expression, speech, press and due process.
The Arab Human Development Report published by a group of Arab
researchers from the UN Development Program concluded that out of the
seven regions of the world, Arab countries had the lowest freedom score.
They also had the lowest ranking for "voice and accountability," a
measure of various aspects of the political process, civil liberties,
political rights and independence of the media.1
MYTH
"Women's rights are now protected in the Arab world."
FACT
In most Arab countries, the Shari'a, or Islamic law, defines the rules
of traditional social behavior. Under the law, women are accorded a role
inferior to that of men, and are therefore discriminated against with
regard to personal rights and freedoms.
As Middle East expert Daniel Pipes explains: "In the Islamic
view...female sexuality is thought of as being so powerful that it
constitutes a real danger to society." Therefore, unrestrained females
constitute "the most dangerous challenge facing males trying to carry
out God's commands." In combination, females' "desires and their
irresistible attractiveness give women a power over men which rivals
God's."2
"Left to themselves," Pipes continues, "men might well fall victim to
women and abandon God," resulting in civil disorder among believers. In
traditional thought, Pipes notes, women pose an internal threat to
Islamic society similar to the external one represented by the infidel.
Traditionally, the Arab woman marries at a young age to a man of her
father's choice. A husband is entitled to divorce any time, even against
his wife's will, by merely declaring verbally that this is his
intention.
Although the image of the egalitarian woman is slowly developing within
some more secular Arab states, it remains largely confined to urban
centers and upper-class circles. Ritual sexual mutilation of females is
still common in rural areas of Egypt, Libya, Oman and Yemen.
Furthermore, laws that restrict women's rights remain in force in almost
all Arab countries. In Syria, a husband can prevent his wife from
leaving the country. In Egypt, Iraq, Libya, Jordan, Morocco, Oman and
Yemen, married women must have their husbands' written permission to
travel abroad, and they may be prevented from doing so for any reason.
In Saudi Arabia, women must obtain written permission from their closest
male relative to leave the country or travel on public transportation
between different parts of the kingdom.
According to the UN, "utilization of Arab women's capabilities through
political and economic participation remains the lowest in the world in
quantitative terms….In some countries with elected national assemblies,
women are still denied the right to vote or hold office. And one in ever
two Arab women can neither read nor write."3
In a Saudi Shari'a court, the testimony of one man equals that of two
women. In Kuwait, the male population is allowed to vote, while women
are still disenfranchised. Egypt, Morocco, Jordan and Saudi Arabia all
have laws stating that a woman's inheritance must be less than that of
her male siblings (usually about half the size). Moroccan law excuses
the murder or injury of a wife who is caught in the act of committing
adultery; yet women are punished for harming their husbands under the
same circumstances.
Wife-beating is a relatively common practice in Arab countries, and
abused women have little recourse. As the State Department has noted
regarding Jordan (and most of the Arab world): "Wife beating is
technically grounds for divorce, but the husband may seek to demonstrate
that he has authority from the Koran to correct an irreligious or
disobedient wife by striking her."4
In Saudi Arabia, restrictions against women are among the most extreme
in the Arab world. Saudi women may not marry non-Saudis without
government permission (which is rarely given); are forbidden to drive
motor vehicles or bicycles; may not use public facilities when men are
present; and are forced to sit in the backs of public buses, segregated
from men. At Riyadh's King Saud University, professors lecture to rooms
of men while women watch via closed-circuit television from distant
all-female classrooms.5 "[Islamic] Advice columns" in the Saudi Arabian
press recommend strict disciplining of women as part of a proper
marriage. Women must cover their entire body and face in public, and
those who do not are subject to physical harassment from the Saudi
religious police, known as the Mutaaw'in. The Saudis even extend their
discriminatory treatment to women abroad. During a visit to the United
States by Crown Prince Abdullah, for example, the prince's aides
requested that no female air traffic controllers be allowed to control
his flight into Texas to meet President Bush. They also requested that
no women be allowed on the airport tarmac with the jet.6
The UN, international organizations and local human rights rights
nongovernmental organizations constantly pressure the regimes in Arab
states to improve the state of human rights in general and women's
rights in particular. According to UN data, the proportion of women's
representation in Arab parliaments is only 3.4% (as opposed to 11.4% in
the rest of the world). In addition, 55% of Arab women are illiterate.
The Assistant to UN Vice Secretary General, Angela King, publicly called
on Arab states to grant women their rights.7
Arab regimes find different ways to deal with the international pressure
to improve women's rights. They often prefer to introduce mild
improvements in women's status rather than to enacting radical reforms
that might contradict their ideology and antagonize conservative
elements in the country.
MYTH
“Freedom for Palestinians in the Palestinian Authority includes the
right to sell land to Jews.”
