SOUTH ASIA - House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats

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2174were being educated in home schools, because of administrative problems in theTaliban-run schools, including problems in the payment of teachers’ salaries. A highproportion of the students in Northern Alliance-controlled territory reportedly weregirls. In 1999 in areas newly captured by the Taliban, some communities successfullypetitioned Taliban representatives to reopen the schools. In Herat, which wascaptured by the Taliban in 1995, girls’ schools have remained closed except in therefugee camps maintained by international NGO’s. Nonetheless, approximately 5percent of girls were enrolled in school in Kandahar; approximately 20 percent ofgirls were enrolled in Herat. Some families have sent girls abroad for education inorder to evade the Taliban’s prohibitions on females attending school.There have been unconfirmed reports that the Taliban uses child soldiers. In thepast, there have been some cases of trafficking in children (see Section 6.f.).The Taliban have banned certain recreational activities, such as kite flying andplaying chess. In October the Taliban banned youths from playing soccer in Kabulon Fridays. Dolls and stuffed animals are prohibited due to the Taliban’s interpretationof religious injunctions against representations of living beings.People with Disabilities.—There are no measures to protect the rights of the mentallyand physically disabled or to mandate accessibility for them. Victims of landminescontinued to be a major focus of international humanitarian relief organizations,which devoted resources to providing prostheses, medical treatment, and rehabilitationtherapy to amputees. It is believed that there was more public acceptanceof the disabled because of the increasing prevalence of the disabled due to landminesor other war-related injuries. There are reports that disabled women, whoneed a prosthesis or other aid to walk, are virtually homebound because they cannotwear the burqa over the prosthesis or other aid.National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.—During the year, there were reports of harassment,extortion, and forced expulsion from their homes of ethnic Hazaras andTajiks by Taliban soldiers. The Taliban is Pashtun-dominated and has show littletolerance for accommodation with ethnic minorities.It is estimated that the Taliban may have killed thousands of members of the ethnicHazara minority in 1998 (see Section 1.a.).In the past, there were reliable reports that individuals were detained by both theTaliban and Northern Alliance because of their ethnic origins and suspected sympathywith opponents. Ethnic Hazara, who are overwhelmingly Shi’a, reportedlyhave been targeted for ethnically-motivated attacks, in particular by the overwhelminglySunni and ethnic Pashtun Taliban forces.Section 6. Worker Rightsa. The Right of Association.—Little is known about labor laws and practices.There were no reports of labor rallies or strikes. Labor rights are not defined, andin the context of the breakdown of governmental authority there is no effective centralauthority to enforce them. Many of Kabul’s industrial workers are unemployeddue to the destruction or abandonment of the city’s minuscule manufacturing base.An insignificant fraction of the work force ever has labored in an industrial setting.The only large employers in Kabul are the governmental structure of minimallyfunctioning ministries and local and international NGO’s.Workers in government ministries reportedly have been fired because they receivedpart of their education abroad or because of contacts with the previous regimes,although certain officials in previous administrations still are employedunder the Taliban. Others reportedly have been fired for violating Taliban regulationsconcerning beard length.b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.—The country lacks a traditionof genuine labor-management bargaining. There are no known labor courts or othermechanisms for resolving labor disputes. Wages are determined by market forces,or, in the case of government workers, dictate.There are no export processing zones.c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.—Little information is available onforced or compulsory labor, including child labor. There have been reports that theTaliban has forced prisoners to do construction work at Kandahar prison and thatthe Taliban used forced labor after its takeover of the Shomali plains area in thesummer of 1999. There have been credible reports that Masood forced Taliban prisonersto work on road and airstrip construction projects under life-threatening conditions(such as requiring them to dig in mined areas). There were some cases oftrafficking in women and children (see Section 6.f.).d. Status of Child Labor Practices and Minimum Age for Employment.—There isno evidence that authorities in any part of the country enforce labor laws, if theyexist, relating to the employment of children. Children from the age of 6 often workto help support their families by herding animals in rural areas and by collectingVerDate 11-MAY-2000 13:46 Sep 20, 2001 Jkt 071555 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6621 F:\WORK\COUNTRYR\S71555\71555.034 HINTREL1 PsN: HINTREL1
