AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT 2016/17

Roma
In June, the European Commission against
Racism and Intolerance reported that
Portugal had not fully implemented the
measures it had recommended in 2013 to
address racism and discrimination towards
Roma communities, especially regarding data
collection and the simplification of
procedures to report cases of discrimination
to the High Commissioner for Migration.
RIGHT TO HEALTH
In June, the Portuguese Observatory on the
Health System reported continuing
inequalities in accessing health care, in
particular for the most marginalized people.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
There were reports of unnecessary or
excessive use of force by law enforcement
officials throughout the year.
In October, according to a report by a
Portuguese NGO, 13 prisoners were beaten
by prison guards during the inspection of
their cells at Carregueira Prison in the capital
Lisbon. At least three of them required
hospital treatment as a result.
PRISON CONDITIONS
Prison conditions remained inadequate; in
some prisons they were degrading. There
was a lack of hygiene, food quality, medical
care and access to medicines.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
In February, Parliament voted to override a
presidential veto of a law granting same-sex
couples the right to adopt children. The law
was initially passed in November 2015; the
new law entered into force in March.
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
Thirty-nine refugees previously selected for
resettlement in Portugal between 2014 and
2016 had arrived in the country by the end of
2015. The government committed to resettle
over 260 refugees in 2016/2017.
Only 781 asylum-seekers were transferred
from Greece and Italy to Portugal under the
EU relocation mechanism as of the end of
the year, out of the 1,742 that Portugal had
committed to receive.
In October, the municipal authorities of
Amadora forcibly evicted at least four migrant
families without meaningful prior consultation
and the provision of adequate alternative
accommodation.
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
In February, the Parliament approved
changes to legislation on access to sexual
and reproductive health services. The new
law removed mandatory psychological and
social counselling as a condition for women’s
access to abortion.
In May, new legislation was adopted giving
all women access to assisted reproductive
technology (ART) – including in vitro
fertilization and other methods – regardless of
their marital status or sexual orientation. This
put an end to former restrictions that limited
ART to married women or women in a civil
partnership with a man.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
In November, the government announced
plans to exempt victims of sexual
harassment, rape, female genital mutilation,
slavery and human trafficking from the
payment of judicial costs.
According to data provided by the NGO
UMAR, as of November, 22 women had been
killed, and there were 23 attempted murders.
PUERTO RICO
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
Head of state: Barack Obama
Head of government: Alejandro García Padilla
There was progress towards achieving
equality and justice in relation to the
human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people;
however, they continued to face
discrimination in terms of their health and
300 Amnesty International Report 2016/17