Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1986
CHAD
The Chadian Government is led by President Hissein Habre who
took power in 1982 in the course of a protracted civil war.
Relying upon the armed forces as his power base, Mr. Habre
heads the Council of Ministers which, along with an appointed
National Consultative Council, comprise the executive and
legislative branches of the Government. The multiethnic
National Union for Independence and Revolution (UNIR) was
created in 1984 to broaden Habre' s political base, and in 1986
it remained the only officially recognized political movement.
In 1986 President Habre vigorously pursued with increasing
success a policy of national reconciliation, which by the end
of the year had rallied all but a small remnant of the former
armed opposition to his leadership, including in late October
most of the followers of ex-President Goukouni Oueddei ' s
so-called Transitional Government of National Union (GUNT) .
Earlier in 1986, calm returned to the south when the rebel
commandos ("CODO's") rallied to the Government. Despite these
important achievements, Libya continued to occupy 40 percent
of Chad with an estimated 7,000 troops and in December was
engaged in heavy fighting with its ex-allies, the GUNT forces
in northern Chad. Thus, at the end of 1986, the Chadian
conflict had turned from a civil war, in which Libya was
backing one side, into an international confrontation between
two states, Chad and Libya. In this transformation, Habre 's
Chadian National Armed Forces (FANT), supported by increased
French military and economic assistance, played a major role.
The arrival of the French military "Operation Epervier" in
mid-February 1986, for example, helped the FANT deter the then
combined Libyan/GUNT offensive south of the 16th parallel. A
major effort is currently under way to reintegrate the former
CODO's into the FANT or into civilian occupations.
Against this background, Chad remains desperately poor, and
its estimated population of 5 million has perhaps the lowest
annual per capita income in the world ($80). Cotton
production is the major source of government revenues and
provides employment for 40 percent of the wage work force.
However, world cotton prices plunged by 60 percent in 1986,
and production costs rose to the point where Chad's
state-owned cotton firm lost money with every purchase of the
crop, threatening, inter alia, to undermine the Chadian
banking system. This difficult situation was expected to
continue at least until the early 1990 's. The Government
relies heavily on foreign donor assistance, especially from
France, to make up for lost government revenues.
Throughout its long history of civil war, Chad had been the
scene of human rights abuses stemming from rebel activities
and reprisals by government forces. In recent years in
unoccupied Chad, most human rights violations occurred in
southern Chad. The virtual end of civil strife in the south
and the end of drought conditions have prompted many of the
thousands of Chadians who had previously sought refuge in
neighboring countries to return to Chad. Libyan-occupied
northern Chad remains closed to outside observers. At the end
of 1986, the Chadian Government accused the Libyans of
extensive human rights violations in the north, including the
charge of genocide against the population, and sought U.N.
assistance in countering Libya's intensified military
activities .
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including
Freedom from:
a. Political Killing
There were many credible reports of political killings in
1985. In marked contrast, there were no new reports of such
killings in 1986 in the area under Chadian government
control. The switching of numerous CODO ' s to the government
cause, strict and sometimes harsh punishment imposed upon
undisciplined soldiers, the establishment of a military code
of justice, and a general amnesty for all political exiles,
combined to produce an environment in 1986 which decidedly
discouraged political killing. Also the threat of further
invasion by the Libyan forces below the 16th parallel helped
to reduce political dissension and foster a unified war effort
in the unoccupied part of the country.
b. Disappearance
There were also no reported disappearances in unoccupied Chad
in 1986. However, a number of persons believed to be m
detention did not appear among the 119 political detainees
released by the Government on January 19, 1986, thereby
arousing suspicions that they had either died in custody or
were still being held. The Government stated that 119 was the
total number of such detainees. Amnesty Internatioiial
expressed concern in its 1986 Report (covering 1985) about the
"disappearance" of hundreds of people who were reportedly
detained by government forces, many of whom were believed to
have been the victims of extrajudicial executions.
c. Torture and Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment
In the long history of civil strife, there have been many
reported incidents of torture and degrading treatment by
governmental and many oppositional forces. In 1986 there was
concern for the humane treatment of prisoners of war. The
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has regular
access to several hundred prisoners of war held in Chad from
fighting predating 1986 but not to those taken in 1986,
including an estimated several hundred GU1^IT and Libyan
prisoners captured in the fighting in February and March
1986. In addition, there may be other prisoners of war taken
before 1986 who do not benefit from TCRC visits. The
Government has indicated that it will probably deny access to
Libyan prisoners as long as the Libyans deny the ICRC access
to FANT prisoners held in the north or in Libya.
