Bhutan: Governance Assessment and Areas for Improvement

Overall Assessment

Bhutan has achieved substantial progress in improving its governance and addressing numerous challenges. However, concerns persist regarding corruption, human rights abuses, and limitations on freedom of expression.

Key Areas for Improvement

Judicial System

• The judicial system faces issues with inconsistent court judgments.
• The right of appeal is sometimes abused.
• Lack of transparency in the Bhutanese judiciary; court judgments are not made available to the public.

Transparency and Access to Justice

• Insufficient transparency in the judicial process.
• Limited access to justice for citizens due to lack of information about court judgments.

Human Rights Abuses

• Reports of human rights abuses by police against external ethnic populations.

Corruption

• Risk of corruption among Bhutanese law enforcement officials due to:
  • Lack of expertise on financial crime.
  • Ineffective confiscation of illicit proceeds.

Freedom of Expression

• Major news outlets are government-managed.
• Direct and implied state-level censorship remains a problem.

Positive Developments

Victim Support

• Bhutan has improved victim support by:
  • Collaborating with international NGOs to develop victim-identification guidelines.

Prevention of Illicit Trafficking

• The government participates in initiatives to prevent illicit drug trafficking and human trafficking risks.
• A national prevention strategy was published in 2021.

Economic Measures

• Bhutan has taken measures to combat money laundering and terrorism financing, including:
  • Passing legislation.
  • Cooperating with other countries.