Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1992
EQUATORIAL GUINEA
Equatorial Guinea is ruled by President Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who in 1979
as Vice Minister of Defense, overthrew his uncle Francisco Macias, the ruthless dictator
of the country from its independence in 1968. As the country's most senior
military officer. Brigadier General Obiang dominates both the military and civilian
branches of the State. Throughout the 1980's he strengthened his position, notably
by establishing in 1986 the sole legal political party, the Democratic Party of Equatorial
Guinea (DPEG), and staging in 1989 the first presidential election since 1968,
in which, as the only candidate, he was elected to a 7-year term. Responding to
S
-owing international and domestic pressures. In a November 1991 referendum,
biang submitted to the electorate a new constitution, the text of which was not
made readily available to the public, but which, according to the Government, was
approved by 98.38 percent of those voting. While providing for a multiparty system,
the new Constitution was on balance probably a step backwards for individual liberties
because it did not provide protections against torture and arbitraiy arrest,
and it entrenched presidential powers and specifically granted Obiang lifetime immunity
from any legal proceedings.
At the beginning of 1992, Obiang promulgated laws allowing opposition political
parties and providing amnesty for political ofienders. The DPEG was exempted from
the stringent registration requirements under the political parties law. Following
months of government manipulation of the registration process, only 6 of some 12
opposition parties operating m Equatorial Guinea were "provisionally" registered by
September.
Civilian and military security branches are responsible for public order, augmented
by a presidential guard of 400 to 600 men provided by Morocco. The Moroccan
Guard, which has been deployed to Equatorial Guinea for 13 years to provide
protection to the President, continues to be the security cornerstone of the Obiang
regime. In the past, the Guard has been credibly reported to be engaged in the
abuse of detainees, although this practice seems to have stopped. Equatorial Guinean
security forces historically have committed the majority of human rights abuses,
reportedly often at the behest of senior government oflicials, who commonly have
led raids against the opposition and directed torture and interrogation sessions.
Equatorial Guinea's total military expenditures for 1989, the last year for which the
U.iS. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency conducted a detailed analaysis, were
between $1 million and $5 million. Defense expenditures in 1992 were likely significantly
higher as new security formations were organized and more extensive internal
security operations undertaken.
Equatorial Guineans live mainly by subsistence agriculture, hunting, and fishing.
The small wage economy is based mainly on cocoa, lumber, and coffee. A very smedl
elite class has emerged in recent years, largely employed by, or dependent on, the
Government. Its apparent wealth is far beyona government salaries and, according
to many reports, may be derived in large part from corruption. The country remains
heavily dependent on foreign aid.
Human rights continueato be tightly circumscribed in 1992. Despite the laws on
political parties and amnesty. President Chiang's Grovemment blocked many opposition
parties from registering while repressing opponents of the regime. Security
forces arrested scores of political opponents in the course of the year, beating and
torturing many of them—at least 250 persons—without judicial sanction, and raided
and sacked the oflices of several of the political parties. The amnesty law allowed
some exiles to return and freed most political prisoners, but it extended more protection
to violators of human rights than to their victims.
RESPECT FDR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom from
a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing.
^While there were no known tai^eted
political or extrajudicial killings in 1992, two persons were killed in a summaiy
manner by members of the national security force. The first killing took place in
late Octolier in Bata and the second a month later in Malabo. No penalty was appju^
ntly imposed on the perpetrator of the first killing; a security force member was
executed following a sunmiary trial by a militaiy tribunal for the second.
b. Disappearance.
^There were no known disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
Police and other security forces continued routinely to administer torture suad other
cruel forms of mistreatment to prisoners. Authorities employed a wide variety of
techniques, including: severe beatings with sticks, rubber truncheons, and whips;
electric shocks; hanging victims by their feet or arms; the infamous "Ethiopian"
trussing and suspension from an iron bar; and "Chinese water torture." Physical as
well as psychological torture was used routinely as an aid in interrogation and to
intimidate and punish prisoners. Police often detained known or suspected opposition
supporters only long enough to administer a beating. Punishments of 50 or 75
strokes with a wood or rubber ni^tstick on the soles of the feet, back, buttocks,
or other parts of the body were conmion.