FACT
In 1996, the Palestinian Authority (PA) Mufti, Ikremah Sabri, issued a
fatwa (religious decree), banning the sale of Arab and Muslim property
to Jews. Anyone who violated the order was to be killed. At least seven
land dealers were killed that year. Six years later, the head of the
PA's General Intelligence Service in the West Bank, General Tawfik
Tirawi, admitted his men were responsible for the murders.8
On May 5, 1997, Palestinian Authority Justice Minister Freih Abu Middein
announced that the death penalty would be imposed on anyone convicted of
ceding "one inch" to Israel. Later that month, two Arab land dealers
were killed. PA officials denied any involvement in the killings. A year
later, another Palestinian suspected of selling land to Jews was
murdered. The PA has also arrested suspected land dealers for violating
the Jordanian law (in force in the West Bank), which prohibits the sale
of land to foreigners.9
MYTH
“Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians is blocking reform in the
Middle East.”
FACT
The old saw that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is the source of all
evil in the Middle East is being trotted out again to justify the
failure of the Arab states to embrace President Bush’s democracy
initiative or to reform their authoritarian societies. If the conflict
was resolved tomorrow, or if Israel ceased to exist, however, the Arab
world’s despots would be no more interested in reform than they are
today.
The divisions among the Arabs were on display again in March 2004 when
Tunisia abruptly cancelled a planned Arab League summit. While some of
the Arab officials suggested that Israel was to blame, the Tunisians
themselves made clear the problem was the unwillingness of the Arab
states to agree on any reforms, or even to endorse the principal of
democracy and reject extremism and terrorism. Tunisia’s official news
agency noted that unspecified countries refused to support calls for
“tolerance” and “understanding,” and would not allow the word
“democracy” to appear in the final draft of a position paper to be
approved by heads of state.10
At least seven Arab leaders had bowed out of the meeting and several
countries, led by Syria, made clear their disinterest in committing the
Arabs to institutional reform. And no Arab nation would support Libya’s
suggestion that other governments follow its example and give up
programs to develop weapons of mass destruction.11
Of course the summit host, Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali,
is no democrat. He seized power in a 1987 palace coup and has ruled the
country ever since. And he’s one of the newer Arab autocrats. Hosni
Mubarak has ruled Egypt since Anwar Sadat’s assassination in 1981,
Libya’s Moammar Gadhafi has been in power since 1969, and the Saud and
Hashemite dynasties have maintained monarchies in Saudi Arabia and
Jordan for decades. And even they are newcomers compared to the family
that has ruled in Oman for 250 years. Lebanon is a puppet state under
Syrian occupation, and Syria has been a dictatorship run by the Assad
family since 1970. Yasser Arafat has dominated Palestinian politics for
decades and has ruled the Palestinian Authority with an iron hand since
its establishment in 1993.
None of these tyrants have any interest in implementing reforms that
would permit the people to choose their leaders in a democratic way
because they know they would be swept from power. They will therefore
continue to use Israel’s existence as an excuse for avoiding any
meaningful changes to their totalitarian societies.
MYTH
“The Palestinian Authority held a free, democratic election in 2005.”
FACT
Elections are not synonymous with democracy. Several Arab countries hold
elections, including Egypt and Syria, but they have only one candidate,
and there is no doubt about the outcome. The dictators are always
reelected with nearly 100 percent of the vote. In those nations, no one
seriously claims the elections are democratic.
In the case of the Palestinian Authority (PA) elections held in January
2005, the standards were higher. These were advertised as an example of
democracy and, compared to other Arab states, the voting was a
considerable advancement toward free elections.
Still, the election could hardly be called competitive as the outcome
was never in doubt. Seven candidates ran for president, but the only
question was the size of Mahmoud Abbas’ margin of victory. He won with
62.3 percent of the vote. His nearest challenger was Mustafa Barghouti
with 19.8 percent.12
The election had a much lower turnout than expected (62 percent), and
supporters of the Islamic terrorist organizations largely boycotted the
vote, as did Arabs living in east Jerusalem. Thus, Abbas was
conservatively estimated by al-Jazeera to have received the support of
only about one-third of the eligible voters.13
The election process went smoothly and, despite Palestinian predictions
of Israeli interference, international observers reported that
Palestinians were not obstructed by Israel from participating in the
election. In fact, Palestinian and Israeli officials were said to have
worked well together to facilitate voting.14
“Free elections can only take place in societies in which people are
free to express their opinions without fear.”
— Natan Sharansky15
Immediately after the election, however, 46 officials from the PA
Central Election Committee resigned, confirming suspicions of voting
irregularities and fraud. The Committee had come under pressure from
Abbas’ staff to extend the vote by an additional two hours and to allow
non-registered voters to cast ballots to guarantee a larger turnout and
improve Abbas’ chance of a “landslide” victory.
