U.S. Department of State Country Report on Human Rights Practices 1996 - Benin

Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, January 30, 1997   The Republic of Benin is a constitutional democracy headed by President Mathieu Kerekou, who was inaugurated on April 4 after elections generally viewed as free and fair. President Kerekou, who ruled Benin as a Socialist military dictator from 1972-1989, succeeded his democratically elected predecessor, and continued the civilian, democratic rule begun in the 1990-1991 constitutional process that ended his previous reign. There are 18 political parties represented in the unicameral, 83-member National Assembly; no party or political grouping commands a majority of seats. The Government respects the constitutional provision for an independent judiciary; however, the judiciary is inefficient and susceptible to corruption. The civilian-controlled security forces consist of the armed forces, headed by a Minister Delegate for Defense Matters in the office of the President and the police force under the Interior Minister. The two Ministers also share authority over the gendarmerie, which exercises police functions in rural areas. The armed forces continued to play an apolitical role in government affairs despite concerns about morale within its ranks and its ethnic imbalance. An extremely poor country with average yearly per capita income below $450, the economy is based largely on subsistence agriculture, cotton production, regional trade (including transshipment of goods to neighboring countries), and small-scale offshore oil production. The port of Cotonou serves as a major conduit for goods entering neighboring Nigeria legally and illegally. The new Administration continued, and in some cases stepped up, the austerity program begun by its predecessor; privatized state-owned enterprises; reduced fiscal expenditures; and deregulated trade. In spite of its bloated and inefficient bureaucracy, high debt servicing costs, and widespread unemployment, Benin's economic recovery continues under liberal economic policies instituted since the return to democracy. Inflation in 1996 was less than 3 percent with real growth estimated at between 5 and 6 percent. The Government generally respected the human rights of its citizens. The major human rights problems continued to be the failure by police forces to curtail acts of vigilantism and mob justice; serious administrative delays in processing ordinary criminal cases with attendant denial of timely, fair trials; judicial corruption; harsh and unhealthy prison conditions; societal discrimination and violence against women and the abuse of children. The practice of female genital mutilation (FGM), is also a problem. The Constitutional Court demonstrated independence in a high profile challenge to the presidential elections and the prosecution of an army officer accused of threatening state security.

Respect for Human Rights

Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom from:

a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing

There were no reports of political or other extrajudicial killings by government officials. However, a rising crime rate and a lack of police responsiveness led to more reports of mob justice. Vigilantism reportedly resulted in several cases of suspected criminals being killed or severely injured, particularly thieves caught in the act. Although a number of these incidents took place in urban areas and were publicized in the press, the Government apparently made no concerted attempt to investigate or prosecute anyone involved. Some press accounts suggested that the police deliberately ignored vigilante attacks.

b. Disappearance

There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances.

c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

The Constitution prohibits such practices and there were no reports that officials employed them. The Government continued to make payments to victims of torture under the military regime which ruled from 1972 to 1989. Prison conditions continue to be extremely harsh. Extensive overcrowding and lack of proper sanitation and medical facilities pose a risk to prisoners' health. The prison diet is seriously inadequate with malnutrition and disease common. Prisoners are allowed to meet with visitors.

d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile

The Constitution prohibits arbitrary arrest, detention or exile, however, at times the authorities arbitrarily arrested and detained persons. The Constitution prohibits detention for more than 48 hours without a hearing by a magistrate whose order is required for continued detention. However, there were credible reports that authorities exceeded this 48-hour limit in many cases, sometimes by as long as a week, using the accepted practice of holding a person without specified time limit "at the disposition of" the public prosecutor's office before presenting the case to a magistrate. Approximately 75 percent of prisoners are pretrial detainees. Arbitrary arrest is not routine but does occur occasionally. In a highly publicized case, Colonel Maurice Kouandete was arrested for political reasons prior to the presidential election, allegedly for plotting against the security of the State. The Constitutional Court ruled that his detention was unconstitutional. He was not released, however, until President Kerekou took office on April 4. On July 31, in his first address to the nation since taking office, President Kerekou announced that he would pardon certain categories of prisoners convicted between August 1, 1995, and June 15, 1996. All such prisoners were released by year's end. The Constitution prohibits forced exile of citizens. Many citizens who went into exile prior to the establishment of democratic rule have returned.

