Examination of human rights violations in the African nation of Djibouti

Abstract

Surrounded by Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia, Djibouti is situated in the horn of Africa. This Easter African nation was populated by over 818.159 inhabitants in 2009, according to the country's census (Ministère de l'Economie, des Finances et de la Planification - Djibouti, 2010). Since its independence from France in the 1970's, this country has been the focus of debate and analysis from socio-political commentators. The unstable political situation of the country and the tensions between the two main ethnic groups, the Afar and the Somali, resulted in a dramatic civil war that took place during the 1990's. In addition, the country also experienced more recent clashes with Eritrea over the sovereignty of parts of Djibouti's Northern border. During recent decades, human rights abuses in countries like Djibouti have become the focus of extensive debate and controversy. Numerous commentators and activists have pointed out that human rights abuses are still very common in this African nation. Women, workers and media journalists seem to be some of the recipients of most of these abuses (Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, 2011). This report will provide a detailed examination of the human rights violations suffered by these groups, in order to determine the main implications and extent of human rights abuse in Djibouti. Undoubtedly, women are one of the groups that are greatly affected by human rights abuse in Djibouti. It is estimated that, only in 2006, over 93.1% of all women in Djibouti had suffered female genital circumcision and genital mutilation, according to the World Health Organization. Female genital circumcision is a life-threatening evil practice that oppresses females in different regions of the world (Hayes, 1975). As previously mentioned, most Djibouti women undergo this practice, despite the effort of female groups to eradicate the practice.