In February the police rounded up approximately 40 members of the youth group
of the Social Liberal Christian Democratic Party for holding an alleged "illegal meeting."
Before being released the same day, police beat the members with nigiit sticks
at security headquarters in Malabo under the supervision of senior police officers.
Also in February, Captain Fausto Abeso Fuma (alias Tito Garriga), President
Obiang's son-in-law, and a squad of armed security agents under his command arrested
and publicly beat Placido Miko Alogo, a member of the Convergence for Social
Democracy. Police suspected Miko of printing and distributing an antigovemment
newspaper defaming the President. He was later severely tortured by security forces
on the orders of President Obiang's brother, Armengol Ondo Nguema, Director General
of National Security. Although in severe pain from body and internal injuries,
Miko received no professional medical attention despite pleas by his family and the
international community.
In August police detained four members of the Party of Progress and beat them
with nigntsticks. In September security forces under the command of the Secretary
of State for National Security, Manuel Nguema Mba, and the Director of National
Security, Armengol Ondo Nguema, raided the headquarters of the Party of Progress
(PP) in Malabo, arrested 22 of its members, and seized the party's files and membership
lists. The authorities subsequently detained at least another 10 party members
and beat them with nightsticKS at security headquarters and in Blackbeach
Prison in Malabo. Reliable sources reported that Armengol Ondo Nguema, Manuel
Nguema Mba, and police captain Francisco Edu Ngua supervised the beatings, and
that Minister-Secretary General Ricardo Mangue was present at security headquarters
during these brutal punishments. Of those detained, Pablo Ndong Nsema,
a former commissioner of police, reportedly was additionally tortured oy being
burned by electric cables applied to his stomach area. Similarly, the police beat six
members of the Popular Union Party (UP) who were detained briefly in October.
Police beatings of approximately 100 persons—students, educators and priests
—
detained on December 17 included repeated torture sessions over several days with
punishment per session often exceeding 100 strokes with a meter-long rubber truncheon.
The torture was carried out under the immediate supervision of senior government
authorities, including Secretary of State for National Security Manuel
Nguema Mba and Director of National S«nirity Armengol Ondo Nguema. Closely coordinating
the detentions and summary punishments were Secretanr of State in the
Presidency Ricardo Mangue Obama Nfube, Minister of Interio Julio Ndong Ela
Mangue, Minister of Mines and Petroleum Juan Olo Mba Nzeng, Secretary General
in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Luis Obiang Mangue and the Equatoguinean Director
of the World Bank's major in-country program Guillermo Nguema Ela. In one
case, a torture victim received as many as 500-600 strokes during the course of the
night of December 17-18; he was given injections to revive him and numb the pain,
according to eyewitnesses. Cold water was thrown on other prisoners to revive those
who passed out during beatings. At least six detainees—Roman Catholic priest Luis
Maria Ondo Mayie, UJ4. Development Program employee Arsenio Moro Malonga,
political activists Celestino Bacale Obiang and Santos Pascual Bikomo, and educational
authorities Daniel Nguema and Julian Bibang Oye—received internal ii^uries
which competent medical sources reported could be hfe threatening as a result
of the beatings.
Rrison conditions continued to be extremely harsh. Basic amenities were rarely
provided, and prisoners' essential needs were largely supplied by their families or
mends. The Government is reported to provide omy a single loaf of bread per prisoner
per day. There was almost no access to medical treatment for common illnesses,
such as endemic malaria, or following torture sessions. As of July family
menders canving food to political detainees at Blackbeach prison were required to
show proof of membership in the government party in order to enter the presidential
compound where the prison mcUity is located.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
Despite the right of habeas corpus and
other constitutional protections, the authorities often make arrests without judicial
order and without regard to the individual's ri^ts to be charged or released within
a reasonable period of time, to have access to a lawyer, or to be released on bail.
