|2016

WORLD REPORT 2016
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
ing contracts or other disputes; and an anti-corruption campaign that doubles as
a political purge.
These top-down policies, unconstrained by independent public debate, have
contributed to economic slowdowns if not recessions. And as waning fortunes
raise questions about the rulers’ efficacy, both Russia and China have embarked
on crackdowns not seen in decades.
First in response to the anti-Putin protests in 2011 and 2012, and accelerating as
the Kremlin stoked nationalism to boost its vision of a new identity for Russia,
the Kremlin has been crushing Russian civil society, one of the most important
elements to have emerged from the demise of Soviet rule. The new, poisonous
atmosphere helped the Kremlin to divert attention as Russia’s economic woes
deepened.
Meanwhile the Chinese government, recognizing at some level the need to meet
people’s rising expectations, speaks of the rule of law and selectively prosecutes
officials for corruption, but is also arresting the lawyers and activists who
have the audacity to pursue these goals outside of government control. Needless
to say, a government-manipulated legal system is not the rule of law, while a
selective government crackdown on corruption undermines the much-needed
establishment of a functional, independent legal system.
Similar trends are evident elsewhere. For example, one feature often found behind
efforts to repress civil society are officials’ attempts to evade the threat of
prosecution or other consequences of illegal activity:
• Turkey’s then prime minister (now president), Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, began
his crackdown—the most intense in at least a decade—after large street
protests against his increasingly autocratic rule. He reinforced it when
audio tapes emerged suggesting that he and his family were directly involved
in corruption. When his party, in office for three terms, received a reduced
plurality at the polls in June, the president intensified the crackdown
on media and political opponents and was able to secure victory in a rerun
of the election in November.
• Some senior officials in Kenya have attacked civil society organizations for
supporting prosecution by the International Criminal Court (ICC) of those
who allegedly directed the 2007-2008 post-electoral violence, including
Deputy President William Ruto. Kenya has also targeted civic groups that
have documented security force abuses in the context of counterterrorism
efforts against increased gun and grenade attacks in various parts of the
country.
• Sudan expelled humanitarian organizations from Darfur in response to the
March 2009 ICC arrest warrant for President Omar al-Bashir, and shut down
groups that publicly promote justice and human rights.
• President Jacob Zuma’s government in South Africa targeted the group that
had obtained a court ruling against its welcoming of Bashir, whose ICC arrest
warrants the government openly flouted.
• As global outrage mounted over its expanding illegal settlements, Israel
adopted a law—affirmed in 2015 year in most elements by the Supreme
Court—that could be used to penalize civil society groups, as well as individuals
calling for cutting economic or other ties with settlements or Israel.
Other governments have acted when elections or term limits threaten their continuation
in power:
• In Burundi, the government launched intense and often violent attacks on
civil society after widespread protests against President Pierre Nkurunziza’s
decision to seek a constitutionally questionable third term. Most notably, a
gunman shot and seriously wounded the country’s foremost human rights
defender, Pierre Claver Mbonimpa. Two of his close relatives were killed in
separate incidents.
• In the Democratic Republic of Congo, human rights defenders and prodemocracy
youth activists have been jailed, beaten, and threatened after
organizing peaceful protests and speaking out against the possible extension
of President Joseph Kabila’s term beyond the constitution’s two-term
limit. Government officials claimed without foundation that the activists
were plotting “terrorist activities” or “violent insurrection,” while security
forces used lethal force to disrupt the groups’ peaceful demonstrations.
• Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro harassed, arrested, and demonized
critics and civil society groups in the months leading up to legislative elections—which
he ultimately lost, most observers believe, because of his
mismanagement of the economy.
10
11