The day of the election, gunmen stormed the Committee offices to demand
that Palestinians who were not registered be allowed to vote. The deputy
chairman of the Committee, Ammar Dwaik, said he “was personally
threatened and pressured” and confirmed that some voters were able to
remove from their thumbs the ink that was supposed to prevent double
voting.16
While Abbas is now seen as a legitimately elected leader by most
Palestinians and the international community, the PA has no history of
democratic institutions, so it remains in doubt whether the various
terrorist groups will also accept his leadership, and whether the
security services will enforce the president’s will.
Natan Sharansky observed that “It is important that these elections took
place, because it important that the new leadership comes, or will come,
not through violence. That can be the beginning of the process of
democracy.”17 To move closer to true democracy, Abbas will also have to
remove his predecessor’s restrictions on the freedoms of speech,
religion, assembly, and the press. Then perhaps the next election will
be truly free and democratic.
MYTH
“Unlike other Arab women, Palestinian women are not killed for
dishonoring their families.”
FACT
Maher Shakirat learned that one of his sisters was thrown out of the
house by her husband for an alleged affair. Shakirat strangled his
sister, who was eight months pregnant, and forced two other sisters he
accused of covering up the affair to drink bleach. One of those was
badly injured but escaped, but the third sister was also strangled by
her brother.
Palestinian women who bring dishonor to their families may be punished
by male family members. The punishments may range from ostracism and
abandonment to physical abuse to murder. “Honor killings” may be carried
out for instances of rape, infidelity, flirting or any other action seen
as disgracing the family. By killing the woman, the family’s name in the
community is restored.
Women are usually not allowed to defend themselves; they are considered
“minors” under the authority of male relatives, and may be killed based
on a family member’s suspicions. An allegation of misbehavior is
sufficient to defile a man’s or family’s honor and justify the killing
of the woman. Men who carry out these murders in the Palestinian
Authority typically go unpunished or receive a maximum of six months in
prison.17a
Because these crimes often go unreported, it is difficult to determine
the actual number of victims in honor killings, but the Palestinian
Authority’s women’s affairs ministry reported that 20 women were
murdered in honor killings in 2005, 15 survived murder attempts, and
approximately 50 committed suicide, often under coercion, for shaming
the family.17b
According to a June 2005 poll, 24% of Palestinians said that if a family
discovered that one of its daughters was involved in a case of family
disgrace (e.g., adultery), the family should kill the daughter to remove
the disgrace.17c
HUMAN RIGHTS BY COUNTRY
(Unless otherwise noted, all information is from U.S. State Department
Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2000-2001)
SAUDI ARABIA
Although the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom declared
that, with the demise of the Taliban, Saudi Arabia is probably the worst
oppressor of religious rights in the world, the Bush Administration
decided on political grounds to leave the kingdom off its annual list of
"countries of particular concern," an American blacklist of countries
that engage in "systematic, ongoing, and egregious" violations of the
rights of religious minorities.18
Saudi Arabia is a dynastic monarchy, ruled by King Fahd Bin Abd Al-Aziz
Al Saud. The country’s constitution is the Koran and the Sunna
(tradition) of the prophet Muhammad, and the country is thus governed by
a strict interpretation of Islamic law. Because there are no democratic
institutions, citizens have no role in the government. Security in the
country is enforced by both a secular security force, and the Mutawwa'in,
the religious police, who comprise the Committee to Promote Virtue and
Prevent Vice. Because the traditional Islamic view of human rights does
not coincide with the modern view, the government has allowed both the
secular and religious security forces to commit serious abuses.
The Saudi government beheaded 52 people in 2003, for crimes including
murder, robbery, drug smuggling, and homosexuality.19
Legal Rights
Torture, beatings, and other abuses of prisoners are committed regularly
by both the Mutawwa'in and officials in the Ministry of Interior.
Additionally, at least one person was killed recently by the Mutawwa'in
for a very minor religious violation. Other executions during the year
2000 were for crimes ranging from “deviant sexual behavior” to sorcery,
and were carried out by stoning, beheading, or firing squad;
additionally, some prisoners were punished by amputations or the loss of
an eye. Prisoners are sometimes held for long periods of time without
charge or trial.
Freedom of speech and of the press are severely limited in Saudi Arabia
– criticizing Islam or the Royal family is illegal, and can result in
prolonged imprisonment without trial. Television, radio, internet and
literature are all heavily censored. Freedom of assembly and association
are also limited, subject to regulations such as the segregation of men
and women at meetings.
Treatment of Women
Women are the victims of systematic discrimination in Saudi Arabia.