Prison conditions in Chad are generally poor, largely because
of the country's poverty rather than a policy of abusive
treatment. There are reports of frequent beatings. Adequate
food is largely dependent upon outside visitors, especially
family. There are government detention centers where, because
they are not accessible to outside observers, decidedly worse
conditions may prevail.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
The judicial system and criminal code in unoccupied Chad have
evolved primarily from the body of law inherited from the
former colonial power, France. In theory, this law
incorporates safeguards against arbitrary arrests and
specifies detainee rights, including the right to counsel and
the right to be promptly informed of charges. However, in
practice, civil strife over more than 21 years has severely
disrupted the legal system, especially the operation of the
courts. Persons who express views critical of or different
from those of the Government are often thought to endanger the
security of the State and may be detained without trial.
There are very few lawyers in Chad, and there is no
functioning system of bail. The new Director of the National
Security Police announced in October that detainees would not
be held more than 48 hours without charge.
Amnesty International has been concerned about the detention
without trial of dozens of alleged opponents of the
Government. At the end of 1986, the number of persons
remaining in detention without charge, as distinct from
prisoners of war, was not known, but as noted above, the
Government claimed all political detainees had been released
in January.
The Government reports that there have been large-scale
deportations of Chadians from the northern portion of the
country to Libya for indoctrination, assimilation, forced
labor, or military service in the "Islamic Legion," an
anti-Chadian government force in the north under Libyan
control. Ex-President Goukouni Oueddei is reportedly under
arrest in Tripoli.
The International Labor Organization (ILO) has been critical
of Chad in the past for the use of forced labor. The Chadian
Government continued discussions with the ILO in 1986 on
revising outdated labor laws which do not meet ILO norms,
including the ILO's convention on forced labor.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
The Chadian judiciary has been weakened through years of civil
war and extrajudicial actions. The President appoints judges
and other judicial officials. Since 1982 the Government has
been attempting to rebuild the regular judicial system which
includes, 1 appeal court, 14 district courts, 4 labor
tribunals, and 1 special court of justice established in 1985
for processing cases involving embezzlement of public funds
and abuse of public office. There are only 2 defense
attorneys and 36 justices of the peace, which highlights the
shortage of trained judicial personnel. Judicial authorities
complain of a heavy backlog of approximately 400 cases.
There is also a traditional system of law presided over by
sultans and chiefs. This traditional system is generally
effective and fair in resolving property and other civil
disputes and in dealing with cases involving petty local
crime. In theory, decisions in customary courts may be
appealed to the regular courts.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence
Under Chadian law, homes may be searched only during the day
and under authority of a warrant. In practice, however, there
are many instances where this law has not been respected.
There have been occasional reports of soldiers, deserters, and
bandits seizing private property.
Correspondence carried by people traveling overland in Chad is
often checked by authorities at various points along the way.
Correspondence sent through the Chadian postal system,
however, is less likely to be subject to such controls.
In Libyan-occupied northern Chad, there have reportedly been
forced resettlements of Chadians and forced marriages between
Chadian women and Libyan soldiers,^colonizers . Also, reports
indicate that sizable quantities of livestock have been taken
to Libya from northern Chad without proper compensation to
their Chadian owners, and that Libyans use food distribution
as a means of keeping the local populations under control.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
Temporary detention is a likely penalty for publishing or
spreading information considered damaging to the Government's
interests. The radio stations and the only daily news
bulletin are operated by the Government's information
secretariat. A weekly news magazine is published by UNIR.
