Madagascar 2023

Detention conditions remained poor. Restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly persisted; and security forces used excessive force to disperse protesters. The state authorities failed to protect environmental human rights defenders from threats, intimidation, harassment and arbitrary arrest. Extreme weather events and drought led to widespread internal displacement, and levels of food insecurity increased. Women, LGBTI people and persons with albinism suffered discrimination.

Background

President Andry Rajoelina’s re-election was confirmed by the Supreme Constitutional Court on 1 December.

Detainees’ rights

Detention conditions, including in prisons, police and gendarmerie stations and psychiatric facilities, remained poor. In May, the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture visited Malagasy prisons and reiterated its concerns about overcrowding. The National Independent Commission for Human Rights, serving as the National Preventive Mechanism (a body that monitors and makes recommendations to protect detainees’ rights) remained understaffed and under-resourced. This hindered its ability to monitor and improve the human rights situation in detention facilities.

Freedom of assembly and association

During the pre-election period, security forces halted the electoral campaigning activities of opposition parties. On 4 April, the Ministry of Interior declared that political meetings must be held indoors, and that all public demonstrations should be authorized under Order 60-082 of 13 August 1960. This law, which was applied throughout the electoral campaigning period, fell short of international standards on the right to peaceful assembly. The purpose of the ministry’s declaration was to curtail this right for opposition parties. During the campaigning period between 10 October – when electoral campaigning for presidential elections began – and 16 November, violations to the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly were documented on at least 20 occasions.

In October, the Prefecture of Antananarivo banned opposition party protesters from entering several key areas of the capital. Journalists were arrested and presidential candidates were injured, and there were reports that political activists and bystanders were arbitrarily detained. The authorities misused criminal law to arrest, detain or threaten people expressing dissenting views. OHCHR, the UN human rights office, expressed concern at the deterioration in the human rights situation, noting the security forces’ use of unnecessary and disproportionate force against protesters.

Environmental activists’ rights to peaceful assembly and association were also violated. The authorities failed to protect them from threats and attacks by other community members or security forces. On 5 July, environmental human rights defender Angélique Decampe received death threats from another community member in connection with her work to safeguard the Vohibola forest from poachers and deforestation. Also in July, security forces arrested over 80 protesters from the Association for the Struggle of the South (LUSUD) in the Anosy region when they blocked a road to prevent mining company Rio Tinto (operating under the subsidiary name of QIT Madagascar Minerals) from continuing its extraction activities. They were all released by August. However, arrest warrants remained pending against LUSUD leaders Eugène Chrétien and Laurent Manjary, who had not been arrested during the protest.

Freedom of expression

On 23 March, the authorities arrested Lôla Rasoamaharo, the owner of La Gazette de la Grande Ile newspaper, on charges of extortion, defamation, threats and insults, after they raided the newspaper’s office and confiscated materials. This followed a protracted dispute between Lôla Rasoamaharo and the mayor of Antananarivo, conducted through their respective newspapers.

Right to a healthy environment

According to the National Office of Risk and Disaster Management, Cyclone Cheneso resulted in the displacement of approximately 90,870 people and claimed at least 33 lives in the south-eastern region in January. It was followed by Cyclone Freddy, which destroyed cash crops and led to increased levels of food insecurity in the region in February. Humanitarian aid delivery to affected areas was hindered by the damage caused to infrastructure, including health centres, and the remoteness of affected areas.

The situation in the drought-stricken Grand South region somewhat stabilized during the year, and there was an improvement in access to humanitarian aid. However, food security remained precarious. Local populations’ dependence on humanitarian assistance rendered them more vulnerable to additional climate change-related extreme weather events. During the year, the government implemented measures to prevent disasters caused by cyclones, issuing alerts and evacuating affected areas. However, it did not receive the necessary funding from developed states as required under the Paris Agreement, making it difficult for Madagascar to adapt to climate change and address the resulting losses and damages.

Internally displaced people’s rights

Internal displacement resulting from slow onset events like rising sea levels and increasing temperatures, as well as rapid onset events, became more pronounced. According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (an international NGO) and media reports, over 2,000 people from the Grand South region relocated to urban and rural areas in the north to escape the drought. The absence of government protection for internally displaced people resulted in reported cases of sexual violence against women, human trafficking, and tensions between host communities and internally displaced people, often linked to disputes over land use.

Discrimination

Women and girls, LGBTI people and persons with albinism were among groups facing discrimination and inequality.

Women’s reproductive rights and access to healthcare was restricted; abortion remained illegal in all circumstances. Gender-based discrimination was pervasive and disproportionately affected women and girls, particularly in educational settings, where, according to media reports, preconceived ideas about gender roles led to inequality and discrimination against girls.

LGBTI people experienced discrimination and marginalization in law and practice. In May, a 56-year-old transgender woman was subjected to physical violence by military personnel on the basis of her identity.

Persons with albinism were persistently targeted; they were subjected to ritual killings and attacks. There were at least 12 documented cases of abduction of persons with albinism during the year, motivated by false beliefs that the body parts of persons with albinism can be used to bring good luck.