Freedom in the World 2001 - Chad

2001 Scores

Status: Not Free
Freedom Rating: 5.5
Civil Liberties: 5
Political Rights: 6

Overview

Intermittent fighting with rebels from the Movement for Democracy and Justice in Chad (MDJT), headed by former defense minister Youssouf Togoïmi, continued in 2000. Rebels claimed to have gained control of the Bardai district in the north, but the government subsequently transported reporters to the region to show that it was in government hands. There are indications that the rebels have expanded their ethnic base and its numbers, after beginning as mainly a Toubou force.

Judicial proceedings against former dictator Hissein Habre were dropped in Senegal. Habre had been arrested on charges of violating human rights, but the case was dismissed on the grounds that Senegal did not have jurisdiction. The case appeared to have been influenced by political considerations; for example, Habre's lawyer was an advisor to newly elected Senegalese president Abdoulaye Wade.

Chad has been in a state of almost constant war since achieving its independence from France in 1960. President Idriss Déby gained power by overthrowing Hissein Habré in 1990. Turmoil exacerbated by ethnic and religious differences is also fanned by clan rivalries and external interference. The country is divided between Nilotic and Bantu Christian farmers who inhabit the country's south and Arab and Saharan peoples who occupy arid deserts in the north.

Chad was a militarily dominated one-party state until Déby lifted the ban on political parties in 1993. A national conference that included a broad array of civic and political groups then created a transitional parliament, which was controlled by Déby's Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS). Scores of political parties are registered.

Chad's army and political life are dominated by members of the small Zaghawa and Bideyat groups from President Déby's northeastern region. This is a source of ongoing resentment among the more than 200 other ethnic groups in the country. The formal exercise of deeply flawed elections and democratic processes has produced some opening of Chadian society, but real power remains with President Déby.

France, which remains highly influential in Chad, maintains a 1,000-member garrison in the country and serves as Déby's main political and commercial supporter. Brutality by Chadian soldiers and rebels marked insurgencies in the vast countryside, but the large-scale abuses of the past have abated somewhat.

An economically crucial and environmentally sensitive oil pipeline project moved ahead in 2000 after the World Bank agreed to support it. In an effort to minimize potential environmental and social problems, the World Bank had imposed several prerequisites for approving loans requested by Chad and Cameroon for the $3 billion pipeline. Hundreds of national and international nongovernmental organizations had petitioned the World Bank to put the project on hold for two years, citing the need to inform and educate the local population, minimize threats to the environment, and address human rights issues. These efforts have helped strengthen civil society in the country. The pipeline could bring Chad, one of the world's poorest countries, billions of dollars in new revenue, but serious questions remain about the government's ability to manage these revenues in a transparent and accountable fashion. These fears were reinforced by an announcement in November 2000 that an initial payment of approximately $4 million had been diverted for use by the Defense Ministry.

Political Rights and Civil Liberties

Citizens of Chad cannot change their government democratically. Chad has never experienced a peaceful, fair, and orderly transference of political power, and both presidential and legislative elections have been marred by serious irregularities and indications of outright fraud. President Déby's 1996 victory in Chad's first multiparty election was strongly endorsed by France, despite opposition and independent criticism. It is impossible to ascertain if President Déby's second-round victory with 69 percent of the vote was credible. Déby's most potent challengers were disqualified, opposition activists were intimidated, and the vote count was manipulated. Allegations of fraud also devalued the 1997 legislative elections. The current coalition government is dominated by the MPS with 65 seats, but also includes the Union for Renewal and Democracy, which has 29 of the 125 seats. The cabinet was reshuffled on August 30, 2000.

The president's term of office is five years. The legislature is unicameral. The sole chamber, the national assembly, has 125 members, directly elected for a four-year term. In a referendum held in March 1996 voters approved a new constitution based on the French model and providing for a unified and presidential state. Preparations began for presidential and legislative elections in 2001. An ostensibly independent election commission law was passed in 2000, despite significant opposition. It gives the predominance of seats to government representatives and those of parties in the ruling coalition. Intimidation and harassment by the National Security Agency hinder opposition efforts to organize.

In 2000, killings and torture with impunity by Chadian security forces and rebel groups reportedly continued. A number of members of the ruling party resigned in protest at military violence. Tens of thousands of Chadians have fled their country to escape the violence. Several of the 20 or more armed factions have reached peace pacts, but many of these agreements have failed. Chad's long and porous borders are virtually unpoliced. Trade in weapons among nomadic Sahelian peoples is rife, and banditry adds to the pervasive insecurity.

The rule of law and the judicial system remain weak, with courts heavily influenced by the executive. Security forces routinely ignore constitutional protections regarding search, seizure, and detention. Overcrowding, disease, and malnutrition make prison conditions life-threatening, and many inmates spend years in prison without charges.

State control of broadcast media allows little exposure for dissenting views. Newspapers critical of the government circulate freely in N'Djamena, but have little impact among the largely rural and illiterate population.

Despite harassment and occasional physical intimidation, the Chadian Human Rights League, Chad Nonviolence, and several other human rights groups operate openly and publish findings critical of the government. Although religion is a source of division in society, Chad is a secular state and freedom of religion is generally respected. Women's rights are protected neither by traditional law nor the penal code, and few educational opportunities are available. Female genital mutilation is commonplace.

Workers' right to organize and to strike is generally respected, but the formal economy is small. Union membership is low. Most Chadians are subsistence farmers.