Arbitrary arrests by security forces or police are commonplace and often based on
spurious chtu^es in order to extort money, harass political opponents, or gain personal
revenge. Many detainees are held incommunicado.
Civilians are often detained in militery camps as was the case of the 31 persons
arrested following the attack on the Party of Progress oftices. Security autnorities
also detained an unknown number of militaiy personnel whose names were found
on PP membership lists at these militaiy camps in Malabo.
Security forces arrested Jose Antonio Dorronsoro Ekuta in February and Celestino
Bacale Obiang and Jose Luis Nvumba Manana in April. All are associates of Placido
Miko Alogo. Dorronsoro was released within a few days without being charged;
Bacale Obiang and Nvumba were detained for several weeks and, with Placido
Miko, were charged with slandering state authorities and institutions. Miko was
held nearly 4 months at Blackbeach Prison, without having been tried for "insulting
the Head of State." All were amnestied in June in honor oT President Obiang's 50th
birthdav celebrations. Two other dissidents, Fernando Abaga Edjang and Arsenio
Moro Malonga, avoided arrest by remaining in the oillces of an international organization
where they are employed.
Security forces arrested approximately 42 members of the UP, a legally registered
political party, in Ebebijrin and Micomeseng in July and detained them for several
weeks at Bata without charge. At least 5 members of the UP were arrested in late
October.
The number of detainees, political as well as criminal, held at the end of 1992
was not known but likely was between 150 and 200. The Government refused to
provide figures and did not permit third parties to inspect prison conditions in 1992.
The regional delegate for the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC)
made tnree visits to the country during 1992; discussions are still under way for
a possible visitation program. Antonio Ebang Mbele Abang, former Vice President
of the ChanJber of People's Representation detained in 1991, was released in early
1992.
In 1992 the Government continued to use internal exile (banishment to home villages)
as a technique to intimidate dissidents and keep the nx)wing opposition off
balance. In January political detainee Pedro Motu Mamiaga Oyana, a former army
lieutenant, was released after 13 months in solitary confinement in Blackbeach Prison
without chai-ge or judicial proceedings. A few weeks later, Motu was again detained
without warrant or charge and sent to internal exile in his home village near
Ebebiyin, Rio Muni.
Several prominent opposition figures returned to Equatorial Guinea in 1992, often
after years in exile, and^began poBticaJ activity. Among these was Severo Moto Nsa,
who had been denied a passport to return in 1991. Although he was not jailed, Moto
was harassed by security forces, and during 1992 at least 40 of his supporters were
arrested and the majority tortured. Another former exile, Benjamin BaUingha
Belinga, the leader of a legally recognized opposition party, spent several weeks in
Blackbeach Prison on a civil charge related to a commercial debt. Also returning
from 4 years in exile was Carmelo Modu Akuse Bindang, founder and Secretary
General of the Democratic Social Union. Two Brazilians who accompanied Modu on
his December 27 return as political advisors were refused entry into the country despite
having valid visas.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
There is a formal court structure, with the Supreme
Court at the apex, and also military and customary (traditionsd) court systems.
Traditional laws and customs are honored in the formal court system when
not in conflict with national law. The tribunal provided for in the Constitution to
decide constitutional issues has never been established; in the meantime, the Council
of State appointed by the President and responsible to him is empowered to rule
on constitutional questions.
Tliere is no separation between the executive and the judiciary, and Supreme
Court justices serve at the pleasure of the President. The executive branch acts with
little respect or understanding for judicial independence. The nation's mixture of
traditional law, militaiy law, and Spanish rules and procedures combines to produce
an inconsistent system of justice. Judges and court officials are poorly trained.