The editors, journalists, and media technicians are employed
by the Government and do not write or publish anything which
is critical of the Government.
In late December, based on military considerations, the
Government imposed censorship on all foreign news dispatches
coming from Chad. However, it ended this censorship system at
the beginning of January 1987.
Chadian law enforcement officials have been known to
"discourage" Chadians from listening to Radio Bardai, the
Chadian opposition radio station in the north, which is
actually located in Libya. Private groups (religious and
otherwise) publish nonpolitical information freely. Major
French dailies and weekly news and feature magazines are sold
in Chad, and ideologically hostile foreign magazines are
sometimes available. The ban on the sale of the Paris-based
journal Afrique Asie, imposed in 1985 following the
publication of an article critical of the Chadian Government,
remains in effect. In 1986 a local Catholic publication,
L'Espoir, was suppressed for having published political
commentary. In 1986 an Agence France Presse correspondent was
expelled for writing "false information aimed at discrediting
Chad. "
Freedoms of speech and press are tightly controlled in the
Libyan-occupied north where the use of French, one of the two
official languages of Chad, has been largely proscribed.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
In unoccupied Chad there is no forced membership in any
political organization. However, voluntary membership is
limited to the National Union for Independence and Revolution
(UNIR) and its subgroups. UNIR is working to strengthen and
extend its organization but has encountered resistance from
several ex-opposition political organizations which have
recently rallied to the Government. These political groups
vow to maintain, and have so far maintained, their individual
identities, but the Government has severely criticized
meetings of members of these political organizations in the
government-controlled press. Thus far, no other action has
been taken against these groups. Reports from the Libyan-
occupied northern part of Chad indicate that the free assembly
of indigenous Chadians there is prohibited, including in labor
unions .
Chad's labor laws provide for freedom of association for
workers, for confederation of unions, and for the right to
bargain collectively. The right to strike exists only after
arbitration at three levels in two ministries (Labor and
Justice) fails. There are two labor union confederations in
Chad, both of which are only marginally effective and are in
large part constrained by the Government. These unions are
too weak and the economy too undeveloped for organized labor
to be a significant political force.
c. Freedom of Religion
Chad professes to be a secular state. Islam, Christianity,
and other religions are freely practiced. Both Islamic and
Christian holidays are given official status. More than 50
percent of Chad's population is Muslim, and Chad is a member
of the Organization of the Islamic Conference. Christian
missionaries may, nevertheless, enter the country,
proselytize, and provide assistance to local populations.
They are particularly active in the south. Religious
publications are allowed to circulate freely, provided they do
not engage in political commentary. There is no evidence the
Government either favors or disfavors members of particular
religions. In Libyan-occupied northern Chad, only the Muslim
religion can be practiced openly.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign
Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation
Travel in Chad is sharply curtailed by the presence of hostile
forces north of the 16th parallel and by bandits and residual
rebel groups in certain southern and eastern parts of the
country. Travelers within Chad require proper documentation
and government travel authorization, which can usually be
obtained.
International travel is permitted. Chadians may obtain
regular passports for a fee of about $60, provided they have
been cleared by Chad's internal security services, a process
which normally takes less than 1 week.
Chadians are free to emigrate. In previous years, thousands
of Chadians fled to neighboring countries because of drought
and civil strife. As conditions improved in 1986, thousands
of these displaced Chadians returned from the Central African
Republic, Sudan, Cameroon, Niger, and Nigeria. Despite Chad's
limited material means, these repatriates, as well as those
Chadians who fled the occupied northern zone, have been well
received. There have been no known reprisals against members
of former opposition groups who have returned to Chad.
The movement of Chadians in the occupied north is reported to
be tightly controlled and severely restricted. There were
reports that occupying forces fired upon civilians fleeing
south to government-controlled areas.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens
to Change Their Government
The present political system makes no provision for democratic
change of government. Chad has been in a state of civil
strife since 1965, with various factions and as many as 11
armies contending at times for control of the country.
