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Guinea - Universal Periodic Review

UPR Guinea, January 21, 2020
Canada’s recommendations

Background

According to Info EPU, Guinea received 308 recommendations during the first two review cycles, of which 293 were accepted, representing an acceptance rate of 95%. Recommendations from Canada's 2015 UPR to Guinea concerned the rights of children, the empowerment of the justice system, and the prosecution of security force attackers who committed violence against demonstrators and members of the opposition.

Since its first democratic transition in 2010, Guinea has made significant progress in the environment of ​​human rights. The revision of the Penal Code in 2016 abolished the death penalty, criminalized torture and incorporated State crimes into domestic law. In April 2019, the Guinean Parliament, under the impetus of the Forum of Women Parliamentarians, unanimously adopted the Law on Parity making the system of governance more inclusive and representative, two essential pillars for the exercise of democracy. The electoral code will however have to be revised in accordance with this new provision.

However, advances women’s and girl’s right with regard to female genital mutilation and forced marriage continue to collide with custom and tradition. According to the 2018 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), 94.5% of women aged between 15 and 49 have undergone female genital mutilation. The Multiple Indicator Survey (MICS) estimated that 54.6% of women aged between 20 and 49 were married before the age of 18 as of 2016.

With the upcoming presidential and legislative elections scheduled for 2020, the application of the Law on Maintaining Public Order will be put to the test.

Since mid-October 2020, the ban of peaceful assemblies, arbitrary mass arrests and excessive use of force have undermined the right to peaceful assembly. Amnesty International reports that since 2015, 61 people have been killed during protests, most of them victims of security forces. The law on the use of arms by the gendarmerie, adopted in June, weakens the operating rules of the police and increases the risk of slippage.

Despite the government's commitment to bring justice to the 150 victims of the 2009 stadium massacre, Guinean judges closed the investigation in 2017 without presenting trial dates to the main perpetrators. The same denial of justice applies to the victims of the protests in 2015 and 2018.

Recommendations

Thank you, Madam President

As we approach the presidential and legislative elections, Canada encourages all stakeholders, including the security forces, to exercise restraint and compliance with international obligations regarding respect for human rights. We welcome the adoption of the Law on Parity and encourage Guinea to revise the electoral code for effective implementation.

Canada recommends that Guinea:

1. Strengthen laws relating to female genital mutilation, particularly by criminalizing the non-reporting of this practice in addition to carrying out awareness and education campaigns within society.
2. Amend the Law on Maintaining Public Order and the law on the use of force by the gendarmerie to bring them in line with international human rights standards.
3. Provide all support for a credible trial concerning the massacre, rapes and other abuses committed at the Stade de Conakry on September 28, 2009.
4. Strengthen the laws and prevention related to child marriages.