AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT 2016/17

dubious grounds related to national security.
By the end of the year, over 80 of them
(including 30 children) had their protection
status withdrawn after failing routine security
checks carried out as part of the annual
renewal of their temporary protection status.
The substance of the security assessments
was not shared with applicants and could not
be challenged in courts. A Roma woman
whose protection status was not renewed
subsequently lodged an appeal at the ECtHR.
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
In early March, the Ministry of Interior
announced the closure of the country’s
southern border with Greece, thereby
preventing the arrival of refugees and
migrants to the country (see Greece entry).
Until their eviction in May, thousands were
stranded in the Idomeni makeshift camp on
the Greek side of the border. Throughout the
year, the authorities continued to return
refugees and migrants summarily to Greece,
sometimes violently. UNHCR, the UN
refugee agency, did not register official new
arrivals following the March border closure,
as refugees and migrants barred from
entering the country were pushed back or
continued their journeys into Macedonia
clandestinely.
In September, eight complainants from
Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan submitted an
application to the ECtHR to challenge their
summary expulsion in March from
Macedonia to Greece.
Also in September, the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights criticized
the authorities for leaving hundreds of
refugees and migrants – who had arrived
before the border closure – stranded in
inadequate transit centres at the southern
and northern land borders and in the Gazi
Baba detention centre for foreigners in
Skopje. The de facto detention of irregular
migrants and asylum-seekers continued to be
implemented without lawful grounds and
without detainees being able to challenge the
legality of their detention.
MADAGASCAR
Republic of Madagascar
Head of state: Hery Rajaonarimampianina
Head of government: Olivier Mahafaly Solonandrasana
(replaced Jean Ravelonarivo in April)
Poverty was widespread, with extensive
malnutrition and deteriorating primary
health care. Children’s rights were routinely
flouted. Human rights violations by police
were committed with impunity and corrupt
officials were involved in trafficking
activities. Discrimination against women in
law and practice continued. The right to
freedom of expression was restricted. Prison
conditions remained dire.
BACKGROUND
Madagascar struggled to overcome the
instability resulting from its five-year political
crisis. In April, following weeks of political
conflict, Olivier Mahafaly Solonandrasana
replaced Jean Ravelonarivo as Prime
Minister.
Extreme levels of poverty were widespread,
with approximately 91% of the population
living on less than US$2 per day. A drought
in the south aggravated an already dire
humanitarian situation. According to UN
agencies, 1.2 million people (around 80% of
the population) living in the south were food
insecure, of whom 600,000 were severely
food insecure.
RIGHT TO HEALTH
Neonatal and maternal mortality remained
very high, and the deterioration of the
primary health care system was a major
barrier to accessing even basic health
services. Limited access to clean water and
poor sanitation and hygiene practices were of
particular concern, particularly given the level
of chronic malnutrition.
CHILDREN’S RIGHTS
In Madagascar, 47% of all children suffer
from stunting, and nearly 10% from acute
malnutrition.
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