Amnesty International Report 2017/18

104

Amnesty International Report 2017/18

to address the gaps in refugees’ access to 

social housing, family benefits for children or 

language training, which limited their 

enjoyment of social and economic rights.

The government issued an order restricting 

freedom of movement for registered asylum-

seekers. Adopted in September, it imposed 

territorial limits for asylum-seekers in refugee 

centres, prohibiting them from moving out of 

prescribed areas.

Although Bulgaria committed to accept 

1,302 asylum-seekers from Greece and Italy 

under the EU emergency relocation scheme, 

it had only resettled 50 people from Greece 

by the end of the year. It did not receive any 

Syrian refugees from Turkey under the EU-

Turkey “one-for-one” resettlement deal 

although it had originally committed to accept 

100 people under the scheme.

CHILDREN’S RIGHTS

Reception conditions for unaccompanied 

refugee and migrant children remained 

inadequate. Children were routinely denied 

adequate access to legal representation, 

translation, health services and psychosocial 

support. Basic education was not available in 

the centres and most children were not 

enrolled in local schools. Limited social and 

educational activities were available several 

days a week and organized exclusively by 

NGOs and humanitarian organizations.

The authorities lacked developed systems 

for early identification, assessment and 

referral mechanisms for unaccompanied 

children. Children often did not have access 

to qualified legal guardians and legal 

representation. In February, mayors and 

residents of several towns refused to 

accommodate two unaccompanied refugee 

children in facilities in their communities. The 

boys were moved several times and finally 

separated, causing the younger boy to 

abscond.

In September, the National Assembly 

adopted, in the first reading, amendments to 

the Law on Foreigners. They included an 

obligation to provide legal representation for 

all unaccompanied children and to increase 

the authority of the Social Assistance 

Directorate in all proceedings involving 

unaccompanied children who had not 

applied for international protection. The 

amendments, however, proposed repealing 

the requirement for an individual assessment 

of the best interests of the child before 

placing children in short-term immigration 

detention. Human rights organizations 

warned that the proposals would legitimize 

the practice of “attaching” unaccompanied 

children to often unrelated adults travelling in 

the same group in order to avoid the 

prohibition of detention of children.

DISCRIMINATION

Hate speech and hate crimes continued, 

directed at minority groups, including Turks 

and Roma; refugees, asylum-seekers and 

migrants remained vulnerable to violence and 

harassment. Discriminatory or xenophobic 

statements were made during the campaign 

for parliamentary elections held in March, by 

candidates and political parties as well as by 

the coalition of far-right parties, the Patriotic 

Front, which gained enough seats to enter 

the government.

Marginalization and widespread 

discrimination against Roma persisted. They 

faced systemic obstacles in all aspects of life, 

including education, health care, housing 

and employment. Roma children were 

enrolled in special schools and denied 

access to mainstream education. High 

numbers of Roma lacked health insurance 

and faced persistent barriers to adequate 

health care and services. The authorities 

continued the practice of forced evictions 

without the provision of adequate alternative 

housing, leaving many families homeless. 

Human rights organizations documented 

numerous cases involving ill-treatment and 

physical abuse of Roma by police. Roma 

remained over-represented in places of 

detention. In July, mass anti-Roma 

demonstrations organized by the Patriotic 

Front took place in the towns of Asenovgrad 

and Byala, following a violent incident 

between a sports youth team and several 

Roma.

---

Amnesty International Report 2017/18

105

People with disabilities, particularly 

children, continued to face discrimination 

and systemic social exclusion, including 

limited access to education, health services 

and employment. Those with intellectual 

disabilities and psychosocial problems were 

deprived of their legal capacity and the right 

to independent living and were frequently 

placed under guardianship or social care 

institutions without their consent.

Despite numerous threats and simultaneous 

counter-demonstrations organized by far-right 

groups, Sofia Gay Pride took place in June 

under heavy police presence.

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

JOURNALISTS AND MEDIA

A pattern of threats, political pressure and 

attacks against journalists continued; a 

significant portion of the media remained 

under the tight control of political parties and 

local oligarchs. In October, Deputy Prime 

Minister Valeriy Simeonov and MP Anton 

Todorov publicly threatened TV journalist 

Victor Nikolaev that he would be fired unless 

he stopped investigating the government’s 

purchase of a fighter aircraft. The incident 

was widely condemned by civil society, but 

no action was taken against the public 

officials.

Bulgaria remained the lowest ranking EU 

member state on the World Press Freedom 

Index. The NGO Reporters without Borders 

ranked Bulgaria 109th out of 180 countries 

in terms of press freedom.

BURKINA FASO

Head of state: Roch Marc Christian Kaboré

Head of government: Paul Kaba Thiéba

The draft Constitution included provisions 

which, if implemented, would strengthen 

human rights protection. There were reports 

of torture and other ill-treatment and prison 

conditions remained poor. Rates of 

maternal mortality as well as early and 

forced marriage remained high. Armed 

groups committed human rights abuses.

LEGAL, CONSTITUTIONAL OR 

INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS

In December, a draft Constitution was 

submitted to the President for approval, 

following which it will either be approved by 

referendum or adopted by Parliament. It 

included provisions to strengthen human 

rights protection, including economic, social 

and cultural rights, gender equality, 

protection for women and girls from violence, 

abolition of the death penalty, and to increase 

the independence of the judiciary.

In June, the National Assembly adopted a 

law to protect human rights defenders.

In July, legislation was adopted which would 

give the High Court of Justice jurisdiction to 

try members of the government for crimes 

committed in the course of, or in connection 

with, their duties. In the same month, the 

government adopted a law allowing the 

military prosecutor to initiate public 

prosecutions against civilians in proceedings 

which would operate independently of the 

High Council of Magistrates which, among 

other things, was responsible for overseeing 

the independence of the judiciary.

TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT

There were complaints at the main prison of 

Ouagadougou, the capital: detainees at 

MACO prison (Maison d’Arrêt et de 

Correction de Ouagadougou) complained of 

torture and other ill-treatment, mainly during 

arrest or in police custody, often in order to 

extract “confessions”. Several prisoners said 

they were held in custody for over two weeks 

without charge. Four prisoners said that 

courts took no action when they reported that 

they had been tortured.

Several soldiers who were tried in April for 

conspiracy to raid an arms depot in Yimdi in 

January complained in a military court in 

Ouagadougou that they were tortured during 

detention in custody either at the 

gendarmerie or at MACO prison.

DETENTION

Many prisons remained overcrowded: 1,900 

detainees were held in MACO prison which 

has a capacity for 600. Conditions remained 

---