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Amnesty International Report 2017/18

Elsewhere, government restrictions followed a familiar pattern. In Saudi Arabia, the 

authorities discriminated against members of the Shi’a Muslim minority because of their faith, 

limiting their right to religious expression and their access to justice, and arbitrarily restricting 

their right to work and access to state services. Shi’a activists continued to face arrest, 

imprisonment and – in some cases – the death penalty following unfair trials.

In Iran, freedom of religion and belief was systematically violated, in law and practice. 

Widespread and systematic attacks continued to be carried out against the Baha’i religious 

minority. These included arbitrary arrests, lengthy imprisonment, torture and other ill-

treatment, forcible closure of Baha’i-owned businesses, confiscation of Baha’i properties, bans 

on employment in the public sector and denial of access to universities. Other religious 

minorities not recognized under the Constitution, such as Yaresan (Ahl-e Haq), also faced 

systematic discrimination, including in education and employment, and were persecuted for 

practising their faith. The right to change or renounce religious beliefs continued to be violated. 

A number of Christian converts received prison sentences ranging from 10 to 15 years.

WOMEN’S RIGHTS

Long-term struggles by women’s rights movements resulted in some positive developments 

during the year.

Laws were amended in Jordan, Lebanon and Tunisia to stop rapists escaping prosecution (or 

benefiting from reduced penalties) if they married their victim. However, legislation in many 

other countries retained such a loophole. Jordan also struck out a provision that allowed 

reduced sentences for men found guilty of killing a female relative in a “fit of rage caused by 

an unlawful or dangerous act on the part of the victim”, but kept one that granted leniency for 

“honour” killings of female relatives found in an “adulterous situation”. Tunisia’s parliament 

adopted the Law on Eliminating Violence against Women, which brought in several guarantees 

for the protection of women and girls from gender-based violence, and its president repealed a 

decree prohibiting marriage between a Tunisian woman and a non-Muslim man.

In Qatar, a draft law was approved to provide permanent residency rights for the children of 

Qatari women married to non-Qataris, but discrimination persisted, with women unable to pass 

on their nationality and citizenship to their children.

In Saudi Arabia, a royal order was issued in September allowing women to drive from 

mid-2018, although there were questions about how it would be implemented in practice. In 

April, another royal order had instructed all government agencies that women should not be 

denied access to government services if they did not have a male guardian’s consent, unless 

existing regulations required it. However, the order appeared to keep in place regulations that 

explicitly require a guardian’s approval, such as for women to travel abroad, obtain a passport, 

or marry.

Despite the positive developments, entrenched discrimination against women in law and in 

practice, notably in matters of marriage and divorce, inheritance and child custody, remained 

in these and many other countries in the region. Women were inadequately protected against 

sexual and other gender-based violence, as well as forced and early marriage.

RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER AND 

INTERSEX PEOPLE

While sexual orientation and gender identity issues were increasingly on the agendas of 

mainstream human rights movements in the region, governments continued to heavily limit the 

enjoyment of the rights of LGBTI people in law and practice.

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In Egypt, in the worst crackdown in over a decade, the authorities rounded up and 

prosecuted people for their perceived sexual orientation after a rainbow flag was displayed at a 

concert in Cairo in September performed by Lebanese band Mashrou’ Leila, who had been 

banned from playing in Jordan earlier in the year. Security forces arrested at least 76 people 

and subjected at least five to anal examinations, a practice which amounts to torture. Courts 

sentenced at least 48 people to prison terms of between three months and six years on 

charges that included “habitual debauchery”. In October, parliamentarians proposed a deeply 

discriminatory law explicitly criminalizing same-sex sexual relations and any public promotion 

of LGBTI gatherings, symbols or flags.

Countries including Morocco and Tunisia continued to arrest people and sentence them to 

terms of imprisonment under laws criminalizing consensual same-sex sexual relations. In 

Tunisia, while the police subjected men accused of such relations to forced anal examinations, 

the government accepted a recommendation under the UN Universal Periodic Review process 

in September to end their use. Elsewhere, in countries including Iran and Saudi Arabia, some 

consensual same-sex sexual conduct remained punishable by death.

RIGHT TO WORK

TRADE UNIONS

Some governments heavily curtailed trade union rights.

In Egypt, the authorities subjected dozens of workers and trade unionists to arrest, military 

trial, dismissal and a range of disciplinary measures solely for exercising their rights to strike 

and to form independent trade unions. In December, parliament passed a law tripling the 

number of members (from 50 to 150) that independent trade unions need to obtain legal 

recognition.

In Algeria, the authorities continued to deny registration to the independent, cross-sector 

General Autonomous Confederation for Algerian Workers – it first filed its application in 2013 – 

and banned the National Autonomous Electricity and Gas Trade Union by withdrawing its 

recognition.

MIGRANT WORKERS’ RIGHTS

Across the Gulf and in other countries such as Jordan and Lebanon, migrant workers, 

including those in the domestic, construction and other sectors, continued to face exploitation 

and abuse. However, there were some positive developments. In Qatar, the government 

passed two new laws in August. One established a labour dispute mechanism, which could 

address some of the barriers to migrant workers accessing justice. The other provided legal 

protections for domestic workers’ labour rights for the first time, including paid holidays and a 

limit to working hours. However, the law was open to abuse of a provision allowing domestic 

workers to work beyond the legal limit if they “agreed”. In October, the Qatari government 

announced new reform plans, including a minimum wage and a fund to pay unpaid workers, 

and the International Labour Organization published details of a package it had agreed with 

Qatar to reform the kafala sponsorship system, which prevents migrant workers from changing 

jobs or leaving the country without their employers’ permission.

In the UAE, a law came into effect in September limiting working hours and providing paid 

leave and the right to retain personal documents.

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