2175paper and firewood, shining shoes, begging, or collecting scrap metal among streetdebris in the cities. Some of these practices expose children to the danger of landmines.e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.—There is no available information regarding astatutory minimum wage or the enforcement of safe labor practices. Many workersapparently are allotted time off regularly for prayers and observance of religiousholidays. Most work in the informal sector.f. Trafficking in Persons.—There is no available information regarding legislationprohibiting trafficking in persons. The U.N. Special Rapporteur on Violence againstWomen reported that there were some cases of trafficking in women and children(see Section 5). There were reports that some Taliban soldiers (often reported to beforeigners) abducted girls and women from villages in the Shomali plains duringfighting in August 1999. Women taken in trucks from the area of fighting in theShomali plains reportedly were trafficked to Pakistan and to the Arab Gulf states.BANGLADESHBangladesh is a parliamentary democracy, with broad powers exercised by thePrime Minister. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is the leader of the Awami League,which came to power in 1996 in national elections deemed to be free and fair byinternational observers. There is an active political opposition. Violence is a pervasivefeature of politics, including political campaigns, and elections frequently aremarred by violence, intimidation of voters, and rigging. The major opposition politicalparties have abstained from Parliament since July 1999, diminishing Parliament’seffectiveness. The opposition parties accuse the Awami League Governmentof abusing its parliamentary majority to prevent real debate on legislation andnational issues. The higher levels of the judiciary display a significant degree ofindependence and often rule against the Government; however, lower judicial officersfall under the executive, and are reluctant to challenge government decisions.The Home Affairs Ministry controls the police and paramilitary forces, which bearprimary responsibility for maintaining internal security. The Government frequentlyuses the police for political purposes. There is widespread police corruption and lackof discipline. Police officers committed numerous serious human rights abuses.Bangladesh is a very poor country. Annual per capita income among the populationof about 130 million is approximately $350. Slightly more than half of all childrenare chronically malnourished. Seventy percent of the work force is involved inagriculture, which accounts for one-fourth of the gross domestic product. The economyis market-based, but the Government still plays a significant role. The industrialsector is growing, albeit slowly, based largely on the manufacture of garmentsand textiles by privately owned companies. A small, wealthy elite controls much ofthe private economy, but there is an emerging middle class. Foreign investment hasincreased significantly in the gas sector and in electrical power generation facilities.Foreign aid still is significant, but has diminished somewhat in relative importancevis-a-vis increased earnings from exports and remittances from workers overseas.Efforts to improve governance and economic growth through reform have been unsuccessful,and were blocked by bureaucratic intransigence, vested economic interests,endemic corruption, and political polarization. The Government’s commitmentto economic reform is weak. Periodic natural disasters, including a severe flood in1998, also hamper development; nevertheless, the economic growth rate during thelast fiscal year was about 5.5 percent.The Government generally respected the human rights of its citizens in someareas; however, its record remained poor in many other significant areas, and it continuedto commit serious abuses. Police committed a number of extrajudicialkillings, and some persons died in police custody under suspicious circumstances.Police routinely used torture, beatings, and other forms of abuse while interrogatingsuspects. Police frequently beat demonstrators. The Government rarely convicts andpunishes those persons responsible for torture or unlawful deaths. Prison conditionsare extremely poor for the majority of the prison population. Rape of female detaineesin prison or other official custody has been a problem; however, there were noreports of this during the year. The Government continued to arrest and detain personsarbitrarily, and to use the Special Powers Act (SPA) and Section 54 of the Codeof Criminal Procedure, which allow for arbitrary arrest and preventive detention, toharass political opponents and other citizens by detaining them without formalcharges. The Government encourages violence by urging retaliation against oppositionmembers who attack government supporters. The Government filed numerouscriminal cases against opposition leaders and activists; in at least some of theseVerDate 11-MAY-2000 13:46 Sep 20, 2001 Jkt 071555 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6621 F:\WORK\COUNTRYR\S71555\71555.034 HINTREL1 PsN: HINTREL1
Page 7 and 8: 2163All factions probably hold poli
Page 9 and 10: 2165and unexploded ordnance. Nevert
Page 11 and 12: 2167bade non-Muslims from living in
Page 13 and 14: 2169tion of most of the country. Go
Page 15 and 16: 2171Women accused of adultery also
Page 17: 2173violations of the rights to edu
Page 21 and 22: 2177ister made remarks implying tha
Page 23 and 24: 2179central unit of its student win
Page 25 and 26: 2181humiliating, painful punishment
Page 27 and 28: 2183ment of the split verdict in th
Page 29 and 30: 2185The court system has two levels
Page 31 and 32: 2187received death threats a few we
Page 33 and 34: 2189ference, but on August 15 (the
Page 35 and 36: 2191about 125 refugees and asylum s
Page 37 and 38: 2193Section 5. Discrimination Based
Page 39 and 40: 2195Indigenous People.—Tribal peo
Page 41 and 42: 2197ers have the right to strike in
Page 43 and 44: 2199sites, carry fruit, vegetables,
Page 45 and 46: 2201based in the Department of Wome
Page 47 and 48: 2203turn to the country, beat them,
Page 49 and 50: 2205antinational crimes, including
Page 51 and 52: 2207order to be eligible for nomina
Page 53 and 54: 2209Children.—The Government has
Page 55 and 56: 2211resentatives of the Nepalese Go
Page 57 and 58: 2213east; continued detention throu
Page 59 and 60: 2215Accountability remains a seriou
Page 61 and 62: 2217The Disturbed Areas Act has bee