e. Denial of Fair Public Trial

The Constitution provides for an independent judiciary and the Government generally respects this provision in practice. However, the executive has important powers in regard to the judiciary. The President appoints career magistrates as judges in civil courts, and the Constitution gives the Ministry of Justice administrative authority over judges, including the power to transfer them. Inadequate facilities, poorly-trained staff, and overcrowded dockets result in slow administration of justice. The low salaries of magistrates and clerks have a demoralizing effect on their commitment to efficient and timely justice and makes them susceptible to corruption. The legal system is based on French civil law and local customary law. The Constitution provides for the right to a fair public trial. A defendant enjoys the presumption of innocence and has the right to be present at trial and to representation by an attorney, at public expense if necessary. In practice, the court provides indigent defendants with court-appointed counsel upon request. A defendant also has the right to confront witnesses and to have access to government-held evidence. Trials are open to the public, but in exceptional circumstances the President of the court may decide to restrict access to preserve public order or to protect the parties. A civilian court system operates on the national and provincial levels. Military disciplinary councils deal with minor offense by military members, but have no jurisdiction over civilians. There is only one court of appeals. The Supreme Court is the court of last resort in all administrative and judicial matters. The Constitutional Court is charged with passing on the constitutionality of laws and disputes between the President and the National Assembly and with resolving disputes regarding presidential and National Assembly elections. Its rulings against both the executive and legislative branches indicated its independence from both these branches of Government. The Constitution also provides for a High Court of Justice to convene in the event of crimes committed by the President or government ministers against the State. Implementing legislation to create the High Court of Justice was passed in June. Although the legislation was passed, the Constitutional Court later found some of its provisions to be unconstitutional. As of year's end, the legislature had not passed revisions to bring the law into compliance with the Constitutional Court ruling. At year's end there were no reports of political prisoners. During the year, one individual arrested in connection with a rocket attack on the site where the December 1995 international conference for the heads of French-speaking nations was held in special prison quarters, charged with "threatening national security," but tried under the Criminal Code. The individual was convicted and sentenced to 1 year in prison, but released on December 1 after paying a fine of $2,000 (1 million cfa).

f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home or Correspondence

The Constitution prohibits such practices and government authorities generally respect these prohibitions in practice. Police are required to obtain a judicial warrant before entering a private home, and usually observed this requirement in practice.

Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

a. Freedom of Speech and Press

The Constitution provides for freedom of speech and of the press, and the Government respects these rights in practice. The Government entity with oversight responsibility for media operations is the High Authority for Audio-visual Media and Communications (HAAC), which requires broadcasters to submit weekly lists of planned programs and requires publishers to deposit copies of all publications with it. The requirement, however, is not observed by the media in practice. There is a large and active privately owned press consisting of about a dozen newspapers. These publications criticize the Government freely and often, but their effect on public opinion is limited because of their urban concentration. The majority of Beninese are illiterate. The Government continued to own and operate the media most influential in reaching the public. The only radio stations that transmit locally are Government owned: the Benin Office of Radio and Television (ORTB) transmits in FM, AM and short wave, in French and local languages. Radio France International (RFI) also transmits over a local FM band under an agreement with the Government. Five rural radio stations governed by local committees broadcast several hours a day exclusively in local languages. These stations receive support from ORTB. Radio is probably the most important information medium. A similar arrangement is in place for television transmissions: ORTB broadcasts 5 hours per day on a signal that is easily received in urban areas. Approximately 80 percent of ORTB's television programming is in French. TV5, a commercial venture with investments by television broadcasting organizations in France, Canada, Belgium and Switzerland, broadcasts locally 24 hours a day entirely in French under an agreement with the Government. Although neither television station broadcasts partisan programs in support of or unduly critical of the Government, the vast majority of news programming centers on government officials' activities. By year's end, the National Assembly still had not approved guidelines for broadcasting, effectively blocking the demonopolization of electronic media. The Government does not censor works by foreign journalists, authors, or artists. A special RFI correspondent covering the Presidential election was threatened with expulsion by the previous government because he transmitted reports of unofficial early election results that showed the government was losing. However, no action was taken against him. HAAC regulations govern satellite reception equipment and movie and video clubs. There is little enforcement of these regulations. In general, academic freedom is respected. University professors are permitted to lecture freely, conduct research, and publish their work.

b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association

The Constitution provides for these rights, and the Government generally respects them in practice. The Government requires permits for use of public places for demonstrations and requires associations to register. It routinely grants both such permits and registrations. The Government did not take any actions against nonregistered organizations for failure or refusal to register. Security forces protected former President Soglo at a rally organized by the opposition coalition, following his return from a protracted stay abroad after the election. Soglo was allowed to use government-owned facilities for his homecoming speech and the rally was given prominent coverage on the government-owned radio and television stations.

