Washington, USA - The United States said Thursday it saw progress in human rights in parts of South Asia last year, as Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives and Nepal all solidified democracy.
The positive signs belied a grim situation in much of South Asia, where the US State Department found widespread rights problems in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
In its annual report, the State Department said that the human rights situation "improved somewhat" in Bangladesh as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina took office in January 2009, ending nearly two years of military-backed rule.
The report said Bangladesh witnessed a "slight increase" in extrajudicial killings but that religious discrimination ebbed. There were no protests against the Ahmadiya, a sect many Muslims consider heretical.
The State Department reported widespread concerns in Nepal about extrajudicial killings, human trafficking and impunity for perpetrators of violence.
But it said that overall respect for human rights "improved slightly" thanks to a multi-party government, which gave access to international human rights monitors and tried to better enforce anti-trafficking laws.
The State Department said human rights were improving in Bhutan after the Himalayan state transformed into a democracy in 2008, ending a century of absolute monarchy.
But the report said that some discrimination remained against the Nepalese minority in the predominantly Buddhist country.
Similarly, the State Department reported progress in Maldives since former political prisoner Mohamed Nasheed won elections in the archipelago in 2008.
"The government generally respected the human rights of its citizens and upheld civil liberties," the report said.
It said, however, that concerns remained about religious freedom and the treatment of women in the Islamic state.