Authors: U.S. Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
Site of the publication: U.S. Department of State
Type of publication: Report
Date of publication: 2024
Executive Summary
There were no significant changes in the human rights situation in Guinea during the year.
Significant human rights issues included credible reports of: arbitrary or unlawful killings; disappearances; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment; arbitrary arrest or detention; transnational repression against individuals in another country; and serious restrictions on freedom of expression and media freedom, including violence or threats of violence against journalists, and censorship.
The government took credible steps to identify and punish officials who committed human rights abuses, either in the security forces or in other parts of government. On July 31, the Guinean Tribunal Court found eight of 11 defendants, including former President Moussa Dadis Camara, guilty of crimes against humanity and other charges for their roles in the 2009 Stadium Massacre in Conakry, the capital.
Life
Extrajudicial Killings
There were numerous reports the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings during the year.
Amnesty International issued a report stating that between June 1, 2022, and March 15, at least 47 persons were killed by security and military forces during protests.
Coercion in Population Control
There were no reports of coerced abortion or involuntary sterilization on the part of government authorities.
War Crimes, Crimes against Humanity, and Evidence of Acts that May Constitute Genocide, or Conflict-Related Abuses
The steering committee established in 2018 to organize a trial for the perpetrators of the 2009 Stadium Massacre in Conakry continued its work during the year. The trial initially opened in September 2022, with charges of murder, attempted murder, rape, and torture against 11 defendants, including former President Moussa Dadis Camara. On July 31, the Court of First Instance of Dixinn found eight of 11 defendants, including former President Camara, guilty of crimes against humanity, murder, rape, torture, and other charges related to the massacre. Sentences ranged from 10 years to life imprisonment, with former President Camara sentenced to 20 years. The court also ordered the eight defendants to jointly pay compensation to the victims, setting the amounts at one billion five hundred million Guinean francs ($175,000) per victim in rape cases, one billion Guinean francs ($117,000) for each death or disappearance, and five hundred million Guinean francs ($58,600) for each case of looting. Six additional persons in the case, including officials of the army and gendarmerie, who were charged and detained in November 2022, had not faced trial by year’s end.
Liberty
Freedom of the Press
The Transition Charter provided for freedom of expression, including for members of the press and other media, and stipulated that laws pertaining to freedom of expression that were in place prior to the coup d’état in 2021 would remain in force. During the year the government limited freedom of expression and freedom of the press through journalist intimidation, revocation of private broadcast media licenses, use of libel and slander laws, and alleged internet censorship.
Physical Attacks, Imprisonment, and Pressure
There were reports of arbitrary arrests, harassment, and intimidation of journalists by the National Council of Reconciliation and Development transition authorities. Media professionals were victims of attacks and violence perpetrated by security forces and demonstrators during political protests.
Censorship by Governments, Military, Intelligence, or Police Forces, Criminal Groups, or Armed Extremist or Rebel Group
Some journalists accused government officials of attempting to influence the tone of their reporting. Journalists accused the government of targeted censorship of popular social media sites and some online news sites. On May 22, the government revoked the licenses of several major private broadcast media outlets, further narrowing the space for independent journalism and critical reporting.
The government continued to pressure the High Authority for Communication (HAC) to increase scrutiny of media and journalists.
Worker Rights
Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining
Penalties for various labor violations ranged from fines to imprisonment, commensurate with penalties for similar crimes. The government did not effectively enforce applicable laws. Inspections were not adequate to achieve compliance, and penalties were rarely applied against violators.
Worker organizations did not generally operate independently of government or political party interference. Differences existed among the trade unions, with members accusing one another of supporting employer organizations or the government. This resulted in some unions splitting between two leaders. Companies did not always respect freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining. Hotel workers reported the government failed to enforce labor laws or penalize employers who violated workers’ rights.
Acceptable Work Conditions
Wage and Hour Laws
Despite an increase to 550,000 Guinean francs ($64) in 2022, the wage rate remained below the World Bank poverty level. The law mandated that regular work should not exceed 10-hour days or a 48-hour week, and it mandated at least 24 consecutive hours of rest each week, usually on Sunday. Overtime and night wages were a fixed percentage of the regular wage.
Occupational Safety and Health
The law contained occupational safety and health (OSH) provisions but did not establish workplace health and safety standards. Moreover, it did not stipulate the safety requirements for certain occupations or for certain methods of work identified in the law. The employer was required to develop facilities and regulate workflow to preserve the health and safety of workers.
Each industry was required to have an occupational safety and health plan, although this requirement was rarely enforced. Despite legal protection against working in unsafe conditions, many workers feared retaliation and did not exercise their right to refuse to work under unsafe conditions. The government banned wildcat gold prospecting and other mining activities during the rainy season to prevent deaths from mudslides.
Wage, Hour, and OSH Enforcement
The Ministry of Labor was responsible for enforcing labor standards. The reported number of labor inspectors met International Labor Organization (ILO) standards, but the ILO noted inspectors received inadequate training. Labor inspector vacancies often went unfilled. Penalties for violation of the law were not commensurate with those for similar crimes such as fraud or negligence and were rarely applied against violators. Enforcement efforts were insufficient to deter violations.
Authorities rarely monitored work practices or enforced workweek standards or overtime rules. Violations of wage, overtime, and OSH standards were common across sectors, and inspectors found occupational health and environmental hazards among artisanal (small-scale) gold mining communities in the northern section of the country.
The informal sector included 60 to 70 percent of all workers. The law and regulations on minimum wages applied to the informal sector but were not enforced.
Disappearance and Abduction
Disappearance
There were reports of enforced disappearances by or on behalf of government authorities.
On November 28, journalist Habib Marouane Camara posted on Facebook he had been informed a commando wished to eliminate him. On December 3, several men in gendarmes’ uniforms violently took him from a vehicle in Conakry. Authorities stated he was not in government custody.
Prolonged Detention without Charges
The Transition Charter, the previous constitution, and law prohibited arbitrary arrest and detention, but the government did not always observe these prohibitions. The law provided for the right of any person to challenge the lawfulness of their arrest or detention in court, but few detainees chose this option due to legal costs, slow judicial proceedings, and fear of retribution.
Although the law required arrest warrants, police did not always follow this protocol. The law also mandated detainees be charged within 48 hours, renewable once if authorized by a judge. The law allowed the original length of detention to be increased to 96 hours, renewable once with the authorization of the prosecutor. Many detainees were held for much longer periods before being charged.
The law prohibited the arrest of persons in their homes between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m., but arrests between those times occurred. After being charged, the accused could be held until the conclusion of the case, including a period of appeal. Authorities routinely ignored the legal provision entitling defendants to an attorney, and did not provide indigent defendants with an attorney at government expense.
Release on bail was at the discretion of the magistrate under whose jurisdiction the case fell. The law allowed detainees prompt access to family members, but access was sometimes denied or restricted until families paid bribes to the guards at detention facilities.
Between July 16 and 31, lawyers went on strike to protest the “arbitrary arrests” and “kidnappings followed by secret detentions” after the July 9 disappearance of FNDC leaders Oumar Sylla and Mamadou Billo Bah.
Lengthy pretrial detention was prevalent. On July 23, Minister of Justice Yaya Kairaba Kaba, accompanied by the prosecutor of the Conakry Court of Appeal, facilitated the release of 16 detainees from the Conakry Central Prison. Minister Kaba explained that these 16 individuals had been imprisoned for periods ranging from three to 16 years without trial, and the case files for some of them could not be located. As a result, following summary hearings, they were granted release.
Security of the Person
Torture and Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment
The constitution and law prohibited such practices, but there were credible reports government officials employed them.
Human rights associations reported multiple incidents of abuse of detainees in government detention centers. NGOs alleged security officials designated as “judicial police officers” abused detainees to coerce confessions. Human rights activists reported an increase of abuses occurring during arrests or at detention centers. Human rights associations stated complainants often presented evidence of abuse but wardens did not investigate these complaints.
Following the arrest and subsequent release of Mohamed Cisse by the National Council of Reconciliation and Development, Cisse claimed security force agents tortured him alongside Fonike Mengue and Billo Bah. Impunity was a significant problem in the security forces, particularly in the gendarmes, police, and military forces.
Although the Transition Charter did not explicitly prohibit female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), it was illegal under the penal code. The country had an extremely high FGM/C prevalence rate. According to a 2018 UNICEF survey, 94.5 percent of women and girls ages 15 to 49 had undergone the procedure, which was practiced throughout the country and among all major religious and ethnic groups. The government and its partners continued efforts to combat FGM/C. Two hundred thirty-six new villages committed to abandon FGM/C during the year.
Protection of Children
Child Marriage
The law criminalized early and forced marriage. The legal minimum age for marriage was 18. Ambiguity remained, however, because the law referred to customary marriages for children who received consent from both parents or a legal guardian. According to Girls Not Brides, an international network of civil society organizations committed to ending child marriage, prevalence rates were 47 percent of girls married by age 18 and 17 percent married by age 15.
Protection to Refugees
The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in providing protection and assistance to refugees, returning refugees, or asylum seekers, as well as other persons of concern.
Instances of Transnational Repression
The government engaged in acts of transnational repression.
Misuse of International Law Enforcement Tools
There were reports the government misused or attempted to misuse international law enforcement tools for politically motivated purposes against specific individuals located outside the country.