Overview of Human Rights in Comoros

The Union of Comoros is a constitutional multiparty republic. The country is made up of three islands, Grande Comore, Anjouan, and Moheli, and claims Mayotte, which is governed by France, as a fourth.

Since its independence from France in 1975, the nation has endured approximately 20 coups or attempted coups. Comoros is one of the world’s poorest countries. It has high levels of unemployment, and this has not helped to improve the nation’s already relatively poor human rights record.

The government is known to limit the freedom of religion, especially those of Christians. Societal discrimination against Christians goes unchecked as well. There have been increasing reports of child labor and child abuse. Security forces continue to use arbitrary arrest and detention with ‘suspects’.

There is also the complaint of widespread corruption among those in the government.

Human Development Index (HDI) Rank:

132nd out of 177

Note: Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite index that measures the level of well-being of nations in the world. It uses factors such as poverty, literacy, life-expectancy, education, gross domestic product, and purchasing power parity to assess the average achievements in each nation. It has been used in the United Nation’s Human Development Report since 1993.