Freedom in the World 1998 - Chad

1998 Scores

Status: Not Free
Freedom Rating: 5.0
Civil Liberties: 4
Political Rights: 6

Ratings Change

Chad's civil liberties rating changed from 5 to 4 due to a slight easing of repression in the country.

Overview

Lingering rebellions and security force abuses in southern Chad raised doubts over the potential success of oil field exploration and an environmentally sensitive pipeline project that could bring one of the world's very poorest countries billions of dollars in new revenues. President Idriss Déby's continuing reliance on his northern Zaghawa clan as his main power base, despite the formality of multiparty elections, is hindering the country's democratic transition. In September, Chad dispatched an expeditionary force to aid Congo President Laurent Kabila in his struggle against rebels. France, which remains highly influential in Chad, maintains a 1,000-member garrison in the country and serves as Deby's main political and commercial supporter. Brutality by soldiers and rebels marked insurgencies in the vast countryside, but another peace pact with the principal southern rebel group seemed to be holding.

Chad has been in a state of almost constant war since achieving its independence from France in 1960. President 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 by 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. The current coalition government is dominated by the MPS with 65 seats, but also includes the Union for Renewal and Democracy, which won 29 seats. The National Union for Renewal and Democracy, which holds 15 seats, withdrew after a May cabinet shuffle in which its leader, Wadal Abdelkader Kamougué, lost his post. 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.

Political Rights and Civil Liberties

Chad has never experienced a peaceful 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, in which Déby's MPS took an absolute majority and was awarded with 65 of 125 National Assembly seats by a pliant election commission. Intimidation and harassment by the National Security Agency hinder opposition efforts to organize.

In 1998, killings and torture with impunity by Chadian security forces reportedly continued. The forces also reportedly continued an officially backed anti-crime policy of summary executions of suspected thieves. Déby's elite presidential guard is blamed for some of the worst violations. 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. Several of these agreements have failed, however, and sporadic abuses by the various factions, rebel groups, and the government continue in southern districts. 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.

State control of broadcast media allows little exposure for dissenting views. Newspapers critical of the government circulate freely in N'djamena, but have scant impact among the largely rural and illiterate population. Freedom of expression is generally respected, but media freedom was hampered in 1998 when several journalists received suspended sentences for publishing allegations of corruption against senior officials. 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.

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. Female genital mutilation is commonplace. The literacy rate for women is very low, and few educational opportunities are available, especially in rural areas.

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.