Amnesty highlights gender-based violence against migrants and housing in Portugal

Gender-based violence and violence against immigrants and lack of adequate housing are among the main references to Portugal in Amnesty International’s (AI) annual report on the state of human rights in the world, released today.

Referring to 2023, the document analyzes 155 countries and concludes that, last year, human rights violations “were widespread”.

For Portugal, AI points to the case of seven police officers who were accused of torturing immigrants and who were authorized to resume their duties, says that last year concerns persisted regarding low rates of accusations of domestic violence, and recalls data that indicate that the number of families without adequate housing tripled compared to 2018.

Regarding torture and ill-treatment, the report cites the Committee for the Prevention of Torture, of the Council of Europe, which said that the ill-treatment inflicted on detainees by law enforcement agents is a persistent practice, reiterating the Government’s obligation to ensure the investigation of alleged cases and combat impunity.

In June, the Évora Court of Appeal acquitted a military police officer and reduced the sentences of four other officers convicted of torturing immigrants in the city of Odemira, district of Beja.

After an initial suspension of duties, the seven police officers involved in the case were authorized to return to work.

“According to a report by the Ombudsman published in April, the average prison occupancy rate in December 2022 was 100.8%, with 25 of the 49 prisons overcrowded,” the report says.

Regarding gender-based violence, AI cites the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) and the concern it expresses about the “high and persistent level of domestic violence” in Portugal, with that Committee urging the authorities to resolve the problem of low prosecution rates for domestic violence suspects, as well as the insufficient provision of shelters for victims seeking safety.

Amnesty also cites official data on internal security (from March), which estimated an 18.2% increase in the number of people subject to human trafficking, almost half for labor exploitation.

And he recalls data from the National Statistics Institute in January, which estimated that 9.2% of people lived in overcrowded housing, affecting almost 20% of families in poverty. And there were 86 thousand families in need of housing last year.

In 2023, says AI in the report, in the part on economic, social and cultural rights, France, Ireland and Portugal will record record levels of homelessness.

The international movement also speaks in the part about Portugal in the case of three activists who sued the Lisbon City Council for alleged violation of their rights, and the case of six young people who filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights against 32 countries, alleging that the governments were not doing enough to combat climate change. This year the Court ruled, not agreeing with the young people.

In global terms, AI paints a much darker picture, speaking of attacks and murders in a growing number of armed conflicts, repressions of freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly, and arbitrary detentions.

He also talks about States that have not taken measures to guarantee people’s rights to food, health, education and a healthy environment, neglecting economic injustices and the climate crisis.

The treatment of civilians as expendable in armed conflicts, the growing backlash against gender justice, the disproportionate impact of economic crises, climate change and environmental degradation on the most marginalized communities, and the threats new and existing technologies pose from the perspective of AI challenges critical human rights around the world in 2024 and beyond.