Niger 2018 Human Rights Report

by U.S. Department of State

This is the 2018 report on Human Rights by the U.S. Department of State published on March 13, 2019.Niger is a multiparty republic. President Issoufou Mahamadou won a second term in 2016. He won 92 percent of the vote in a second round boycotted by the opposition. The African Union certified the election as free and fair despite the criticism of some domestic observers who noted the jailing of the leadership of the lead opposition party among other irregularities. The government refused to follow a Constitutional Court ruling in 2017 for a parliamentary election in the district of Maradi to replace a representative who had died. The political opposition boycotted a political mediation council and the newly formed National Independent Electoral Commission through much of the year.Civilian authorities maintained effective control over the security forces.Human rights issues included unlawful killings and forced disappearances by the government, allied militias, terrorists, and armed groups; arbitrary arrest and detention by government security forces and armed groups; harsh and life-threatening prison and detention center conditions; political prisoners; substantial interference with the rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of association; reported government support of Malian armed groups accused of unlawful recruitment or use of child soldiers; trafficking in persons; lack of accountability for cases of violence against women due in part to government inaction; caste-based slavery and forced labor, especially forced or compulsory or child labor.

34 pages, Paperback

Published March 19, 2019

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The United States Department of State (DOS), often referred to as the State Department , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministry of other countries. The Department was created in 1789 and was the first executive department established.

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