Togo

The West- African country of Togo borders Ghana, Benin and Burkina Faso, opening out onto the Gulf of Guinea in the south. After independence from France a short period of democracy was followed by the long dictatorship of Eyadéma Gnassingbé, who was in turn replaced by his son in 2005 - the latter, initially installed by the military then supposedly legitimated by successive questionable elections. The human rights situation under the Eyadéma regime was appalling, though this has improved somewhat in recent years, through greater engagement with international human rights standards.