Domestic violence and rape are widespread problems, and women have no
redress for such crimes. Women cannot travel, be admitted to a hospital
or drive in a car without their husbands’ permission. Buses are
segregated, and women must sit in the rear. Those women not wearing an
abaya (a black garment covering the entire body) and covering their
faces and hair are harassed by the Mutawwa'in.
Laws that discriminate against women include those governing property
ownership, testimony in court inheritance, and child custody in cases of
divorce. Comprising only five percent of the workplace, it is nearly
impossible for women to be employed in any but the simplest of tasks.
Also, Female Genital Mutilation is legal and is practiced in some parts
of Saudi Arabia.
Women from foreign countries also must adhere to the strict laws in
Saudi Arabia and the U.S. military has gone so faras to require its
female soldiers to wear restrictive clothing, ride in the back seat of
cars, and have a male escort when off base. In 2001, the U.S. Air
Force's highest ranking female fighter pilot sued the U.S. government to
overturn the policy on the grounds that it discriminates against women,
violates their religious freedom, and forces them to follow customs
required by a religion not their own. The Pentagon subsequently ended
the requirement that women wear the black head-to-toe abayas worn by
Saudi women, but the other restrictions still apply.20
Workers’ Rights
There are no labor laws, unions or collective bargaining in Saudi
Arabia. While forced labor is technically illegal, foreign workers and
domestic servants are sometimes forced to work up to sixteen hours
daily, seven days a week. Pay is often withheld for weeks or months at a
time.
Unconfirmed reports indicate that women are sometimes smuggled into
Saudi Arabia to work as prostitutes, and children are smuggled in to
work in organized begging rings. Officially, trafficking in persons is
illegal under Saudi law.
Treatment of Minorities
There is no freedom of religion in Saudi Arabia. All citizens must be
Muslims, and only the Sunni branch of Islam can be practiced publicly.
There is institutional discrimination against Shi’a Muslims. Religions
other than Islam are tolerated if practiced discreetly; a number of
Christians were deported in 2000 because they practiced “apostasy” in
too public a manner.
Asian and African workers living in Saudi Arabia report widespread
discrimination, and difficulty in the redress of grievances.
JORDAN
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is a constitutional monarchy ruled by
King Abdullah bin Hussein. While direct elections are used to appoint
representatives to the uninfluential lower house of Parliament, the
104-seat Chamber of Deputies, the upper house, the 40-seat senate, is
appointed by the king. Virtually all power is concentrated in the king,
who can dismiss any representative or disband the parliament altogether,
as he did in June 2001. Thus, citizens of Jordan cannot change their
government. Many serious human rights violations occur in Jordan and are
condoned by the government.
Legal Rights
Jordanian security forces use torture on a regular basis, which has
recently resulted in several deaths. Prisoners are often held without
charges, are not allowed to meet with lawyers, and are kept in
unsanitary conditions; this applies also to journalists charged with
“defamation,” meaning they criticized the government or the king. Forced
expulsions are rare in Jordan, and are generally used only on suspected
terrorists; terrorist groups are well represented in Jordan. For
example, the Islamic Movement of Jordan ("The Group of Ahmed Al Daganesh")
and the Nobles of Jordan claimed responsibility for the August 2001
murder of an Israeli businessman in Amman. The government denied that
the killing was political and has made no arrests in the case.
Freedom of assembly, association, the press and speech are all
restricted by the government; authors of articles critical or satirical
of the government are often arrested and imprisoned. In August 2002, the
Al-Jazeera television network's license was revoked for airing views
critical of the government.21
Women’s Rights
Jordanian women are at a distinct legal disadvantage. Marital rape is
legal, wife-beating is rampant, and often allowed by law, and honor
crimes crimes (domestic violence against women committed by men who feel
the women have undermined their honor by their "immoral behavior")
receive minimal sentences. Such honor crimes have become so common that
they comprise 25% of the total murders committed in Jordan in 2000,
according to one study.
Financially, women are at a legal disadvantage as well. Social security,
inheritance, divorce and testimony laws all favor men. Women earn less
than men for equal work, and are under-represented in the workplace.
Female Genital Mutilation, once practiced widely in Jordan, has largely
been discontinued. Some tribes, however, maintain the practice. Much
more common is the abuse of female children, especially sexual abuse.
While the law calls for strict punishment in such cases, few are ever
investigated.
Workers’ Rights
Labor laws are generally good; however, there are exceptions. Although
forced labor is illegal in Jordan, many foreign servants work under
conditions that amount to forced labor. Additionally, child labor is
common, although the government has taken steps to curb it.
Treatment of Minorities
Freedom of religion is for the most part respected in Jordan. While only
the three “main monotheistic religions” (Islam, Judaism, and
Christianity) are officially recognized by the government, all other
religions are permitted to practice freely, and are given equal rights.
