U.S. Department of State Country Report on Human Rights Practices 1997 - Senegal
Publisher | United States Department of State |
Publication Date | 30 January 1998 |
Cite as | United States Department of State, U.S. Department of State Country Report on Human Rights Practices 1997 - Senegal, 30 January 1998, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6aa1d8.html [accessed 6 June 2023] |
Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, January 30, 1998.
SENEGAL
Senegal is a republic with an elected president, Abdou Diouf, who has been in office since 1981, and a unicameral legislature dominated by the President's Socialist Party (PS) since independence from France in 1960. During the year, the Government installed new decentralized regional and local administrations. The stability brought about by the entry of the principal opposition party into government in 1995 continued, with the smaller parties choosing to remain in government while contesting the elections. A renewal of fighting in the Casamance area in the southern part of the country between the Government and the secessionist Movement of Democratic Forces in the Casamance (MFDC) caused many civilians to flee their villages. MFDC rebel forces reportedly were responsible for killings, disappearances, and torture. The judiciary is independent, although subject to governmental influence and pressure. The armed forces are professional and generally disciplined. They traditionally remain aloof from politics and are firmly under civilian control. The paramilitary gendarmerie and the police are less professional and less disciplined. Some members of the gendarmerie and the police continued to commit serious human rights abuses. Senegal is predominantly agricultural with more than 70 percent of the labor force engaged in farming, largely peanut production. Since the devaluation of the cfa franc in 1994, the Government implemented a series of economic policy reforms to enhance competitiveness and is phasing out most qualitative restrictions on imports, dismantling monopolies, liberalizing the labor market, and privatizing several important state-owned industries. Supported by the international donor community, Senegal remains dependent on foreign assistance as an important part of its national budget. The Government generally respected the human rights of its citizens, however, there were serious problems in some areas, particularly reports of extrajudicial killings and disappearances, torture by police of suspects during questioning, arbitrary arrest, and lengthy pretrial detention. The Government tried or punished no military, gendarmes, or police for previous human rights abuses. A National Observatory of Elections was created in August; its effectiveness is expected to be tested during the national parliamentary elections in May 1998. The Socialist Party's continued domination of Senegalese political life calls into question the extent to which citizens can meaningfully exercise their right to change the government. Poor prison conditions, a judiciary subject to government influence and pressure, domestic violence and discrimination against women, some abuse of children, child labor, and mob violence are also problems.