According to the report, of the 48 Countries in Sub-Saharan
Africa:
17 African Governments generally respected the human rights
of its citizens; In 18 Countries, the government's overall human rights record was considered poor, although there were
notable improvements in some of the problematic areas; An additional 11 governments had human rights records that were
considered poor with limited or no progress being made in problematic areas [Although Liberia and
Guinea-Bissau are part of this group which reflects the poor human rights records of the Taylor and Yala governments that
were in power for most of 2003, both countries showed a marked improvement in their records after transitional governments
were installed]; Two governments had human rights records that were considered very/extremely poor.
Angola - The Government's human
rights record remained poor; although there were improvements in a few areas,
serious problems remained.
Benin - The Government generally
respected the human rights of its citizens
Botswana - The Government generally respected the human rights of its citizens
Burkina Faso - The Government's
human rights record remained poor; although there were some improvements in
a few areas, serious problems remained.
Burundi - The Transitional Government's
human rights record remained poor, and it continued to commit numerous serious human rights abuses.
Cameroon - The Government's human
rights record remained poor; although there were some improvements in a few
areas, serious problems remained.
Cape Verde - The Government generally respected the human rights of its citizens
Central African Republic - The
Government's human rights record remained poor; although there were some improvements
in a few areas, serious problems remained.
Chad - The Government's human
rights record remained poor, and it continued to commit serious human rights abuses.
Comoros - The Government generally respected the human rights of its citizens
Congo-Brazzaville - The Government's
human rights record remained poor; although there were some improvements in
a few areas, serious problems remained.
Congo-Kinshasa - In areas under
central government control, the Government's human rights record remained poor; although there
were some improvements, serious problems remained.
Côte d'Ivoire - The Government's
human rights record remained poor; although there were some improvements in
a few areas, serious problems remained.
Djibouti - The Government's human
rights record remained poor, and it continued to commit serious abuses.
Equatorial Guinea - The Government's
human rights record remained poor; although there were some improvements in
a few areas, numerous serious problems remained.
Eritrea - The Government's human
rights record remained poor, and it continued to commit serious abuses.
Ethiopia - The Government's human
rights record remained poor; although there were some improvements in a few
areas, serious problems remained.
Gabon - The Government's human
rights record remained poor; although there were some improvements in a few
areas, serious problems remained.
The Gambia - The Government generally respected the human rights of its citizens.
Ghana - The Government generally
respected the human rights of its citizens
Guinea - The Government's human
rights record remained poor; although there were improvements in several areas,
serious problems remained.
Guinea-Bissau - The Government's
human rights record remained poor, and it continued to commit serious abuses; however, reports
of abuse declined markedly after the September 14 coup.
Kenya - The Government's human
rights record remained poor; although there were some improvements in a few
areas, serious problems remained
Lesotho - The Government generally respected the human rights of its citizens
Liberia - Prior to the resignation
of President Taylor, the Government's human rights record remained poor, and it continued to commit
numerous, serious abuses. There were no reports that the NTGL [National Transitional Government of Liberia] committed any
serious human rights violations in its first few months in office.
Madagascar - The Government generally respected the human rights of its citizens
Malawi - The Government generally respected the human rights of its citizens
Mali - The Government generally
respected its citizens' human rights
Mauritania - The Government's
human rights record remained poor; although there were some improvements in
several areas, serious problems remained
Mauritius - The Government generally respected the human rights of its citizens
Mozambique - The Government's
human rights record remained poor; although there were some improvements in
several areas, serious problems remained.
Namibia - The Government generally respected the human rights of its citizens
Niger - The Government's human
rights record remained poor; although there were some improvements in a few
areas, serious problems remained.
Nigeria - The Government's human
rights record remained poor, and the Government continued to commit serious abuses.
Rwanda - The Government's human
rights record remained poor, and it continued to commit serious abuses.
São Tomé and Príncipe - The Government
generally respected the human rights of its citizens
Senegal - The Government generally respected its citizens' rights
Seychelles - The Government generally respected the human rights of its citizens
Sierra Leone - The Government
generally respected the rights of its citizens
Somalia - The country's human
rights record remained poor, and serious human rights abuses continued.
South Africa - The Government
generally respected the human rights of its citizens
Sudan - The Government's human
rights record remained extremely poor, and although there were improvements
in some areas, numerous, serious abuses remained.
Swaziland - The Government's human
rights record was poor, and it continued to commit serious abuses.
Tanzania - The Government's human
rights record remained poor; although there were improvements in a few areas,
serious problems remained.
Togo - The Government's human
rights record remained poor, and it continued to commit numerous abuses.
Uganda - The Government's human
rights record remained poor; although there were some improvements in a few
areas, serious problems remained.
Zambia - The Government's human
rights record remained poor; although there were some improvements in a few
areas, serious problems remained.
Zimbabwe - The Government's human
rights record remained very poor, and it continued to commit numerous, serious abuses.