The one exception to this rule is the Baha’i faith, members of which
face official, systematic discrimination. They are, however, allowed to
practice openly.
Following the 1948 war, and again following the 1967 war, Jordan granted
citizenship to Palestinian refugees fleeing from Israel. However,
refugees who arrived since then have not been granted citizenship, and
are widely discriminated against.
LEBANON
Since ending a 16-year civil war in 1991, Lebanon has been primarily
controlled by Syria, which stations 25,000 soldiers in the country.
Thus, although Lebanon is technically a parliamentary republic, neither
citizens nor government officials have much of a role in changing their
government, because Syria makes all policy decisions and heavily
influence the elections. The Lebanese government and army do not respect
human rights, and the several terrorist organizations that are
headquartered in Lebanon commit abuses as well.
Legal Rights
While official governmental killings are unknown in Lebanon, there have
been numerous disappearances and deaths of political prisoners in prison
awaiting trial. Arbitrary arrests are common, and some prisoners are
held for long periods of time without trials or charges. The use of
torture is reportedly widespread. In the areas of the country controlled
by the Syrian-backed militia Hizballah, only Islamic law is applied; in
the independent Palestinian refugee camps in the south, no specific law
system is endorsed. In both locations, human rights violations abound.
Freedom of speech and of the press are granted by law, and respected for
the most part; however, cases of censorship are common. The right to
assembly granted by law is restricted by the government. In August 2001,
mostly Christian students staged a non-violent protest against Syria's
role in Lebanon and were beat up by security forces. Days earlier, other
anti-Syrian activists were arrested.22
In August 2001, Lebanese security forces arrested a Christian journalist
in a crackdown on anti-Syrian Christian dissidents. The week before
about 200 members of Christian-led opposition groups that oppose Syria's
control over Lebanon were arrested.23
Inhabitants of Lebanon have suffered from the numerous competing
terrorist groups that operate inside Lebanon. These groups either attack
targets within the country, or attack Israel to the south; when they do
the latter, Lebanon’s population is forced to bear the brunt of the
reprisals. However, attacks on Israel by Syrian-backed Hizballah and
other terrorist groups have significantly decreased since Israel’s
withdrawal from southern Lebanon in May of 2000.
Women’s Rights
Domestic violence and rape are significant social problems, and affect a
large segment of the population. Honor Crimes are illegal, but reduced
sentences are applied in such cases.
While technically women can enter any profession they wish, there is
strong societal pressure that prevents most women from doing so. Many
other laws in Lebanon are based on Islamic law, and are discriminatory
against women and children.
Workers’ Rights
Forced labor is not illegal, and many foreign servants, women, and
children are compelled to work against their will. Child labor in
general is rampant. Children suffer under Lebanese law in other ways as
well: child abuse, kidnappings, and even the sale of children to
adoption agencies are relatively common, and ignored by the government.
Treatment of Minorities
Freedom of religion is generally respected, although some discrimination
is built into the legal system: for example, certain government
positions can only be held by certain types of Muslims. Palestinian
refugees living in Lebanon have no rights, and cannot become citizens of
the state.
SYRIA
Technically, Syria is a parliamentary democracy in which officials are
appointed through direct elections; in practice, President Bashar Assad
wields virtually absolute power. When his father Hafez Assad died on
June 10, 2000, after a 30-year reign, Bashar ran unopposed for the post,
and consequently, the minimum age required by law for a president was
lowered from 40 to 34, Bashar’s age. Because of an emergency martial law
that has been in place since 1963, powerful security services and
militias operate independent of each other, and unimpeded by the
government. Human rights are significantly restricted by the government,
and the security services commit serious abuses as well.
Legal Rights
Because of the power of the security services, the legal rights of
citizens of Syria are not enforced. Arbitrary arrests, torture and
disappearances of prisoners all occur regularly. Syrian, Lebanese and
Jordanian political prisoners have been held incommunicado by the
government for long periods of time, as have missing Israeli soldiers
captured by Syria, and Hizballah, the terrorist organization it backs in
Lebanon. Prisoners captured as many as twenty years ago remain
unaccounted for.
Freedom of speech and of the press are granted by law, but severely
restricted. Publication of any “false information” published that
opposes “the goals of the revolution” is punishable by lengthy jail
sentences. All press industries are owned and operated by the
government. In 2001, ten pro-democracy activists were arrested and
convicted of inciting rebellion, disseminating lies and trying to change
the constitution by force.24
Freedom of association is severely restricted by the government, and
freedom of assembly does not exist at all.
Women’s Rights
Domestic violence occurs in Syria, though little is known about its
extent. Spousal rape is not illegal, and honor crimes occur. Legally,
many financial laws, such as inheritance and social security,
discriminate against women, and the punishment for adultery for women is
twice that of men. Women cannot travel outside the country without their
husbands’ permission. Women are employed in all areas, but are
under-represented in most fields.
