The Republic of Uruguay is located in South America, between Argentina, Brazil and the South Atlantic Ocean, with a population of 3,332,972. [1] Uruguay gained independence and sovereignty from Spain in 1828 [2] and has full control over its internal and external affairs. [3] From 1973 to 1985 Uruguay was governed by a civil-military dictatorship which committed numerous human rights abuses. [4] [5]
Uruguay is generally committed to the promotion and protection of human rights and ranks as the most rights conscious nation in South America. [6] However areas of concern remain, including inhumane prison facilities, access to justice for crimes committed as a result of the dictatorship and discrimination towards women.
Uruguay has signed and ratified most of the international human rights treaties without reservations, including: [7]
Uruguay has also ratified both Optional Protocols to the ICCPR. [7] Uruguay has one general reservation/declaration with regard to article 38, paragraphs 2-3 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) which deals with youth involvement in armed conflict. [8]
Uruguay is subject to the Universal Periodic Review process as it is a member state of the United Nations. [9] It has completed two rounds of the Universal Periodic Review, the latest in 2013. [10] Uruguay has recognised the jurisdiction of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights as a member of the Organisation of American States. [11]
On 18 March 2005 Uruguay extended a “standing invitation” to all visits from the UN Special Procedures. [12] In 2007 this invitation was also extended to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. [13]
In 2008, the National Institution for Human Rights (INDDH) was established [14] to “defend, promote and protect” human rights in Uruguay. [15] The agency advises on the signing and ratification of international treaties, implementation of practices to protect human rights and to investigate violations of human rights. [16] Various other institutions exist to promote human rights in particular areas of government, such as: [17]
The Commission Against Racism, Xenophobia, and All Forms of Discrimination was created in 2007 however it has not had an allocated budget since 2010, and the terms of its members have lapsed. [18]
The Constitution of Uruguay sets out provisions for Uruguay's governance. The Constitution of Uruguay is supreme law and under Article 256 the Supreme Court of Justice may declare laws to be unconstitutional. [19] It prescribes the powers and functions of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of Government. It specifically grants all persons equality before the law and Section Two specifically recognises a number of fundamental rights. [20] Article 72 stipulates that the rights listed are not exhaustive and includes other rights “inherent in human beings or which are derived from a republican form of government.” [21] Article 332 also states that it is immaterial if no specific regulation exists for individual rights proclaimed in the Constitution as general principles of justice and doctrine are analogous. [22]
According to the Uruguayan constitutions and the law 16.021 [23] Legal citizens of Uruguay [24] are not able to obtain Uruguayan nationality, and people who have Uruguayan nationality can not give up their Uruguayan nationality either. It is against the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 15. This causes many problems in international travel, jurisdiction, investment, property ownership, asset declaration, marriage, extradition, discrimination, etc. Legal citizens of Uruguay have the right to obtain a Uruguayan passport.
The death penalty has been abolished in Uruguay. [25]
Freedom of speech is guaranteed in the Constitution. [26] This includes freedom in all methods of dissemination including freedom of the press. The government generally respects these rights. [27] In 2012 the government decreed that digital television would be free and unrestricted throughout Uruguay. [28] In 2014 the passage of the Law of Audiovisual Communication Services was hailed by human rights groups as a model for Latin American freedom of expression. [29] The law works to reduce media concentration and create a conscience clause for journalists. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression noted that there are occasional cases of violence and intimidation against journalists such as the 2011 assault on Luis Diaz by police in Salto. [30] Uruguay has made progress in reforming the use of defamation suits when a public interest is present but such suits can still result in impeding journalistic investigations. [31]
The Uruguayan Constitution guarantees freedom of religion and declares that the State supports no particular religion. [32] Some argue Uruguay goes further than simple neutrality and is in fact secular fundamentalist. [33] Religious education is not provided and banned in public schools [34] and is regarded by the State as being a private practice. The State has co-opted the traditional religious holidays and renamed them along secular lines (Easter as “Tourism Week”). [35] There are sporadic reports of abuse based on religious discrimination, including anti-Semitism, but victims report helpful cooperation with the police on investigating these matters. [36]
The Uruguayan Constitution establishes an electoral democratic republic. Legislative authority is vested in the bi-cameral General Assembly and the Executive takes the form of a President and appointed Cabinet. [37] Each is elected for a five-year term by universal suffrage. [38] Non-citizens domiciled in Uruguay for at least 15 years and who possess capital in the country may vote. [39] The General Assembly is elected by closed list proportional representation and the President via a majority runoff. [40]
Uruguay also provides a system of popular referendums. [41] This method of direct democracy allows citizens to ratify Parliamentary reforms, demand the repeal of laws and institute new law through popular proposal.
