TITLE II. RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF CITIZENS
CHAPTER I. GENERAL PRINCIPLES
Article 13
The State recognizes the inviolability of the rights and freedoms consecrated in the Constitution and guarantees their protection.
Article 14
The State and the other public organs are civilly responsible for the actions or omissions of their agents, committed in the exercise of their public functions or due to these functions, which infringe upon, in whatever manner, the rights, freedoms and guarantees of those to whom these rights are granted, or of third parties.
Article 15
The right to access justice and a defense is guaranteed to all citizens, as well as the right to obtain court decisions in a reasonable time period.
Article 16
The Comorian citizens residing or finding themselves abroad enjoy the rights, freedoms and guarantees consecrated in the Constitution, and are subject to the duties established in it on condition that this is not incompatible with their absence from the national territory.
Article 17
The law may provide for restrictions on the exercise of the political rights and to the accession to certain public functions or employments for Comorian citizens of foreign origin.
Article 18
Foreigners residing or sojourning on the national territory enjoy the same rights, the same freedoms, the same guarantees and have the same duties as the Comorian citizens, with the exception of the political rights and the rights and duties reserved for national citizens by law or by the Constitution. Foreigners may exercise public functions of an essentially technical character, in accordance with the law.
Article 19
Rights, freedoms and guarantees may not be suspended except in the case of a declaration of a state of siege or of a state of urgency, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.
CHAPTER II. RIGHTS, [AND] INDIVIDUAL, POLITICAL, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC FREEDOMS
Section I. Individual Rights and Freedoms
Article 20
The physical and moral integrity of persons is inviolable.
No one may be submitted to torture, or to cruel, degrading or inhuman penalties or treatments .
Article 21
The right to liberty is inviolable.
The freedom of thought and of expression, of association, of intellectual, artistic or cultural creation, of protest and the other freedoms consecrated by the Constitution, the laws and by the international law received within the juridical internal order, are guaranteed.
Article 22
All citizens enjoy the right to liberty and to security. No one may be deprived of their liberty totally or partially, except by virtue of the law or by a decision of justice.
Article 23
No Comorian may be extradited or deported from their country.
Article 24
All citizens have the right to access the administration of public function in conditions of equality, in accordance with the provisions provided for by law.
Article 25
No one may be forced to perform work, except in the cases specified by law.
Article 26
The domicile is inviolable, except in the cases provided for by law.
Article 27
The confidentiality of correspondence and of telecommunications is guaranteed, except in the cases provided for by law.
The law guarantees the protection of individual computer data.
Article 28
Freedom of information, communication, and the press are guaranteed within the conditions established by law.
Article 29
The State guarantees to all citizens the right to instruction, to education, to teaching, and to culture.
Article 30
The State guarantees the rights of women, children, youth and persons living with a disability to be protected by the public powers against all forms of neglect, exploitation and violence.
Article 31
All citizens enjoy the freedom of movement, except in the case of restrictions provided for by law.
Section II. Political Rights
Article 32
All citizens have the right to participate in political life, directly or by the intermediary of representatives freely elected.
Article 33
All citizens have the right to access, in conditions of equality and of freedom, the public functions and the elective mandates, within the conditions established by the law.
Article 34
The Union of the Comoros recognizes and guarantees the youth and women the right to access political instances of local and national representation.
Article 35
The political Parties and groups participate in the exercise of suffrage, as well as in the civic and political education of the people. They form and freely exercise their activities in accordance with the law.
They must respect the national unity, sovereignty and the inviolability of the borders, such as they are internationally recognized, as well as the principles of democracy.
The constitution of political parties, insular, regional or local, or of a paramilitary character, or employing subversive methods, is prohibited.
The law determines the juridical status of the political parties and regulates the benefits that may be accorded to them by the State.
Article 36
The political opposition is recognized in the Union of the Comoros.
It exercises its activities freely, within the limits imposed by the law.
The law determines the status of the political opposition.
Section III. Economic and Social Rights
Article 37
Work is a right recognized to all citizens; the State is required to create the conditions necessary for its effective exercise.
Article 38
All citizens have the right to the security of the employment and to receive remuneration proportional to the quantity and the quality of the work provided.
Men and women receive identical remuneration for equal work.
Article 39
Within the conditions provided for by law, the freedom to create syndical associations or professional associations is recognized for workers to defend their collective or individual interests and rights.
Article 40
No one is obligated to belong to a union, or to a professional association or to continue in one, or to pay dues to union or to a professional association of which they are not a part.
Article 41
The right to strike is recognized and it is exercised within the framework of the law which regulates it.
Article 42
All citizens have the right to health.
It is notably incumbent on the State:
- to assure a national health service that is general and hierarchical;
to encourage and support the participation of the community in the different levels of health services as well as public and private health initiatives.
Article 43
All citizens have the right to a healthy and ecologically stable environment, as well as having a duty to protect and conserve it.
The State and the communities must adopt policies of defense and of environmental protection with the collaboration of environmental protection groups and see to the rational utilization of all natural resources.
Article 44
The State determines education policy having as its objective the progressive elimination of illiteracy, continued education, creativity, the addition of schools in the community and the civic instruction of students.
CHAPTER III. OF THE DUTIES
Article 45
Every individual has duties towards the family, the society and the State as well as towards other institutions recognized by the law.
Article 46
Every individual has the duty to respect the rights and freedoms of others, and the moral and common interest.
Article 47
Every individual has the duty to respect and to consider their fellow men without discrimination of any kind, and to maintain with them relations of a nature to promote, to safeguard and to reinforce reciprocal respect and tolerance.
Article 48
Every individual has a duty to participate in the defense of their country.
CHAPTER IV. ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL ORGANIZATION
Article 49
The totality of the economic resources and wealth of the country is in the service of the general interest.
Article 50
The State supports the national economic actors in their relations with the rest of the world, in particular the economic actors and activities which can contribute in a positive manner to the integration of the Comoros in the global economic system.
Article 51
The State guarantees free enterprise as well as the security of capital and investments.
The State stimulates, supports and protects foreign investment that contributes to the economic and social development of the country, within the conditions provided for by law.