Workers’ Rights
Child labor is common, despite laws to the contrary. Additionally, the
rights to form unions and bargain collectively are restricted.
Treatment of Minorities
Freedom of religion is generally respected, with two exceptions: Jews
are systematically excluded from government involvement, and lack many
basic rights; and extreme Islamic groups are frequently targeted for
attacks and discrimination, due to the numerous Islamic terrorist groups
that oppose the government.
Kurds are systematically oppressed by Syria: they cannot become
citizens, they have few rights and the teaching of their language and
culture is outlawed by the government.
IRAQ
The constitution of Iraq grants rule to the Arab Ba'ath Socialist Party,
which is dominated by Saddam Hussein and his relatives. Hussein attempts
to legitimate his rule by referring to an October 1995 “referendum,” in
which he received 99.9 percent of the vote. This election, however, had
neither secret ballots nor opposing candidates, and Iraqi citizens
reported that they feared reprisals if they cast a dissenting votes.
Iraq’s record on human rights indicates that this fear was warranted –
Iraq’s government commits serious human rights violations, primarily
through the various militias that operate in the state. These militias
are instrumental in maintaining an atmosphere of fear and repression.
Legal Rights
The government’s police tactics are among the most brutal in the world.
Citizens are routinely arrested and executed for such crimes as
defecting, criticizing the government and prostitution. Additionally,
criminals charged with lesser crimes are routinely killed en masse as
part of a “prison cleansing” system designed to reduce the prison
population. Political or religious figures who are viewed as a threat to
Saddam or other higher-ups are killed without compunction, and without
being charged with a specific crime. Those who are charged with specific
crimes rarely receive fair trials, as any court’s decision can be
overridden by the President. Sometimes trials are not held at all.
Torture is used systematically in Iraqi prisons.
While the government officially respects the rights to freedom of
speech, press, assembly, and association, all these rights are
restricted in practice. The government owns all the newspapers in the
country, and operates them as propaganda sources. Any statements
critical of the government are harshly punished, and citizens who
assemble peacefully have been repressed, and sometimes attacked by
government militias.
Allegations of serious war crimes have been frequently directed against
Iraq. Atrocities committed during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War, and
during the 1991 Persian Gulf War, are mirrored to this day, as Iraqi
forces fighting with the Kurdish army that controls the north of Iraq
routinely target civilians, and plant mines in civilian areas. UN
inspectors who were monitoring Iraq’s military and chemical weapons
plants were summarily expelled in 1997.
Women’s Rights
Domestic violence occurs in Iraq, but no statistics exist to account for
its frequency. Honor crimes are legitimate under Iraqi law, and crimes
such as prostitution are often punished by beheading. Numerous laws are
in place guaranteeing rights for women in the workplace, but it is
difficult to determine how successful they have been in producing
equality.
Workers’ Rights
Workers have virtually no rights in Iraq. Unions are illegal, and while
forced labor is technically illegal, resigning from one’s job can result
in a prison sentence. Child labor is not uncommon, despite government
regulations to the contrary.
Treatment of Minorities
Freedom of religion is technically in place, but not respected by the
government. While the majority of the population consists of Shi’a
Muslims, the Sunni minority controls the Ba’ath Party. Thus, Shi’a
religious and lay leaders are frequently assassinated or repressed. The
small Christian community has been subjected to abuses as well.
The Kurds that control the north of Iraq have been severely oppressed.
Kurds are prohibited from living in Iraq proper, and those in the north
have been subjected to atrocities by the Iraqi military, including
torture, summary executions and attacks on civilian centers using
chemical weapons.
EGYPT
According to its constitution, Egypt is a social democracy in which
Islam is the state religion. The President and his National Democratic
Party, however, control the political scene to such an extent that
citizens do not have a meaningful ability to change their government.
There has been an Emergency Law in effect since 1981, allowing the
government to arbitrarily detain persons without charge, and to
regularly deny legal rights to Egyptian citizens.
Legal Rights
Freedom of speech and of the press are guaranteed by the Constitution,
but are often withheld in practice. The government owns and controls the
three largest newspapers and holds a monopoly on printing and
distribution. Thus, newspapers rarely criticize the government, and the
output of oppositions parties’ newspapers is limited. Scholars and
officials who criticize the government are often charged with the crimes
of libel, slander, or “disseminating false information about Egypt,” and
are imprisoned. Freedom of association and assembly are severely
restricted.
Physical or psychological torture, while officially outlawed, are
nonetheless common, and it is reported that at least eight prisoners
were tortured to death in the year 2000. Prison conditions are squalid.
