Author : Bureau of democracy, Human rights, and Labor
Site of the publication: US department of state
Type of the publication: Report
Date of the publication: March 2022
Arbitrary deprivation of life and other unlawful or politically motivated killings
Government offices empowered to investigate misconduct and excessive use of force included the gendarmerie and police internal affairs units. If abuses bore further investigation, cases were referred to an investigative judge, who could request additional investigations by the Criminal Investigation Department (DIC) of the National Police or the Research Brigade of the Gendarmerie.
Torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, and other related abuses
Impunity for such acts was a significant problem. Offices charged with investigating abuses included the Ministry of Justice and the National Observer of Places of Deprivation of Liberty. The DIC and police and gendarmerie internal affairs units charged with investigating police abuses did not effectively address impunity or corruption.
Local and international media outlets reported human rights abuses committed by police and national gendarme responding to the June protests. Some protesters accused security forces of serious physical abuse while in detention following the June protests. Authorities continued to investigate these allegations.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions
Abusive Physical Conditions: Prison overcrowding was endemic. For example, Dakar’s main prison facility, Rebeuss, held more than twice the number of inmates for which it was designed. The NGO World Prison Brief reported the country held 12,430 detainees in facilities with a capacity of 7,350 persons.
Female detainees generally had better conditions than male detainees. Pretrial detainees were not always separated from convicted prisoners. Juvenile detainees were often held with adults or permitted to move freely with adults during the day. Infants and newborns were often kept in prison with their mothers until age one, with no special cells, additional medical provisions, or extra food rations.
Administration: Authorities did not always conduct credible investigations into allegations of mistreatment. Ombudsmen were available to respond to complaints, but prisoners did not know how to access them or file reports. Authorities permitted prisoners and detainees to submit complaints to judicial authorities without censorship and to request investigation of credible allegations of inhuman conditions, but there was no evidence officials conducted any follow-up investigations.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment of Detainees
Unless a crime is “flagrant” (just committed or discovered shortly after being committed), police must obtain a warrant from a court to arrest or detain a suspect. Police treat most cases as “flagrant” offenses and make arrests without warrants, invoking pretrial detention powers. The DIC may hold persons up to 24 hours before releasing or charging them. Authorities did not promptly inform many detainees of the charges against them. Police, including DIC officials, may double the detention period from 24 to 48 hours without charge if they demonstrate substantial grounds for a future indictment and if a prosecutor so authorizes.
Arbitrary Arrest: According to local press, on June 17, police arrested 130 demonstrators protesting a Constitutional Council decision regarding the opposition candidate slate for July legislative elections. By June 28, authorities had released all but six arrested protesters.
Denial of fair public trial
Although the constitution and law provide for an independent judiciary, there were reports the judiciary was subject to corruption and government influence. Magistrates noted overwhelming caseloads, lack of adequate space and office equipment, and inadequate transportation, and they questioned the government’s commitment to providing adequate resources for proper judicial operations.
The judiciary is formally independent, but the president controls appointments to the Constitutional Council, the Court of Appeal, and the Council of State, and he and the minister of justice cochair the High Council of the Judiciary, the body responsible for managing magistrates’ careers. Judges were prone to pressure from the government on corruption cases and other matters involving high-level officials or supporters of the government.
Political Prisoners and Detainees
On May 4, the gendarmerie of Saint-Louis arrested activist Alé Thiam following a complaint by Minister of Infrastructure and Land Transportation Mansour Faye, mayor of Saint-Louis and President Sall’s brother-in-law. Authorities prosecuted Thiam for “defamation, insults, disseminating fake news, and endangering the family of Mansour Faye.”
Thiam questioned the origin of Faye’s daughter’s wealth on social media. The court found the activist guilty of disseminating fake news and sentenced him to six months’ imprisonment (five months suspended), and a 100,000 CFA franc ($163) fine.
Freedom of expression, including for members of the press and other media
Violence and Harassment: The NGO Reporters Without Borders noted a significant increase in verbal and physical attacks against journalists since early 2021.
In April, gendarmerie arrested Pape Mallick Thiam, a reporter with the privately owned television broadcaster 7TV, after an altercation with a security officer while on assignment in a Dakar court. Executive Director of 7TV Maimouna Ndour Faye told press gendarmes severely beat Thiam, and when she visited him at the police station, his face was swollen and he had blood on his clothes. A court found Thiam guilty of “contempt of public officers in the exercise of their duties,” but suspended his sentence.
