Blantyre - Reports of human rights violations in Malawi doubled from 1999 to 2000 and is expected to increase by 60 per cent this year, according to the Human Rights Commission. It said the rise will be due to "people increasingly becoming aware of their rights".
The commission chairman, Father Alfred Nsope, said reports of human rights violations doubled last year and attacked the widening gap between poor and rich, saying this "tantamounts to gross violation of human rights". Sixty per cent of Malawians live below the poverty line.
The commission was formed after the dictator, Mr Kamuzu Banda, who ruled Malawi for three decades, lost power to Mr Bakili Muluzi in 1994. Mr Muluzi is widely credited with improving human rights.