EU: In a watershed year for European institutions, 2004 marked the expansion of the European Union from 15 to 25 member-states and initial agreement on a new constitutional treaty.
What the report says about . . .
The European Union
A series of train bombings in Madrid on March 11th, 2004, marked a more sinister milestone: the worst terrorist attack in modern European history, leaving 191 civilians dead and hundreds wounded.
Such defining events leave Europeans with the challenge of protecting rights in a newly enlarged Union and meeting the threat of terrorism while protecting Europe's long human rights tradition.
European governments and institutions did not rise to these challenges, instead continuing to scale back rights protections - in particular, for asylum-seekers and migrants. They also missed the opportunity to distinguish European practice from the abusive actions of other countries by employing counterterrorism strategies that also violate fundamental rights.
Asylum-Seekers and Migrants
Migration into the EU poses clear challenges for European governments, and few would question the legitimacy or urgency of policies to address these concerns.
But the exclusive focus on combating illegal immigration in Europe reflects a disturbing and prevailing attitude that migrants have no rights. Consequently, regional and national policies and practices have focused on keeping migrants and asylum-seekers out of Europe. The tragedies of September 11th and March 11th are used to justify such exclusionary practices. The labelling of migrants and asylum-seekers as terrorists or security threats has resulted in the "securitisation of migration", often to the detriment of migrants' rights.
China
In late 2004 the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party called for political reform within the party in order to strengthen the party'si ts ability to lead the nation. Party leaders made clear that China is to remain a one-party state, but one based increasingly on the rule of law. While China has made progress in some areas in recent years - strengthening its legal system, allowing more independent news reporting, and sometimes tailoring public policy more closely to public opinion - it remains a highly repressive state.
The party's 2004 promise to uphold the rule of law has been compromised by continuing widespread official corruption, party interference in the justice system, and a culture of impunity for officials and their families. Authorities continue to censor news media. Civil society is also constrained, and most NGOs are government-controlled. China prohibits independent domestic human rights organisations and bars entry to international human rights organisations. Chinese citizens who contact international rights groups risk imprisonment.
In late October and early November 2004, major riots by tens of thousands of people occurred in Henan and Sichuan provinces.
Chinese leaders continue to isolate areas of discontent, and aim to prevent information about social problems from spreading.
Cuba
The Cuban government systematically denies its citizens basic rights to free expression, association, assembly, movement and a fair trial. A one-party state, Cuba restricts nearly all avenues of political dissent.
Tactics for enforcing political conformity include police warnings, surveillance, short-term detentions, house arrests, travel restrictions, criminal prosecutions and politically motivated dismissals from employment.
In April 2003, authorities sentenced 75 dissidents to prison terms ranging from six to 28 years, and all but 14 - released in 2004 for humanitarian reasons - remain incarcerated at this writing.
Raul Rivero, a poet and journalist, and Marta Beatriz Roque, a prominent independent economist - and the only woman sent to prison during the crackdown - were among the 14 who were released.
Cuba's legal and institutional structures are at the root of rights violations.
The report also details the observance of human rights, or lack of, in numerous other countries in the Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe and Central Asia, and the Middle EAst and North Africa. The complete report may be read on the Internet at www.hrw.org/wr2k5/