There is little application of due process, and appellate proceedings are virtually
nonexistent. Defendants unable to aflbrd legal counsel stand little chance of acquittal.
Further, most of the few lawyers (approximately 30) in the country depend on
their connections to the Government for a livelihood, which raises questions about
the impartiality of the defense their clients midit receive.
The Government appears to use charges of "kong" (traditional witchcraft which
is believed to cause injury or death) to jail those suspected of engaging in proscribed
political activity as well as to gain personal revenge. Since the statutes of Equatorial
Guinea do not refer to witchcraft, such cases are reportedly handled outside
the normal court system.
The number of political and security prisoners held at the end of 1992 was not
known, but througnout the year it ranged from a handful td as high as 100—a significant
number in a population of 350,000. In January the four persons remaining
in prison from an alleged 1988 coup plot, Joaquin Elema Borenque, Francisco
Bonifacio Mba Nguema, Caspar Manana Okiri, and Pedro Bakale Maye, were freed
under provisions of the amnesty law.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence
Although
required by the Constitution, search warrants are not normally used. The
Government sometimes places under surveillance persons it deems suspicious. Many
believe telephone conversations are routinely momtored. There seems to be no deliberate,
routine interference with correspondence, but security forces try to prevent
distribution of printed materials unfavorable to the Government. Placido Mixo's arrest
in February was initiated after a sealed letter was taken from a traveler about
to board an aircraft for Spain. Security agents in May confiscated several boxes of
information consigned to the Party or Progress on their arrival in Malabo by air
from Spain and reportedly burned them wiQiout judicial process or indemnification.
Virtually all political parties reported confiscation of party material, including ofiice
supplies and equipment, at the time they were legally imported into the country.
Most were reportedly not returned, despite payment of import duties.
The government harassment of its political opponents also took the form of summaiy
dismissals from government employment and evictions from governmentowned
housing. Juan Manene, leader of the Social Liberal Christian Democratic
Party, was evicted from government-owned housing in April and fired from his job
at the state telephone company in July. Manene and his wife fled the countiy. Mnistry
of Foreign Affairs official Terencio Luis Ngundi Ebule was summarily dismissed
from his iob in October after he was denounced by two colleagues for being
disrespectfiil of the Head of State, including not having a picture hanging in his office.
He was beaten in police custody and in November tried and found guilty; he
paid a $200 fine in lieu of serving an additional 4 months in prison.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
It was still dangerous to criticize President
Obiang or his Government in 1992. Security forces arrested persons suspected of
distributing an opposition newspaper. At least one person, Maria de Pilar Manana,
was violently arrested by senior police officers in June for possession of an underground
newspaper; despite serious medical problems, she was held without chaive
at Blackbeach Prison for over 2 months. Those who criticized the Government could
be charged with slandering the Head of State, other officials, or institutions. The
Government has a monopoly on television and radio, and routinely denies its opponents
access to the media, except in carefully controlled situations. The Government
and party did not publish editions of their newspapers in 1992, and the Government
has not issued an edition of the official gazette for over 2 years. No private newspapers
were registered, and no foreign newspapers or magazines were available for
sale. A press law promulgated in October, but still not publicly available at the end
of the year, institutionalized the Government's absolute control over all written
media and press agencies.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
Despite constitutional provisions
guaranteeing these freedoms, the Government continued to require opposition
{>olitical organizations to obtain permission from security forces before holding pubic
meetings, and there were cases of opposition leaders arrested for participating
in political meetings in private homes. For the first time in over 20 years, the Government
allowed approximately 10 rallies by le^al opposition parties in 1992, at
which speakers criticized the Government. Despite requests from political parties,
there were no pubUc meetings permitted during the last 3 months of the year, with
the exception of those of the government party, whose rallies and meetings were
near daily fare in the media and on television broadcasts. Private nonpoliticfd
groups, such as professional organizations, churches, and sports groups, require government
approval to hold meetings.