Uruguay has strong anti-corruption legislation, in particular the Transparency Law (Law Cristal) which introduces criminal liability for a number of actions of public officials such as laundering of public funds. [37] Furthermore, Uruguay recently introduced gender quotas for election cycles, requiring equal representation on candidate shortlists. [42]
Uruguay has signed the main international treaties banning the act of torture such as the CAT and the ICCPR, including the Optional Protocols to the ICCPR and CAT that recognise the jurisdiction of the United Nations Human Rights Committee and the Committee against Torture to receive and consider complaints regarding torture and inhumane treatment. [43] The Constitution does not contain a clear freedom from torture provision but it does give the right to enjoy life, liberty, security and property. [44] The Penal Code contains provisions criminalising abuse of authority by public officials in the prison system and article 22.1 of the Law on Cooperation with the International Criminal Court in Matters of the Fight against Genocide, War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity criminalises torture by any State agent, including cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment. [45] However, the Special Rapporteur on Torture (SR) has noted that this law is not likely to be utilised for individual crimes but rather grouped as crimes against humanity and urged reform to change this. [46]
Torture is not a systematic problem however police and other authorities do occasionally infringe on prisoners’ rights. [47] There are reports of beatings and the excessive use of force by police and prison staff. [48] The Special Rapporteur noted that prison conditions are an issue and amounted to cruel, degrading and inhumane treatment. The prison system in Uruguay in 2013 was at 125% capacity [49] and the SR found that conditions were “an insult to human dignity”. [50] It was found that prisoners had restricted access to water, toilets, medical attention, and a lack of space to sleep and were allowed out of their cells for only four hours a week. [51] This was not uniform throughout the prisons and some prisoners of an elevated economic and social status enjoyed far better facilities.
The SR found that almost all the problems were a result of a flawed criminal justice programme. [52] Extensive use of pre-trial detention and a slow judicial system has resulted in the overcrowding as well as the mixing of pre-trial detainees and convicted prisoners, a violation of the Presumption of innocence. [47] It is reported that 68% of all prisoners are awaiting trial.
Uruguay has made progress since the visit of the Special Rapporteur. An Emergency Prison Law has given more funding for prison facilities and allows prisoners to be held in military facilities to ease the overcrowding. [53] In his follow up visit the SR found improvements and increases in some prison facilities and reforms to the penitentiary supervision system but again urged the Government to continue to pursue comprehensive criminal justice reform. [54]
From 1973 to 1985 Uruguay was ruled by a military dictatorship. During this time a number of human rights abuses were committed including the use of torture, unlawful detention and enforced disappearances. [55] In order to prevent a further coup, when democracy was restored to Uruguay the Government passed the Ley de Caducidad de la Pretensión Punitiva del Estado or Amnesty/Expiry Law in 1986 which protected the military and police from prosecution for crimes committed during the dictatorship. [56] Article 4 of the Act withdrew the right of the judiciary to investigate abuses in favour of executive control. The judiciary still took cases in order to pressure the Government into using its Article 4 powers and high-profile cases such as the Elena Quinteros case achieved this. [57] President Vasquez opened up cases occurring before the coup for investigation. By 2011 the Supreme Court had pronounced the Expiry Law unconstitutional in three separate cases. [58] Pressure from the Gelman v Uruguay decision of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights led to the repeal of the Expiry Law in 2011 with the passage of Act No. 18.831. [59]
However recent events have continued to undermine the access to justice for the victims of the dictatorship and once again risked non-compliance with international human rights standards. In 2013, the Supreme Court found Act No 18.831 to be unconstitutional as a statute of limitations should apply to the period of dictatorship and that the crimes committed during that time should not be classified as crimes against humanity. [60] The decision applied only to the case in particular but demonstrates a lingering unwillingness to give justice. Amnesty International has found that little progress has been made since the decision in ensuring the crimes were accounted for. [61] The Committee on Enforced Disappearances noted in its 2013 report that the Supreme Court decision declared persons missing for more than 30 years were held to be dead and is an issue of homicide thus blunting efforts to investigate the enforced disappearances. [62]
Under law, women have equal treatment. Gender equality is enshrined in a number of laws such as: [63]
Violence towards women is also an issue and the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture noted that the State's response was not adequate especially its failure to carry out the Action Plan on Fighting Domestic Violence. [64] Human rights groups have also noted that there had been an increase in domestic violence complaints and state programmes had been unsuccessful at reducing the number of deaths of women. [65]
