Countdown of the Week!

I'm starting a weekly countdown that I think will inspire me to blog more consistently and give me human rights issues to write and research about. So without further ado, this week's countdown...

The 5 Most Oppressive Governments in the World Today

5- Somalia

Human rights abuses abound because of the complete lack of a legitimate central government since President Mohamed Siad Barre's flight from the country in 1991. Since then, transitional governments have existed, guaranteeing civil liberties that they did not provide. The most pressing human rights concerns include corruption within the judiciary system (causing horrific police brutality), restrictions on basic freedoms (including the detainment of journalists by the transitional government), and a nation-wide disregard for gender equality (which results in the routine genital mutilation and gang rape of Somalian women).

4- Syria
Syria's government is one of the most brutally oppressive in the world today. At a recent civil protest, President Bashar al-Assad ordered the death of hundreds of protestors. Shockingly, this death toll is not uncommon at such an event. Every month, at least 100 political activists are detained. The government is notorious for unwarranted arrests with ridiculous jail times. Police brutality has led to at least 20 prisoners' deaths.

3- Equatorial Guinea
The leader of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, is considered by some to be Africa's most corrupt dictator. The nation is a major oil exporter, and the abundance of oil causes government corruption and a vast, unbridgable gap between the super-rich and the direly poor. One of the most pressing concerns is the international community's refusal to recognize the corruption of the government. As a matter of fact, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Committee (UNESCO) named a highly sought-after prize after President Mbasogo.

2- Burma (Myanmar)
Burma is ruled by a highly authoritarian military state. Military officers hold unlimited rule at every level of government, and elections that have been conducted since 1990 have gone largely ignored by the existing Burmese government. The regime committed severe human rights abuses. Government security forces were responsible for extrajudicial killings, disappearances, rape, and torture. The government detained civic activists indefinitely and without charges. The government held detainees in life-threatening conditions. The army continued its attacks on ethnic minority villagers, resulting in deaths and forced relocation. Violence and societal discrimination against women continued, as did recruitment of child soldiers, discrimination against ethnic minorities, and trafficking in persons, particularly of women and girls.

1- North Korea

The government of North Korea is the most secretive in the world. The country is basically closed to all aid workers. North Koreans are also trapped inside their own country, and their daily lives are completely dictated by the government. The United Nations Human Rights Resolution on North Korea cites the country's "Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, public executions, extra judicial and arbitrary detention, the absence of due process and the rule of law, imposition of the death penalty for political reasons, the existence of a large number of prison camps and the extensive use of forced labour". "Supreme Leader", Kim Jong-il leads the world's most oppressive cult of personality.

Sources:
http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=70&release=503

http://www.csmonitor.com/CSM/Lists/World-s-worst-human-rights-violators

http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2003/edition_02-16-2003/Dictators

http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2010/eap/154380.htm