c. Freedom of Religion

The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the Government respects this right in practice.

d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation

The Constitution provides for these rights, and the government generally respects them in practice. However, the presence of police, gendarmes, and illegal roadblocks impedes domestic movement. Although ostensibly meant to enforce automotive safety and customs regulations, many of these checkpoints serve as a means for officials to exact bribes from travelers. The Kerekou Government instituted measures to combat such petty corruption at roadblocks. The Government's policy toward transhumance allows migratory Fulani herdsmen from other countries to enter freely; it does not enforce designated entry points. In recent years, friction between native farmers and itinerant foreign herders has sometimes led to violence. The Government does not restrict international travel for political reasons, and those who travel abroad may return without hindrance. Historically, the Government has cooperated closely with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations in assisting refugees, including those in need of first asylum. The Government provided first asylum to up to 200,000 Togolese in the recent past. While most have returned to Togo, some 5,000 to 8,000 continue to receive first asylum. Several hundred Oganis from Nigeria were also provided first asylum in 1996. There were no reports of forced return of persons to a country where they feared persecution. There were no reports of forced expulsion of persons having a valid claim to refugee status. As a result of political turmoil in neighboring Togo beginning in 1992, some 200,000 Togolese refugees were protected and assisted by the UNHCR. Since 1993 thousands of refugees have returned to Togo on their own. At the beginning of 1996, approximately 20,000 Togolese refugees remained in Benin. In mid-1996 UNHCR implemented its plan for organized voluntary repatriation of the Togolese. By year's end, all but about 5,000 to 8,000 had returned to Togo. Despite severe economic pressures limiting its ability to provide education for its own children, the Government allowed the Togolese to enroll their children in local schools and to participate in some economic activities. The country also hosts several hundred Nigerian refugees, primarily from the Ogoni ethnic group. Ogoni requests for asylum increased significantly when Ogoni leader Ken Saro-Wiwa was executed. Liberian, Rwandan, Burundian and Chadian refugees are among those also represented in smaller numbers.

Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to Change Their Government

The Constitution provides citizens with the right peacefully to change their government. Citizens exercised this right in legislative elections in 1991 and 1995, and in presidential elections in 1991 and March, all considered free and fair. The Constitution provides for a 5-year term of office for the President (who is limited to two terms) and 4-year terms for National Assembly members (who may serve an unlimited number of terms). Seven candidates competed openly and vigorously during the March 3 presidential elections, with the two leaders contesting the runoff two weeks later. Although the losing incumbent challenged the final results, claiming fraudulent voting and other irregularities, those claims were rejected after consideration by the Constitutional Court. Women participate actively in the political parties but are underrepresented in Government positions. There is now 1 woman in the 19-member Cabinet. The previous Government had four female cabinet members. There are 6 female deputies in the 83-member unicameral National Assembly. The President of the Constitutional Court is a woman; the HAAC and the Economic and Social Council have female members.

Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigations of Alleged Violations of Human Rights

A number of human rights groups – both domestic and international – operate without government restriction, investigating and publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials are generally cooperative and responsive to their views. Hundreds of electoral observers representing scores of international human rights groups traveled to Benin for the presidential elections. Nearly all of them reported that the Government had cooperated with them.

Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion, Disability, Language, or Social Status

The Constitution prohibits discrimination based on race, sex, and religion, but societal discrimination against women continues.

Women

While no statistics are available, violence against women, including wife beating, occurs. The press sometimes reports incidents of abuse of women but judges and police are reluctant to intervene in domestic disputes, considering such disputes a family matter. Although the Constitution provides for equality for women in the political, economic, and social spheres, women experience extensive societal discrimination, especially in rural areas, where they occupy a subordinate role and are responsible for much of the hard labor on subsistence farms. In urban areas, women dominate the trading sector in the open-air markets. By law, women have equal inheritance and property rights, but local custom in some areas prevents them from inheriting real property. Women do not enjoy the same educational opportunities as men, and female literacy is about 16 percent (compared with 32 percent for males). There are active women's rights groups that have been effective in drafting a family code that would improve the status of women under the law.

