The report said PA security forces were hampered by several factors,
including "increased outside interference." The Arab Reform Initiative said
the PA forces were seeing an increase in funding, training, equipment and
intelligence, particularly by the United States.
"On the negative side however, the other PA security agencies —
intelligence and preventive security — resorted to arbitrary detentions and
mistreatment of detainees including torture with the full knowledge of and
alleged encouragements from foreign intelligence agencies such as the CIA,"
the report said.
"It can thus be said that the outside players had a
negative impact on the democratization of the security sector, because their
priority was efficiency — mainly defined by Israel’s security needs —
rather than security sector reform of the kind that is implemented in other
countries as part of democracy promotion schemes."
The report also reported a sharp decline in the PA's tolerance of
dissent. The PA was said to have resumed trials of civilians in military
courts amid the conflict with Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip
since 2007. The Hamas regime was not cited in the study for lack of information.
"There is a noticeable drop in the scores of Palestine and Yemen, which
are both undergoing a period of internal strife...," the report said.
In all, the PA dropped from No. 3 to No. 7 on the human rights list in
the space of one year, the report said. The report cited what it termed
arbitrary detentions, ill treatment of detainees and accountability. The PA
scored zero in government accountability.
"...The indicator for the obstruction of the work of the parliament was
suspended for a second year in a row due to the fact that the Legislative
Council did not meet," the report said.
The report said the PA, despite praise for the government of Prime
Minister Salam Fayad, dropped from fourth to ninth in the index on
democratic values. The report cited the absence of a law on political
parties, a new requirement for the licensing of electronic media and the
failure to hold municipal elections.
The survey ranked Jordan as having the highest index for democracy and
human rights. Saudi Arabia was at the bottom of the list, after Syria and
Yemen.
Others in the survey for 2009 were Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Kuwait and
Morocco. The 2008 survey contained only eight countries.
"The report found that genuine change requires transformation in three
areas: laws and an electoral process that integrate all sectors of society
and eliminate discrimination; the development of tax systems based on
progressive taxation and a just distribution of wealth; the development of
an education system with firm moral and social foundations and based on the
principles of pluralism and secularism," the Arab Reform Initiative said.