Page 63 and 64: 2219lice courtyard in Punjab, appar
Page 65 and 66: 2221the NLFT was retaliating for a
Page 67 and 68: 2223The Ministry of Home Affairs re
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2225One of the suspects subsequentl
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2227human rights organization. The
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2229sions would seriously affect hu
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2231ment. There are effective chann
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2233three Border Security Force mem
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2235fice owned by an NGO at Konung
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2237nated, but many of its members
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2239ever, no further information wa
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2241The Tamil Nadu government provi
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2243According to HRW, on April 20,
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2245and branded her with hot iron r
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2247also concerned about the lack o
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2249rights of the mentally ill and
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2251from women and children, gather
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2253The burning of churches continu
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2255suspected of belonging to an up
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2257Bonded labor, the result of a p
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2259ment officials more aware of th
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2261and ‘‘inhuman treatment.’
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2263illustration of the consequence
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2265The Government has permitted pr
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2267lations governing Internet acce
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2269Women traditionally have played
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2271In 1997 the Government for the
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2273pali Congress Party flags. A bo
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2275The authorities are more likely
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2277of the monarch who allegedly ki
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2279the Government generally does n
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2281areas along the country’s bor
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2283groups. Nevertheless, converts
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2285e. Acceptable Conditions of Wor
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2287Provisional Constitutional Orde
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2289assailants killed a leader of t
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2291ditions, Sindh Inspector Genera
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2293then another FIR is activated a
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2295Farooq Sattar was arrested by o
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2297case pending before any other s
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2299The Hudood ordinances criminali
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2301The Penal Code mandates the dea
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2303cast on television; however, so
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2305which stipulated a sentence of
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2307ties at times prevent political
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2309fair. Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan
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2311sioners review blasphemy cases
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2313of Shari’a (see Section 1.c.)
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2315late head of the Board of Inter
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2317Courts also may order that chil
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2319portedly spared the two Muslim
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2321these services to a few core ar
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2323centers and 146 larger centers
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2325administration in Multan approa
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2327fore their mandates expired, se
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2329moved many detainees to another
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2331during the year and in previous
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2333The LTTE was responsible for a
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2335persons tried on criminal charg
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2337the other by the LTTE. The bord
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2339thor, remained subject to gover
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2341bombs exploded in the hall of t
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2343September 29, the Center for Mo
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2345a strong commitment to children
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2347All workers, other than civil s
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23491999, the LTTE began a program
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SOUTH ASIA - House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats

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