Chad - Universal Periodic Review

UPR 31, November 13, 2018
Recommendations by Canada

Recommendations

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Thank you, Mr. President.

Canada wishes to highlight Chad's efforts to improve the situation of girls and children through the adoption of the law prohibiting child marriage and the law prohibiting the recruitment and use of children in armed conflicts.

Canada recommends that Chad:

1. Amend the Ordinance No.45 / 62 on public gatherings and the Decree No.193 / 62 on public events in order to bring them into line with international law and standards concerning freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly.
2. Instruct all Chadian security services, including the National Security Agency, to put an end to unlawful arrests and detention in secrecy and to cease detentions without charge beyond 48 hours, such as provided for by the penal code.
3. Take adequate measures to prosecute perpetrators of sexual and gender-based violence and to punish the perpetrators in accordance with the law.
4. Pursue its efforts to promote gender equality and increase efforts to counter traditional practices harmful to women and girls.

Canada is aware of the security and economic challenges that Chad faces and reminds it of its obligations in terms of respect for human rights, in all circumstances.

Background

According to UPR Info, a non-profit, non-governmental organization that tracks the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process, in the two last rounds, Chad received 297 recommendations, of which 214 was accepted (a rate of acceptance of 72%). Canada's previous recommendations for Chad focused on the protection of women and girls, including IDP camps, arbitrary detentions of political actors and freedom of expression and the press.

Despite some progress, including the adoption of laws prohibiting child marriage and the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict, the overall human rights situation in the country has deteriorated over the past three years, according to Amnesty International's latest UPR report.

According to Amnesty, "as political and economic discontent has increased over this period, citizens and organizations have increasingly voiced their opposition. The authorities reacted by banning the protests as well as by arresting, prosecuting and intimidating opponents of the government, including human rights defenders and journalists. "

For the year 2017, the NGO Freedom House, assessed that Chad was "non-free" in terms of civil and political rights. According to the platform of the Chadian human rights organizations "arbitrary arrests and detentions have increased in recent years. In the majority of documented cases, the National Security Agency (NSA) is designated as the main perpetrator of these violations".

Chad's collective of human rights associations has noted a decrease in sexual and gender-based violence and discrimination against women compared to previous decades. The group also notes the recent adoption of tools that have contributed to this improvement, such as Law 006 / PR / 2002, on reproductive health and Law 029 / PR / 2015 on the prohibition of early marriage and violence based on gender. However, the collective also emphasizes the persistence of the problem.