Below is the final assessment for the Human Rights Monitoring course. The test consists of 10 questions. You need to pass the test with a score of 75% or higher to obtain a certificate of completion. Your score will not appear on the certificate. The test is not timed. Now it’s time to test what you have learnt so far – please carefully read the following text, and reply to the questions based on the collected information. Good luck!
(1) Sokovia is a small country in Galaxia, party to all major international and regional human rights instruments. The human rights record of Sokovia has deteriorated in the past year. Reports point out that authorities continued to crack down on journalists, imprisoned opposition leaders, closed a leading independent news agency, and arrested several academics on charges of abetting terrorism. At the same time, the government blocked various websites, wiretapped the phones of several human rights defenders and activists and considered introducing a new law that would require NGOs to register any funding from foreign sources, subjected human rights groups to harassment, and continued to enforce serious restrictions on religious practice, as it had in previous years. Ten NGOs had their offices raided by police and their tax numbers suspended; their leaders are being prosecuted for embezzlement.
(2) Sokovia is experiencing economic crisis with skyrocketing inflation, high unemployment and widespread allegations of corruption at all levels. In May, authorities responded to plans by an opposition party for a public demonstration in the capital against the austerity measures, by blocking Internet and cell phone service throughout the country in the days leading up to the event. The disbanding of the demonstration was ordered by authorities and in the ensuing clashes at least two persons, including a police officer were killed and more than a hundred were injured during the three-day turmoil in the capital. Around 84 protestors were arrested and several party activists have been reported as missing by their families.
(3) Lawyers associations continue to report on cases where beatings and humiliation tactics are used to obtain confessions. Police and investigators routinely deny detainees access to counsel in pretrial custody. Civil society organizations have recently reported that authorities have undertaken investigations regarding at least three out of seven cases of suspicious deaths in custody over the past two years, but that none have produced meaningful results.
(4) Authorities periodically block access to independent websites. According to Internet service providers, the state telecommunications agency continued periodically to order that several websites be blocked, including Sokoviamail, Fakebooknote, and the national Free Sokovia news service. The national legislation continued to retain criminal sanctions for “insulting the president” or any government officials.
(5) The country’s plan to tackle the economic crisis by constructing a large dam and hydropower plant stands to displace over 42,000 people before the plant becomes operational, most belonging to the Xhosi minority. The government has already resettled 1,500 families to other regions around the country. The government has not provided the necessary compensation to displaced families to replace their homes or restore their livelihoods. Many Xhosi families have suffered serious disruptions in access to housing, food, water, and education. Reports about arson attacks by extremist groups on makeshift camps by displaced Xhosi in major urban areas continue to emerge. One such incident in the capital resulted in 3 children being hospitalized with severe burns.
You are a human rights monitor, working for a local NGO promoting human rights throughout Sokovia. Concerned about the situation, you want to assess the situation and report on the human rights situation in Sokovia. Your team will need to:
- Identify human rights issues at stake;
- Identify all relevant international legal instruments and monitoring bodies that could be referred to for the case;
- Identify the State’s human rights obligations.
Based on your experience, the materials provided during the training, as well as other sources of information, answer the following questions: