The US State Department published its annual report on human rights worldwide on Tuesday. The report includes excerpts on specific countries, such as Iraq. In Iraq, sectarian violence, terrorism, and retaliation by armed groups have hindered the government's efforts to establish and enforce the rule of law. Sunni Arab groups, including al Qaeda in Iraq, remnants of the Baathist regime, and insurgents, have violently opposed the government and targeted Shia communities. Conversely, Shia militias with connections to the Iraqi Security Forces have targeted Sunnis through death squads and kidnappings. Pakistan: Despite President Musharraf's pledge to move towards democracy and 'enlightened moderation,' the country's human rights situation remained dismal. Security forces continued to engage in extrajudicial killings, while arbitrary arrests and torture were widespread. Corruption was rampant within the government and police forces. 
Russia: The centralization of power in the executive branch in Russia continued, with changes to election laws and new regulations on political parties giving the government extensive authority to oversee, investigate, restrict, and potentially shut down parties. When considering a compliant State Duma, corruption and selectivity in law enforcement, political pressure on the judiciary, and limitations on NGOs and the media, these factors led to a decline in government accountability. In Afghanistan, despite progress in human rights since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, the country's human rights situation was still poor, with reports of arbitrary arrests, extrajudicial killings, torture, and inadequate prison conditions. North Korea remained an isolated and oppressive regime in 2006, controlling nearly all aspects of citizens' lives and severely limiting freedoms such as speech, press, assembly, association, movement, and worker rights. An estimated 150,000 to 200,000 individuals, including political prisoners, were detained in camps where many died from torture, starvation, disease, and exposure. In Myanmar, the military government employed executions, rape, torture, arbitrary detention, and forced relocation of villages, particularly targeting ethnic minorities, to maintain power. Prisoners faced abuse and harsh conditions. In Iran, the government violated freedom of speech and assembly by cracking down on dissidents, journalists, and reformers through arbitrary arrests, torture, disappearances, excessive force, and denial of fair trials. In Zimbabwe, the Mugabe government continued widespread human rights violations. Official corruption and impunity were prevalent in Cuba and China in 2006. In Cuba, the government, led by Raul Castro during Fidel Castro's illness, continued to violate the rights of its citizens, including the right to peacefully change their government or criticize the revolution. In China, there was a decline in the human rights record with an increase in cases of monitoring, harassment, detention, and imprisonment of political and religious activists, journalists, writers, and defense lawyers seeking to exercise their rights under the law.