Historical Background
Togo, once a German protectorate, and later a French possession, won independence in 1960 and has been criticized for its human-rights record ever since. Military leader Gnassingbe Eyadema took power in 1967; despite the legalization of political parties in 1991 and the ratification of a democratic constitution in 1992, the regime continued to be regarded as oppressive, and in 1993 the EU cut off aid in reaction to the regime's human-rights offenses. After's Eyadema death in 2005 his son, Faure Gnassingbe, took over, then stood down and was elected in elections that were widely described as having been fixed and which occasioned violence that resulted in as many as 500 deaths and the flight from Togo of 40,000 refugees.
The following is a chart of Togo's ratings since 1972 in the Freedom in the World reports, published annually by Freedom House. A rating of 1 is "free"; 7, "not free".1
| Year | Political Rights | Civil Liberties | Status | President2 |
| 1972 | 7 | 5 | Not Free | Gnassingbé Eyadéma |
| 1973 | 7 | 5 | Not Free | Gnassingbé Eyadéma |
| 1974 | 7 | 6 | Not Free | Gnassingbé Eyadéma |
| 1975 | 7 | 6 | Not Free | Gnassingbé Eyadéma |
| 1976 | 7 | 6 | Not Free | Gnassingbé Eyadéma |
| 1977 | 7 | 6 | Not Free | Gnassingbé Eyadéma |
| 1978 | 7 | 6 | Not Free | Gnassingbé Eyadéma |
| 1979 | 7 | 7 | Not Free | Gnassingbé Eyadéma |
| 1980 | 7 | 6 | Not Free | Gnassingbé Eyadéma |
| 1981 | 7 | 6 | Not Free | Gnassingbé Eyadéma |
| 19823 | 7 | 6 | Not Free | Gnassingbé Eyadéma |
| 1983 | 7 | 6 | Not Free | Gnassingbé Eyadéma |
| 1984 | 6 | 6 | Not Free | Gnassingbé Eyadéma |
| 1985 | 6 | 6 | Not Free | Gnassingbé Eyadéma |
| 1986 | 6 | 6 | Not Free | Gnassingbé Eyadéma |
| 1987 | 6 | 6 | Not Free | Gnassingbé Eyadéma |
| 1988 | 6 | 6 | Not Free | Gnassingbé Eyadéma |
| 1989 | 6 | 6 | Not Free | Gnassingbé Eyadéma |
| 1990 | 6 | 6 | Not Free | Gnassingbé Eyadéma |
| 1991 | 6 | 5 | Not Free | Gnassingbé Eyadéma |
| 1992 | 6 | 5 | Not Free | Gnassingbé Eyadéma |
| 1993 | 7 | 5 | Not Free | Gnassingbé Eyadéma |
| 1994 | 6 | 5 | Not Free | Gnassingbé Eyadéma |
| 1995 | 6 | 5 | Not Free | Gnassingbé Eyadéma |
| 1996 | 6 | 5 | Not Free | Gnassingbé Eyadéma |
| 1997 | 6 | 5 | Not Free | Gnassingbé Eyadéma |
| 1998 | 6 | 5 | Not Free | Gnassingbé Eyadéma |
| 1999 | 5 | 5 | Partly Free | Gnassingbé Eyadéma |
| 2000 | 5 | 5 | Partly Free | Gnassingbé Eyadéma |
| 2001 | 5 | 5 | Partly Free | Gnassingbé Eyadéma |
| 2002 | 6 | 5 | Not Free | Gnassingbé Eyadéma |
| 2003 | 6 | 5 | Not Free | Gnassingbé Eyadéma |
| 2004 | 6 | 5 | Not Free | Gnassingbé Eyadéma |
| 2005 | 6 | 5 | Not Free | Gnassingbé Eyadéma |
| 2006 | 6 | 5 | Not Free | Faure Gnassingbé |
| 2007 | 5 | 5 | Partly Free | Faure Gnassingbé |
| 2008 | 5 | 5 | Partly Free | Faure Gnassingbé |
| 2009 | 5 | 4 | Partly Free | Faure Gnassingbé |
| 2010 | 5 | 4 | Partly Free | Faure Gnassingbé |
| 2011 | 5 | 4 | Partly Free | Faure Gnassingbé |
Read more about this topic: Human Rights In Togo
Famous quotes containing the words historical and/or background:
“It is hard to believe that England is so near as from your letters it appears; and that this identical piece of paper has lately come all the way from there hither, begrimed with the English dust which made you hesitate to use it; from England, which is only historical fairyland to me, to America, which I have put my spade into, and about which there is no doubt.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“They were more than hostile. In the first place, I was a south Georgian and I was looked upon as a fiscal conservative, and the Atlanta newspapers quite erroneously, because they didn’t know anything about me or my background here in Plains, decided that I was also a racial conservative.”
—Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.)