In June, the government introduced further restrictions to its “tolerated stay” regime, which applied to individuals it excluded from protection because they had committed a felony in Denmark or were believed to have committed war crimes or non-political crimes elsewhere, but who could not be deported to their country of origin as they faced a real risk of human rights violations there. The government declared its intention to make their stay “as intolerable as possible”. The new restrictions included compulsory overnight stay at Kærshovedgård centre, about 300km outside Copenhagen, to separate individuals from their families. Those who breached their “tolerated stay” obligations faced potential custodial sentences in regular prisons. At the end of the year, 68 people were on “tolerated stay”. In October, the government deferred implementing the agreement with UNHCR to receive 500 refugees annually for resettlement from refugee camps around the world. DISCRIMINATION – TRANSGENDER PEOPLE Procedural rules set by the Danish Health Authority on access to hormone treatment and gender-affirming surgery unreasonably prolonged the gender recognition process for transgender people. The tests and questionnaires required focused on sexual conduct which many transgender people reported finding humiliating. Only one clinic was authorized to prescribe hormone treatment to transgender people. The Health Authority’s procedural guidelines for genderaffirming treatment were under review at the end of the year. In May, the Parliament adopted a landmark resolution to end the pathologization of transgender identities as a “mental disorder” by the beginning of 2017. COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY In August, the UN Human Rights Committee expressed concern about Denmark’s overly broad definition of terrorism in the Criminal 142 Code and about police powers to intercept communications which may result in mass surveillance. The Committee urged the government to conduct a comprehensive review of its counter-terrorism powers to ensure compliance with international human rights law. TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT In August, the Eastern High Court ruled admissible a civil damages lawsuit brought against the Ministry of Defence by 11 Iraqi nationals. They alleged they were tortured by Iraqi soldiers during a military operation run by Danish soldiers in Basra, Iraq, in 2004. A substantive hearing was expected to take place in 2017. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Dominican Republic Head of state and government: Danilo Medina Sánchez A law to reform the police finally entered into force. A reform to the Criminal Code that maintained the criminalization of abortion in almost all circumstances was approved by Congress. Many people remained stateless. Consultations were held on a draft anti-discrimination bill. BACKGROUND Legislative, presidential and local elections were held in May. Danilo Medina Sánchez of the ruling Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) was re-elected as President. The PLD maintained its control over the two chambers of Congress. A number of openly lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) candidates ran for seats in legislative and local elections to increase their political visibility and participation. In January the Dominican Republic took over the presidency of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States. The General Assembly of the Organization of Amnesty International Report 2016/17