taken in response to the COVID-19 virus negatively affected women.
RIGHT TO PRIVACY
The case of Al-Hawsawi v Lithuania remained pending before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). Mustafa Al-Hawsawi, a Saudi Arabian national detained at Guantanamo Bay, claimed he had been held at a secret CIA detention centre in Lithuania and subjected to enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention and torture by the CIA between 2005 and 2006. In January, lawyers for Mustafa Al-Hawsawi filed their response to Lithuania’s submission to the ECtHR.
In April, the government proposed an amendment to the Law on Electronic Communications in response to the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The amendment would grant law enforcement broad powers to obtain a person’s location data from telecommunications providers during a state of emergency or declared quarantine, without prior judicial authorization. Opposition politicians and health workers’ associations warned that the proposed powers would enable widespread surveillance and have limited public health benefits.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX (LGBTI) PEOPLE
MADAGASCAR
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Discrimination against LGBTI people remained prevalent in Lithuania. In January, the ECtHR found in favour of two gay men who had been subjected to online comments amounting to incitement to hatred and violence against LGBTI people. The authorities refused to investigate the comments, stating that the applicants’ behaviour had been “eccentric” and deliberately provocative and citing “traditional family values” in Lithuania. The ECtHR found that the applicants had suffered discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and been denied an effective domestic remedy.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS The Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson voiced concern that measures imposed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 disproportionately affected women, noting an increase in reports of domestic violence to police. Civil society groups reported that some health care providers had suspended or cancelled abortion services during the nationwide lockdown from March to June, restricting women’s access to sexual and reproductive health care.
Amnesty International Report 2020/21
Republic of Madagascar Head of state: Andry Rajoelina Head of government: Christian Ntsay The COVID-19 pandemic had a devastating impact on access to food. Gender-based violence remained widespread, and increasing numbers of women and girls underwent unsafe abortions. A woman faced imprisonment for consensual samesex relations. Tens of thousands of people, including hundreds of children, were subjected to prolonged pre-trial detention in appalling conditions. The right to freedom of expression was restricted, and the authorities imposed measures to prevent broadcasters from sharing information about COVID-19.
BACKGROUND On 22 March, the President declared a state of emergency in view of the COVID-19 outbreak. It was extended periodically until 18 October.
ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS The COVID-19 pandemic had a devastating impact on livelihoods and household incomes. In June, the National Institute of Statistics said that over 64% of households
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