Bhutan: Concerns about ongoing detention of political prisoners and the lack of a national human rights body

Civic space in Bhutan is rated as ‘obstructed’ by the CIVICUS Monitor. There continue to be concerns about media independence, access to information and the chilling effect of defamation laws on journalists and critics. Further, there are political prisoners from the 1990s who are serving life sentences, with some subjected to torture and ill-treatment.

On 28th January 2023, Tshering Tobgay, leader of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), officially began his second term as prime minister, following elections on 10th January 2023. Tobgay, 58, is the country's fourth freely elected prime minister since democracy was established 15 years ago. He was previously prime minister from 2013 to 2018.

In October 2023, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee) issued its Concluding Observations after reviewing Bhutan’s record. The Committee stated that it was concerned that Bhutan has not yet established a National Human Rights Institution.

The Committee recommended that Bhutan, as a matter of priority, establish an independent national human rights institution in accordance with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights, equip it with adequate human, technical and financial resources, and ensure that it has a strong mandate for the promotion and protection of women’s rights and gender equality.

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Human rights group calls for release of political prisoners

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a letter released in January 2023 to Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay that all political prisoners should be released.

HRW said it had identified at least 36 people convicted of political offences following unfair trials that frequently relied on confessions coerced under torture. They are referred to in Bhutanese law, and by prison officials, as rajbandi (state or royal prisoners), “anti-national” or “political prisoners.” Many have been imprisoned for decades, serving sentences of life without parole and are denied contact with their families or the outside world, in violation of international standards.

HRW said the conditions in which political prisoners are held have declined drastically in recent years. Food rations have been cut, yet prisoners are obliged to sell a portion of their food to police and prison guards to buy medicine and clothes, which the authorities do not provide. Prisoners have inadequate means to stay warm, including inadequate bedding.

Madhukar Monger, a political prisoner from Bhutan who was released in August 2023 after serving 29 years in prison after confessing to distributing political literature, described the severely declining conditions for political prisoners.

Most of Bhutan’s political prisoners belong to the country’s marginalised Nepali-speaking community known as Lhotshampa and were convicted because of prohibited political activity between 1990 and 2008.

CEDAW Committee raises concerns around limiting NGO numbers

The CEDAW Committee in October 2023 also raised concerns at the indication by the Bhutan delegation that the number of NGOs in the country should remain limited.

It called on the government to strengthen the enabling environment for new and existing independent NGOs and provide support to NGOs working on the promotion and protection of women’s human rights from both a service-provision and a rights-based approach, with an additional focus on women subjected to intersectional discrimination.