The Egyptian police routinely arrest prisoners arbitrarily, often
holding them for long periods of time without charge, trial or access to
a lawyer.
“[Egypt’s] autocratic regime, established a half-century ago under the
banner of Arab nationalism and socialism, is politically exhausted and
morally bankrupt. Mr. Mubarak, who checked Islamic extremists in Egypt
only by torture and massacre, has no modern political program or vision
of progress to offer his people as an alternative to Osama bin Laden's
Muslim victimology. Those Egyptians who have tried to promote such a
program...are unjustly imprisoned. Instead, Mr. Mubarak props himself up
with $2 billion a year in U.S. aid, while allowing and even encouraging
state-controlled clerics and media to promote the anti-Western,
anti-modern and anti-Jewish propaganda of the Islamic extremists. The
policy serves his purpose by deflecting popular frustration with the
lack of political freedom or economic development in Egypt. It also
explains why so many of Osama bin Laden's recruits are Egyptian.”
— Washington Post editorial 25
Women’s Rights
Domestic violence is a serious social problem in Egypt; one report
concluded that one in three married women has been beaten by her
husband. Additionally, marital rape is legal. Female Genital Mutilation
still occurs, and a majority of women undergo the procedure. In the
business world, women are guaranteed pay equal to that of men, but there
are strong societal pressures against women being employed. Legally,
many laws, particularly inheritance laws, favor males, and men who kill
women in honor killingsreceive significantly lighter sentences than
women who kill men under similar circumstances.
Workers’ Rights
Labor laws in Egypt do not provide adequately for union members;
striking is illegal and punishable by prison terms. Many government
mandated labor laws are not enforced, such as minimum wages and maximum
hours. While child labor has been a problem in Egypt in the past, there
has been marked improvement recently.
Treatment of Minorities
Egypt guarantees freedom of religion, and the Jewish and Christian
communities are generally treated well. Nevertheless, the Christian
minority has reported that it is sometimes discriminated against, and
there have been reports of forced conversions to Islam. Members of the
Baha’i faith are categorically banned from practicing or living in
Egypt.
PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY
The Palestinian Authority's poor human rights record worsened after the
onset of the "al-Aksa intifada." In September 2000 as members of the
Palestinian security services and Fatah's Tanzim participated in violent
attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers. Because armed
Palestinians often launched their attacks near the homes of Palestinian
civilians; residents of the homes sometimes found themselves in the line
of fire when Israel retaliated. Palestinian security forces also failed
to prevent armed Palestinians from opening fire on Israelis in places
where bystanders were present.
Legal Rights
On December 2, 2001, Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat
declared a state of emergency and granted himself broad legal powers.
PA security forces arbitrarily arrest and detain persons, and prolonged
detention and lack of due process are prevalent. The courts do not
ensure fair and expeditious trials. The PA executive and security
services frequently ignore or fail to enforce court decisions.
The PA does not prohibit by law the use of torture or force against
detainees, and PA security forces reportedly were responsible for
torture and widespread abuse of Palestinian detainees. International
human rights monitoring groups have documented widespread arbitrary and
abusive conduct by the PA. These organizations state that use of torture
is widespread and not restricted to those persons detained on security
charges. At least five Palestinians died in PA custody during 2001.
PA security forces infringed on citizens' rights to privacy and
restricted freedom of speech and of the press by closing down media
outlets, banning publications or broadcasts, and periodically harassing
or detaining members of the media. For example, after the brutal killing
of two IDF reserve soldiers at a Ramallah police station on October 12,
2000, Palestinian police confiscated film from several journalists who
were at the scene. On October 4, a foreign journalist filmed three
members of the Palestinian security forces distributing Molotov
cocktails to several children. The security forces detained the
journalist and his crew for several hours and destroyed the roll of
film. PA harassment contributed to the practice of self-censorship by
many Palestinian commentators, reporters, and critics.
Violence Against Israelis
Palestinian violence during the "al-Aksa iintifada" included violent
demonstrations, shootings and incidents in which Palestinians usually
threw stones and Molotov cocktails at IDF checkpoints. Israeli civilians
and Jews in the territories became frequent targets of drive-by
shootings and ambushes, suicide and other bombings, mortar attacks, and
armed attacks on settlements and military bases. Palestinians acting
individually, or in unorganized or small groups, including some members
of Palestinian security services, killed 87 Israelis in the territories
in 2001. Off-duty members of PA security forces and members of Chairman
Arafat's Fatah faction participated in some of these attacks.
Several Palestinian terrorist groups, including Hamas, Islamic Jihad,
the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the Democratic
Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), and Fatah-affiliated
groups such as the al-Aqsa Brigades, have also claimed responsibility
for attacks specifically targeting civilians within Israel proper. The
PA had made few arrests in these killings by year's end.