c. Freedom of Religion
Christianity, mainly Roman Catholicism, is the predominant
religion, often interspersed with traditional religious practices. Except for Jehovah's
Witnesses, freedom of religion is generally tolerated, though ministers of religion
are prohibited by law from criticizing government officials or institutions. Jehovah's
Witnesses are ofiicially prohibited from practicing their religion, but do so
unofficially in a low-key manner. The Islamic and Baha'i faiths are also practiced
openly. In general, active proselytizing by Protestant denominations is discouraged,
but conversions are permitted. Government permission must be obtained to open
new places of worship. Foreign clergy and nussionaries continue to have an active
role m educational development. AU denominations are allowed to participate in
charitable as well as religious activities.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation
Citizens and residents of Equatorial Guinea are not free to travel freely
within the country. All persons traveling between the island of Bioko, where Malabo
is located, and the contmental portion of the country must pass through police control.
Police, who are poorly paid and trained, often extort small payments for passage
through trafiic checkpoints on major roads. There were instances in 1992 of
opposition party members being refused passage on the government-owned ship
Acacio Mane Ela. There are restrictions on travel abroad, including lengthy delays
in obtaining passports. To leave the country both citizens and residents of Equatorial
Guinea must obtain exit permits, which are issued only with the approval of
the Secretary of State or Director for National Security. Several known dissidents
were refused exit permits in 1992; others had their passports held for months at
a time with no action taken on exit visas. In at least one case the pregnant wife
of an opposition member was delayed for several weeks from leaving the country
for medical attention abroad which could not be obtained in Equatorial Guinea.
Many Equatoguineans leave the country without formal documentation for both economic
and political reasons. The Government refused to consider a request from foreign
embassies to permit air evacuation of several of the more seriously injured victims
of police beatings following the December 17 mass detentions and torture, despite
the absence of modem diagnostic equipment in the country.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to Change Their Government
The people of Equatorial Guinea do not have the right to change their government
by democratic means. There have been no free elections since 1968, and President
Obiang's party, DPEG, stUl completely dominates the political system, although it
is no longer the sole legal party. Government and party are indistinguishable, with
the DPEG receiving dues from all government employees and full backing from television
and radio. All public and government meetings, including those of congress
and the courts, take place under the party as well as the national flag. The legislature
is subordinate to the executive and has no independent authority; all governors
are appointed and removed by the President; all locally elected officials serve at the
pleasure of the President as well.
Although the Government introduced a multiparty political system in 1991 and
legally recognized six opposition parties in 1992, it avoided recognizing at least two
others which applied for legalization in October. During 1992 alTopposition political
groupings reported harassment, including detentions, by government officials.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigation
of Alleged Violations of Human Rights
The government-appointed Human Rights Commission continued to be an instrument
of the President. It only held two meetings in 1992, without seriously addressing
human rights issues.
President Obiang rejected the report on human rights in Equatorial Guinea prepared
for the United Nations Human Ri^ts Commission by Special Rapporteur
Fernando Volio Jimenez, referring to Jimenez as a "known enemy of Equatorial
Guinea." The report detailed political detentions and torture in the counties prisons,
based on the Special Rapporteur's trip to Eauatorial Guinea late in 1991. After
publicly stating in November 1991 that he would welcome advice on a democratic
transition from former Spanish Prime Minister Adolfo Suarez, Obiang did not issue
a letter of invitation until mid-April and had it delivered to the Spanish statesman
only in mid-May. Following Suarez' trip to Equatorial Guinea in late May, Obiang
sharpljr rejected Suarez' advice and twice refused to grant Suarez' plane landing
rights in Equatorial Guinea. In 1992 the Government did not respond to Anmesty
International reports that it continued to torture prisoners and to detain {wlitical
opponents outside the judicial process.