Children

The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs is responsible for the protection of children's rights, primarily in the areas of education and health. In particular, the Government is trying to boost primary school enrollment, which is only about 66 percent. In some parts of the country, girls receive no formal education. Some traditional practices inflict hardship and violence on children, including most prominently the custom of "vidomegon," whereby poor, often rural, families place a child, primarily girls, in the home of more wealthy families. In July a criminal court convicted and sent to prison the wife of a former Minister for beating to death a child in her employ under the vidomegon system. Other traditional practices include the killing of deformed babies, breach babies, and one of two newborn twins (all of whom are thought to be sorcerers in some rural areas). There is also a tradition in which a groom abducts and rapes his prospective child (under 14 years of age) bride. Criminal courts mete out stiff sentences to criminals convicted of crimes against children, but many such crimes never reach the courts. The Government has been less successful in combating female genital mutilation (FGM), which is not illegal. FGM is widely condemned by international health experts as damaging to both physical and psychological health. FGM, or excision, is practiced on females ranging from infancy through 30 years of age. Studies vary widely and suggest that as few as 5 percent or as many as 50 percent of women are affected by this practice, mostly in the northern provinces. The actual incidence probably falls somewhere between these estimates. A prominent nongovernmental organization has made progress in raising awareness of the dangers of the practice; the Government has cooperated with its efforts. According to recent research, there is a strong profit motive in the continued practice of FGM by those who perform the operation, usually older women.

People with Disabilities

Although the Constitution provides that the State look after the handicapped, the Government does not mandate accessibility for disabled persons. It operated a number of social centers for disabled persons to assist their social integration. Nonetheless, many are unable to find employment and must resort to begging to support themselves.

National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities

There is a long history of regional rivalries. Although Southerners dominate the Government's senior ranks, Northerners dominate the military. The South has enjoyed more advanced economic development, a larger population, and has traditionally held favored status. In the 1996 elections, a Northerner was elected President.

Section 6 Worker Rights

a. The Right of Association

The Constitution provides workers with the freedom to organize, join unions, meet, and strike, and the Government usually respects these rights in practice. The labor force of about 2 million is primarily engaged in subsistence agriculture and other primary sector activities, with less than 2 percent of the population engaged in the modern (wage) sector. Approximately 75 percent of the wage earners belong to labor unions. There are four union confederations, and unions are generally independent of Government and political parties. The Economic and Social Council, a constitutionally mandated body established in 1994, includes four union representatives. In August the Union of Workers of the Agency for Aviation Navigation (ASECNA) closed the country's only international airport for several days to protest government plans (initiated under the previous administration) to privatize airport operations. The strike was settled peacefully. In December ASECNA also struck in coordination with ASECNA workers in 14 other African countries. In February workers at the state-owned petroleum company, SONACOP, conducted a 72-hour strike to protest the company's privatization as proposed by the World Bank. The President agreed to renegotiate the terms of the privatization and the strike was settled peacefully. There were no known instances of efforts by the Government to retaliate against union activity. Laws prohibit employer retaliation against strikers, and the Government enforces them effectively. Unions may freely form or join federations or confederations and affiliate with international bodies.

b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

The Labor Code provides for collective bargaining, and workers freely exercised these rights. Wages in the private sector are set in negotiations between unions and employers. A tripartite group, composed of unions, employers, and the Government, discussed and agreed to revisions in the Labor Code in 1995, but the new code had not been enacted into law by year's end The Government sets wages in the public sector by law and regulation. The Labor Code prohibits employers from taking union membership or activity into account regarding hiring, work distribution, professional or vocational training, or dismissal. The Government levies substantial penalties against employers who refuse to rehire workers dismissed for lawful union activities. There are no export processing zones.

c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

The Labor Code prohibits forced or compulsory labor, and such labor is not practiced.

d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children

The Labor Code prohibits the employment or apprenticeship of children under 14 years of age in any enterprise. However, the Ministry of Labor enforces the code in only a limited manner (and then only in the modern sector), due to the lack of inspectors. Children continue to work on rural family farms, on construction sites in urban areas, and as domestic servants. Children also commonly work as street vendors.

e. Acceptable Conditions of Work

The Government administratively sets minimum wage scales for a number of occupations. The minimum wage is approximately $40 (cfa francs 20,300) per month, which is insufficient to cover the costs for food and housing of even a single worker living in an urban area. Many workers must supplement their wages by subsistence farming or informal sector trade. Most workers in the wage sector, however, earn more than the minimum wage. The Labor Code establishes a workweek of from 40 to 46 hours, depending on the type of work, and provides for at least one 24-hour rest period per week. The authorities generally enforce legal limits on workweeks. The Labor Code establishes health and safety standards, but the Ministry of Labor does not enforce them effectively. The Labor Code does not provide workers with the right to remove themselves from dangerous work situations without jeopardy to continued employment. The Ministry of Labor has the authority to require employers to remedy dangerous work conditions but does not do so effectively.