An estimated 340 suspected collaborators and 180 to 200 political
prisoners were held in PA jails at the end of 2001. A number of
Palestinians suspected of collaboration with the Israeli government were
arrested, tried and executed. Dozens more were simply murdered.26
Women’s Rights
Spousal abuse, sexual abuse, and honor killings occur, but societal
pressures prevent most incidents from being reported and most cases are
handled within the families concerned, usually by male family members.
Palestinian women endure various forms of social prejudice and
repression within their society. Because of early marriage, girls
frequently do not finish the mandatory level of schooling. Cultural
restrictions sometimes prevent women from attending colleges and
universities. While there is an active women's movement in the West
Bank, serious attention has shifted only recently from nationalist
aspirations to issues that greatly affect women, such as domestic
violence, equal access to education and employment, and laws concerning
marriage and inheritance. Women who marry outside of their faith,
particularly Christian women who marry Muslim men, often are disowned by
their families and sometimes are harassed and threatened with death.
A growing number of Palestinian women work outside the home, where they
tend to encounter discrimination. There are no special laws that provide
for women's rights in the workplace. Women are underrepresented in most
aspects of professional life.
Workers’ Rights
There is no minimum wage in the West Bank or Gaza Strip and no laws that
protect the rights of striking workers. In practice, such workers have
little or no protection from an employer's retribution. In early 2000,
West Bank teachers held a strike. On May 5, 2000, PA officials arrested
one of the strike leaders for criticizing the PA during a radio
interview. The radio station was also shut down. The teachers suspended
their strike on May 17, despite the fact that none of their demands were
met.
Child labor is a problem.
Treatment of Minorities
No PA law protects religious freedom; however, the PA generally respects
freedom of religion. In past years, there were allegations that several
converts from Islam to Christianity at times are subject to societal
discrimination and harassment by PA officials. However, there was no
pattern of PA discrimination and harassment against Christians.
“It is hard to know what is more alarming -- a toxic statement of hatred
of Jews by the Malaysian prime minister at an Islamic summit meeting
this week or the unanimous applause it engendered from the kings,
presidents and emirs in the audience. The words uttered by the prime
minister, Mahathir Mohamad, in a speech to the 57-member Organization of
the Islamic Conference on Thursday were sadly familiar: Jews, he
asserted, may be few in number, but they seek to run the
world....Sympathy for the Muslims' plight must not be confused with the
acceptance of racism. Most Muslims have indeed be shoddily treated — by
their own leaders who gather at feckless summit meetings instead of
offering their people what they most need: human rights, education and
democracy.”
— New York Times editorial27
Notes
1Arab Human Development Report 2002, NY: UN, 2002.
2Daniel Pipes, In the Path of God: Islam and Political Power, (NY: Basic
Books, 1983), p. 177.
3Arab Human Development Report 2002, NY: UN, 2002.
4U.S. State Department, Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1999.
5Martin Peretz, "Remembering Saudi Arabia," The New Republic, (January
28, 2002).
6USA Today, (April 29, 2002).
7Al-Quds Al-Arabi (London), (December 4, 1999).
8Jerusalem Post, ,(August 19, 2002).
9State Department. Human Rights Report for the Occupied Territories,
1997, 1998.
10Associated Press, (March 28, 2004).
11Washington Post, (March 29, 2004).
12CNN.com (January 10, 2005).
13Aljazeera.Net, (January 11, 2005).
14CNN.com, (January 10, 2005); Herb Keinon, “Observer teams validate PA
elections,” Jerusalem Post, (January 11, 2005).
15Herb Keinon, “Sharansky: PA election not ‘truly free,’” Jerusalem
Post, (January 11, 2005).
16Aljazeera.Net, (January 15, 2005); Jerusalem Post, (January 16, 2005).
17Herb Keinon, “Sharansky: PA election not ‘truly free,’” Jerusalem
Post, (January 11, 2005).
17aMuslim Women’s League; About.com
17bChris McGreal, “Murdered in name of family honor,” Guardian, (June
23, 2005).
17cPalestinian Center for Public Opinion, (June 14-19, 2005).
18Newsweek, (March 10, 2003).
19CBS News, (June 25, 2004).
20Washington Post, (December 4, 2001).
21Jewish Telegraphic Agency, (August 9, 2002).
22Jerusalem Report, (March 25, 2002).
23CNN, (August 16, 2001).
24Jerusalem Post, (July 1, 2002); BBC News, (August 11, 2002).
25Washington Post editorial, (October 11, 2001).
26Isabel Kershner, "Below the Law," Jerusalem Report, (April 22, 2002),
pp. 32-33.
27New York Times editorial, (October 18, 2003).
From:
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/myths/mf16.html
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