Section 5. Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion, Language, or Social Status
Although the law calls for equal treatment for all citizens, ethnic groups are not
granted uie same rights and privileges. The Fang comprise 75 to 80 percent of the
population, the Bubi 15 percent, and other groups the remainder. A small number
of Fang clans, especially those of the President and his relatives by marriage, dominate
virtually all aspects of government, military, commercial, and social life. Discrimination
against the Bubi and Femandino of Bioko Island, as well as the Ndowe
and associated coastal groups on the continent, is consistent, whether in the granting
of political office and civil service positions, or in the approval of academic scholarships.
Members of the Fang who are not from the President's clan or region also
widely contend that they are discriminated against as well. There are, however,
members of minority groups in positions of political prominence but with little real
authority. A Bubi was appointed Prime Minister in January, replacing another
Bubi; the President of the House of People's Representatives is a member of the
Benga ethnic group from the island of Corisco; and virtually all ethnic groups were
represented in the Cabinet.
Women are largely confined by custom to traditional roles, especially in agriculture.
Polygyny, which is widespread among the Fang, contributes to the secondary
status given to women in society. According to the Government, boys and girls,
once they gain admission to secondary school, are equally likely to complete that
schooling. However, according to recent U.N. data, females in Ecpiatorial Guinea receive
onhr one-fifth as much schooling as males. Tlie Constitution and laws guarantee
equal rights for women, and there is no legal discrimination in employment. The
Ministry for the Promotion of Women focuses on agriculture, handicrafts, and professional
training. It is interested in developing women's agricultural cooperatives
and enrolling more women in the school of professional training in Malabo.
According to medical professionals, violence against women, particularly wife
beating, is common. Child abuse is uncommon. The Government has not addressed
violence as an issue and looks to the Ministry for the Promotion of Women to advance
the interests of women in Equatorial Guinean society.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
Workers do not have the right of free association,
although a law governing unions was under consideration in 1992. In the small
w^age economy, there are a few cooperatives with limited power, but there are no
labor organizations as such. The right to strike is guaranteed in the Constitution,
but there is no implementing legislation, and strikes are prohibited by law. An attempt
by teachers to strike m support of an incarcerated colleague who had been
detained for longer than the 72 hours permitted by law resulted in the widespread
arrest of at least 100 students, teachers, political activists, and priests on December
17.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
There is no legislation regarding
these rights or addressing antiunion discrimination and no evidence of collective
bargaining by any group. Wages are set by the Government and employers, with
little or no input by workers. The employer must meet the minimum wage set by
the Government, and most companies pay above the government-established minimum.
There are no export processing or free trade zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
Forced labor and slavery are prohibited
by law, and slavery does not exist in Equatorial Guinea. However, persons
serving sentences or detained without formal charges at Blackbeach Prison, security
headquarters in Malabo, and the police station in Luba were forced to do day labor
on the grounds of the presidential compound as well as on the farms, at residential
construction sites, and in businesses of senior government ofiicials, including the
President.
d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children
The legal minimum age for emplojrment
is 16, but there is no enforcement of this law. Children younger than 16
commonly assist families with agricultural production and sales. They also comprise
a significant part of the sales force in the informal economy as street vendors and
in the public markets.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
There is only a small industrial sector in the
country. Salaried employment is provided mainly by the Government, but also by
a few construction companies ana businesses furnishing retail goods and services
and by the plantation agricultural sector. The minimum wage law is not widely enforced
by the Ministry of Labor, and government employees are exempted from its
provisions. The minimum wage by itself does not provide a woilcer and family with
a decent living, and most of those with regular salaried income must supplement
their earnings with income from other sources or by farming. The law limits the regular
workweek to 48 hours and guarantees employees 1 rest day per week, plus regularly
scheduled national holidays. The Labor Code offers comprehensive protection
for workers from occupational hazards, but it is not effectively enforced by the few
inspectors from the Ministry of Labor. Safety and health conunittees which are explicitly
sanctioned by the Code do not mnction, and employees who protest
unhealthfiil or dangerous woiking conditions risk losing their jobs.