Since June 1982, Chad has been governed by President Hissein
Habre, who heads a French-style Council of Ministers
complemented by an appointed National Consultative Council
(legislature). Both Councils are carefully balanced to
promote ethnic and regional harmony. The source of President
Habre' s authority is the allegiance he commands from the armed
forces, the security services, and the country's only
authorized political movement, the National Union for
Independence and Revolution (UNIR) . UNIR's bylaws mandate the
popular election of lower-level officials, but, as yet, no
elections have been scheduled.
At present, laws, decrees, and ordinances are proposed by the
President and the Council of Ministers and occasionally
"discussed" by the National Consultative Council prior to
promulgation. Agreements signed in late 1985 in Gabon by the
Government and the rallying opposition parties, known as the
"Libreville Accords," provide for the drafting of a new
constitution by the National Consultative Council, to be voted
on by referendum within 4 years. The new constitution is to
provide a timeframe for free and democratic elections.
Sometimes, traditional leaders (cantonal or village chiefs for
example) are popularly elected or chosen by subordinate
members of the traditional hierarchy (village chiefs or family
heads, for example) .
In the occupied northern zone, Chadians must establish
Libyan-style "Peoples' Committees." The alliance of armed
Chadian opposition groups known as the Transitional Government
of National Union (GUNT) collapsed by late 1986 due to
disillusionment with Libyan control, military defeat, and
Habre' s successful policy of national reconciliation. The
GUNT had previously served as a front for the Libyan
occupation of northern Chad.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations
of Human Rights
As noted above, the Chadian Government permits the ICRC to
visit many prisoners of war captured before 1986. It does
not, however, permit ICRC visits to prisoners captured during
the fighting of 1986. The Libyans do not permit ICRC visits
to Chadian prisoners of war in the north.
The Government has carried on a "dialogue" with Amnesty
International and permitted Amnesty to send a mission to Chad
in 1985 to discuss human rights, including status and
conditions of prisoners of war, which the Government maintains
are held in recognized detention centers.
Chad has no internal human rights organizations, either
official or nongovernmental. Chad ratified the Organization
of African Unity's African Charter for Human and Peoples'
Rights in July 1986.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
Language, or Social Status
There are some 200 ethnic groups in Chad, which can be divided
roughly between Saharan and Arab Muslim in the northern and
central regions, and negroid peoples in the south. Over 21
years of conflict have brought out the complexity of ethnic
divisions beyond simple north-south formulations. Habre has
made a serious effort to expand the ethnic and geographic
representation of his administration and to create a truly
national government by appointing ministers, deputy ministers
(secretaries of state), and administrators from all parts of
the country.
In the public domain, at least, women are generally
subordinate to men. Women contribute greatly to Chad's
agricultural productivity in virtually all aspects of
farming. They also engage in commerce, ranging from simple
market stalls to the ownership of some larger businesses. The
titular members of agricultural cooperatives still tend to be
men. Women may serve voluntarily in the armed forces,
although they are excluded from officer training programs. In
1984 a Ministry of Social and Women's Affairs was created and
has always had a woman minister. Only 1 of the 15 members of
the executive bureau of UNIR's central committee is a woman.
UNIR has a fairly active women's organization. Many women,
especially war widows and their children, have inadequate
means of support.
CONDITIONS OF LABOR
The minimum age for employment is 14. Many exceptions abound,
however, as Chad is a predominantly labor-intensive agrarian
society, with 95 percent of the population engaged in
subsistence agriculture. The statutory minimum for wage labor
is approximately $25 per month. With the Government extremely
short of funds, civil servants below the executive level
receive only 60 percent of salaries on the scale established
in 1977. Nonagricultural work is limited to 48 hours per week
with overtime to be paid for any excess. Agricultural work is
supposedly limited to 2,400 hours per year. All workers must
have at least 24 consecutive hours of rest each week, usually
on Sunday. Occupational health and safety standards are
established by law and ministerial decree but, as with most
social legislation, enforcement is weak.
