FEBRUARY 05 NEWSLETTER
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State Department Releases Human
Right Annual Report 2004

On February 28th, 2004 the U.S State Department released its annual report on human rights in the 196 countries of the world.

Regarding Egypt, the report criticized the persistence of rule by emergency law, enacted in 1981 and extended since then every three years, as well as the prevalence of torture of prisoners by security forces, that led to the death of 10 prisoners during 2004. Arbitrary arrests, and incommunicado detentions practiced by the security were described by the report as a "perilous dilemma".

In Syria, the torture of prisoners led to eight deaths during 2004. Also arbitrary arrest and incommunicado detention for long time periods without trials are still widely practiced by the Syrian government.

Whilst the report spoke of positive signs in the 2004 Algerian presidential elections, it criticized the government's recent restrictive laws imposed on the mass media, and the detention of journalists.

In Sudan, human rights record remained poor since the government continued to restrict freedom of speech, press, assembly, association, religion and movement. It arrested and harassed those who exercised these rights. By the end of 2004, there were more than 1.5 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Darfur.

Despite the government's frequent declarations of its commitment to refrain from using violence in Darfur, the government-supported militias, known as the Jinjaweed , frequently attacked civilian villages. By the end of 2004 negotiations between the North and the South had begun and the subsequent accords signed, provided hope for peace and improvement of human rights practices in other areas of Sudan.

In Saudi Arabia, there were positive developments in a few areas, including a government-sponsored conference on women’s rights and obligations, and the formation of the first formal human rights organization permitted in the Kingdom.
The country's human rights record is still very poor since abuse of prisoners by security forces, arbitrary arrests, and incommunicado detentions are still widespread practices. The religious police continue to intimidate, abuse, and detain citizens and foreigners. Also, the Government continues to restrict freedoms of speech and press, assembly, association and movement.

The report praised the constitutional amendment, ratified by the Prince of Qatar and voters in 2003, which comprised a number of positive human rights aspects. The United Arab Emirates was criticized for its continued toleration of trafficking in women and children for prostitution, and in domestic service.