In 2012 abortion was decriminalised however there are obstacles to accessing the procedure such as a compulsory five-day wait and a review by an expert panel. [61] In the event of pregnancy from rape, the rape victim must lodge a complaint with police before an abortion can be sanctioned. [61] This is a problem as anecdotal evidence suggests some rape victims do not file complaints due to social stigma and a fear of retribution. [66] Access to sexual and reproductive health is generally good with contraception provided for free. [64] Since 2004 there has been a significant increase in the number of family planning services throughout Uruguay. [67]
Despite the legal provisions, in some cases women still have to confront inequality such as in employment or wage inequality. [68] The creation of the National Women's Institute and the Equal Opportunities Plan of the Municipal Government of Montevideo is helping to make progress. [69]
Human rights in Brazil include the right to life and freedom of speech; and condemnation of slavery and torture. The nation ratified the American Convention on Human Rights. The 2017 Freedom in the World report by Freedom House gives Brazil a score of "2" for both political rights and civil liberties; "1" represents the most free, and "7", the least.
Human rights in Germany enjoy a high level of protection, both in theory and in practice, and are enshrined in the Grundgesetz. The country has ratified most international human rights treaties. Reports from independent organizations such as Amnesty International certify a high level of compliance with human rights, while others, like the researcher Tobias Singelnstein, point out several issues, in particular police brutality and mistreatment of refugees. The 2008 Freedom in the World report by US-funded Freedom House gives Germany a score of "1" for both political rights and civil liberties.
Human rights are largely respected in Switzerland, one of Europe's oldest democracies. Switzerland is often at or near the top in international rankings of civil liberties and political rights observance. Switzerland places human rights at the core of the nation's value system, as represented in its Federal Constitution. As described in its FDFA's Foreign Policy Strategy 2016-2019, the promotion of peace, mutual respect, equality and non-discrimination are central to the country's foreign relations.
Christopher John Robert Dugard, known as John Dugard, is a South African professor of international law. His main academic specializations are in Roman-Dutch law, public international law, jurisprudence, human rights, criminal procedure and international criminal law. He has served on the International Law Commission, the primary UN institution for the development of international law, and has been active in reporting on human-rights violations by Israel in the Palestinian territories.
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Human rights in Bhutan are those outlined in Article 7 of its Constitution. The Royal Government of Bhutan has affirmed its commitment to the "enjoyment of all human rights" as integral to the achievement of 'gross national happiness' (GNH); the unique principle which Bhutan strives for, as opposed to fiscally based measures such as GDP.
The Yogyakarta Principles is a document about human rights in the areas of sexual orientation and gender identity that was published as the outcome of an international meeting of human rights groups in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, in November 2006. The principles were supplemented and expanded in 2017 to include new grounds of gender expression and sex characteristics and a number of new principles. However, the Principles have never been accepted by the United Nations (UN) and the attempt to make gender identity and sexual orientation new categories of non-discrimination has been repeatedly rejected by the General Assembly, the UN Human Rights Council and other UN bodies.
Defamation of religion is an issue that was repeatedly addressed by some member states of the United Nations (UN) from 1999 until 2010. Several non-binding resolutions were voted on and accepted by the UN condemning "defamation of religion". The motions, sponsored on behalf of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), now known as the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, sought to prohibit expression that would "fuel discrimination, extremism and misperception leading to polarization and fragmentation with dangerous unintended and unforeseen consequences". Religious groups, human rights activists, free-speech activists, and several countries in the West condemned the resolutions arguing they amounted to an international blasphemy law. Critics of the resolutions, including human rights groups, argued that they were used to politically strengthen domestic anti-blasphemy and religious defamation laws, which are used to imprison journalists, students and other peaceful political dissidents.
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This section provides an overview of the status of the right to food at a national level.
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Portugal is generally considered as successful in upholding the civil liberties and protecting the human rights of its citizens. Portugal has proved to be determined in promoting and respecting human rights at an international and national level. The country's minister of Justice as of September 2018, Francisca Van Dunem, said that Portugal has had "a good track record" on human rights but violations still do persist.