Although the constitution and law provide for an independent judiciary, there were reports the judiciary was subject to corruption and government influence. Magistrates noted overwhelming caseloads, lack of adequate space and office equipment, and inadequate transportation, and they questioned the government’s commitment to providing adequate resources for proper judicial operations
Internet Freedom
The law grants the Senegalese Regulatory Authority for Telecommunications and Post and existing internet service providers the ability to limit or block access to certain online sites and social networks. There were no reports the government restricted or disrupted access to the internet, and there were no credible reports the government monitored private online communications without appropriate legal authority.
Freedom of Peaceful Assembly
The law provides for this right, but authorities sometimes refused to authorize demonstrations, ostensibly to maintain public order. The Ministry of Interior or government prefects must approve protests in advance. Several political opposition parties complained of undue delays in response to authorization requests for public demonstrations. Ahead of the July 31 legislative elections, several municipal governments cited the need to “preserve public order” in denying YAW’s requests to demonstrate.
On June 17, police arrested 130 demonstrators, including leaders of YAW Mame Diarra Fam and Dethié Fall, both members of the National Assembly, and Ahmed Aidara, mayor of the town of Guédiawaye. The protesters opposed the Constitutional Court decision upholding the electoral commission rejection of the political opposition’s national candidate list for the July 31 legislative elections. On June 27, a court tried and convicted Aidara and Fall for participating in an unauthorized demonstration. Aidara received a one-month suspended sentence and a fine of 50,000 CFA francs ($81), and Fall a six-month suspended sentence. The court acquitted Fam and 82 other defendants.
Discrimination and societal abuses
Women
Rape and Domestic Violence: The law prohibits rape but does not address the gender of survivors. The law also does not address spousal rape. Offenders faced 10 to 20 years in prison, with possible life sentences in aggravated situations. Experts noted the need for the government to train more gynecologists, midwives, nurses, general practitioners, and psychologists to assist survivors and raise awareness of the law among key actors in society, including police, judges, religious leaders, and media.
Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C): The law provides criminal penalties for the perpetration of FGM/C on women and girls, but authorities prosecuted no cases. The government, with the support of UNICEF, launched a public awareness campaign in November 2021 to accelerate efforts to eliminate FGM/C. Also in November 2021, UNICEF estimated one in four girls and women between ages 15 to 49 had suffered from FGM/C, with the prevalence as high as 65 to 90 percent in some regions, and with large variation across regions and ethnic groups.
Foreigners may hold union office only if they have lived in the country for five years and only if his or her country provides the same right to citizens. Collective bargaining agreements covered an estimated 44 percent of workers in the formal economy. Unions may engage in legal proceedings against any individual or entity that infringes the collective bargaining rights of union members, including termination of employment
Discrimination: The law provides for the same legal status and rights for women as for men in many areas, although there are legal restrictions on women in employment, including limitations on occupations and tasks. Nevertheless, women faced pervasive discrimination, especially in rural areas where traditional customs and discriminatory rules of inheritance were strongest.
Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining
The law provides for the rights of workers to form and join independent unions. Unions have the right to bargain collectively and strike, with some restrictions. The law prohibits antiunion discrimination and allows unions to conduct their business without interference.
The law excluded some workers, such as persons in public employment of public administration, customs officers, and judges from labor law protections. The law defined essential services more broadly than guidelines recommended by the International Labor Organization.
Foreigners may hold union office only if they have lived in the country for five years and only if his or her country provides the same right to citizens. Collective bargaining agreements covered an estimated 44 percent of workers in the formal economy. Unions may engage in legal proceedings against any individual or entity that infringes the collective bargaining rights of union members, including termination of employment.
The government did not effectively enforce applicable laws against forced labor, and such practices continued to occur in the areas of domestic servitude, sex trafficking, farm labor, and artisanal mining. Forced child labor occurred, including forced begging by children in some Quranic schools.
Discrimination with respect to employment and occupation
The law prohibits discrimination in employment and occupation based on national origin, race, gender, disability, and religion. The law does not explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The International Labor Organization recommended extending the law to prohibit discrimination based on national extraction, color, social origin, and additional grounds.
Gender-based discrimination in employment and occupation occurred and was the most prevalent form of discrimination. Men and women have equal rights to apply for a job, although women faced some restrictions on occupations and tasks. Women experienced discrimination in employment and operating businesses. On average, women made less than half the salary of men in the same profession.
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