Zambia

The most significant human rights problems during the year were abuses by police, including reports of unlawful killings, torture, and beatings; political violence; restrictions on freedom of the press, assembly, association, and speech; and gender-based violence (GBV). Other serious human rights problems included life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest; prolonged pretrial detention; arbitrary interference with privacy; displacement of landowners; government corruption; child abuse; trafficking in persons; discrimination against persons with disabilities and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) community; and child labor. The government took selective and halting steps to prosecute or punish officials who committed abuses, targeting mostly those who opposed the ruling party. Impunity remained a problem, as ruling party supporters were either not prosecuted for serious crimes or, if prosecuted, released after serving small fractions of prison sentences.