Key Developments in Chad’s Human Rights Landscape

In 2025, President Mahamat Idriss Déby solidified his grip on power following the controversial 2024 presidential election, widely contested by opposition groups over allegations of irregularities. Constitutional amendments approved that same year eliminated presidential term limits and extended each term from five to seven years, effectively allowing Déby to remain in office indefinitely as long as elections are held every seven years.

The political opposition faced severe restrictions. Succès Masra, a prominent opposition leader who challenged the 2024 election results, was arrested and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Activists, party members, and journalists aligned with Masra’s movement faced intimidation, arrests, and silencing tactics. A blanket amnesty law, shielding perpetrators of violence from the October 2022 protests from prosecution, has stifled justice and public debate for years.

Intercommunal violence persisted in southern and eastern Chad in 2025, primarily between nomadic Fulani herders and sedentary farming communities, resulting in dozens of fatalities across multiple incidents. These clashes, compounded by the ongoing conflict in neighboring Sudan and devastating floods at the end of 2024 and early 2025, further strained humanitarian resources. Chad became one of the hardest-hit countries in the region, worsening food insecurity and displacement crises.

The reparations process for victims of abuses committed during the Hissène Habré regime made little progress in 2025 despite partial payments made in 2024, falling far short of court-ordered compensation amounts.

Escalating Violence Between Farmers and Herders

Despite government claims of addressing root causes—such as unclear land titles and unregulated cattle migration routes—violence between herders and farmers surged in southern and eastern Chad in 2025. In May, clashes erupted in Mandakao, Logone-Occidental Province, after disputes over grazing lands and agricultural boundaries. Authorities reported 41 deaths and six injuries, while media accounts traced the conflict to contested land demarcations, with farmers accusing herders of encroaching on cultivated land and herders blaming the lack of clear boundaries for their movements.

In June, violence flared in Orégomel, Mayo-Kebbi Ouest Province, when disputes between herders and farmers escalated into machete attacks, resulting in 17 deaths, including women and children, and multiple injuries. Mid-June saw similar clashes in Molou, Ouaddaï Province, where intertribal violence left around 20 dead and at least 16 injured. These incidents reflect a broader trend driven by demographic pressures, shrinking arable land, and climate-related constraints.

Political Space and Opposition Crackdown

On May 16, Succès Masra, former Prime Minister and leader of the opposition party Les Transformateurs, was arrested in N’Djamena on charges linked to intercommunal violence in Mandakao. He was accused of inciting hatred, xenophobia, and complicity in murder via social media. Masra pleaded not guilty and was tried alongside dozens of co-defendants. On August 9, he was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison and a fine of 1 billion CFA francs (approximately $1.8 million). His co-defendants received identical sentences for similar charges.

The politically motivated arrest and rushed trial of Succès Masra effectively neutralized opposition activity and silenced dissent. His detention contravened the Kinshasa Agreement of October 2023, which had suspended an arrest warrant against him and guaranteed his safe return from exile and the right to engage freely in political activities.

Constitutional Overhaul Extends Presidential Rule

In September 2025, Chad’s National Assembly approved constitutional amendments extending presidential terms from five to seven years and abolishing term limits entirely, removing all previous constraints on executive power. The vote, boycotted by most opposition members, passed with 171 votes in favor, one abstention, and no opposition. The reforms were ratified by both chambers of Parliament and signed into law by the president in October.

These constitutional changes centralize authority under Mahamat Idriss Déby, undermining legislative oversight and severely limiting space for debate or opposition, raising concerns about democratic backsliding.

Political Violence, Repression, and Impunity

Calls for investigations into the 2024 post-election celebratory shootings that killed at least 11 people and injured many others—including children—remained unanswered in 2025. Security forces fired indiscriminately at civilian homes, and no perpetrators were held accountable. No meaningful compensation or redress was provided to victims.

The death of opposition leader Yaya Dillo during a security forces raid on his party headquarters before the 2024 election also went uninvestigated in 2025. In December 2024, authorities released 24 associates of Dillo who had been held in the high-security Koro Toro prison, while 10 detainees were acquitted in July 2024. In June, Robert Gam, leader of Dillo’s Parti socialiste sans frontières, was freed after eight months in detention without charges.

In September, the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralization issued a decree stripping citizenship from Makaila Nguebla, a blogger and former human rights advisor to the transitional presidency, and Charfadine Galmaye Saleh, an activist and journalist. Both are now living in exile abroad.

In March, journalists Olivier Monodji and Mahamat Saleh Alhissein were arrested and charged with espionage, conspiracy, and endangering state security, allegedly due to their reporting on the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary outfit active in Central Africa and the Sahel. Their prolonged detention without trial violated international norms on fair trial rights and arbitrary detention. They were released in July.

Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation

Chad’s 2017 Penal Code, under Article 354, criminalizes same-sex relations. Convicted individuals face up to two years in prison and fines ranging from 50,000 to 500,000 CFA francs (approximately $75 to $750).