Human rights in Lesotho Human rights in Lesotho Human rights in Lesotho, a nation of 2,067,000 people completely surrounded by South Africa, is a contentious issue. In its 2012 Freedom in the World report, Freedom House declared the country "Partly Free". According to the United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, which produces annual human rights reports on the country, the most pressing human rights issues are the use of torture, poor prison conditions, and the abuse of women and children. Lesotho became independent from the United Kingdom in 1966. The period until 1998 saw a series of annulled elections and military
Lesotho is thought to be closer to the global estimate of 15 percent. According to a survey conducted by the Lesotho National Federation of Organisations of the Disabled in conjunction with SINTEF, people with disability in Lesotho face significant social and cultural barriers which prevent them from accessing education, healthcare, and employment on an equal basis with others. On 2 December 2008 Lesotho became the 42nd country in the world to sign the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. However, to date the treaty has yet to be domesticated. Despite lobbying efforts from disabled persons organisations, there have