Guinea
Female Genital Mutilation
1- Guinea fails in complying with human rights regulations regarding female genital mutilation (FGM). Guinea has the second highest rate of FGM in the world, despite being officially banned since 2000. FGM is a nearly universal practice in the country. 97% of women and girls aged 15 to 49 in Guinea have undergone FGM and/or excision, including 69% of them aged 20-24 underwent it before the age of 10. It still contributes to high infant and maternal mortality rates.
2- Non mutilation/excision is believed to be dishonorable, making women unfit for marriage. Because of the fear of being rejected by society, the majority of women—74% —still support the practice.
3- FGM is originally practiced by traditional excision practitioners, but there is a growing tendency towards the medicalization of the practice, despite the 2000 ban and a 2010 decree forbidding health practitioners from undertaking it.
4- The law provides for a penalty of up to life in prison or death if the victim dies within 40 days of the procedure. The child code provides for minimum imprisonment of three months to two years and fines from 300,000 to one million GNF ($33 to $110) for perpetrators who do not inflict severe injury or death. If the victim is severely injured or dies, the child code specifies imprisonment of five to 20 years and a fine of up to three million GNF ($330). However, since 2014, only eight people have been prosecuted for practicing FGM, and only received suspended sentences and/or small fines.
5- The country has adopted many legislative texts and signed international conventions such as CEDAW, ratified in 1982, but there is still no sign of any decrease in FGM due to cultural and religious reasons.
6- Internationally, Guinea is also a state party to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; the CCPR; Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. All of these legal texts prohibit FGM.
7- Regionally, Guinea is a State Member of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Banjul Charter) and its Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa, African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. All prohibit FGM.
Child Marriage
8- Regarding child marriage, over half of all girls in Guinea are married before turning 18 and 19% are married before the age of 15. Reports have mentioned that some Guinean men marry Guinean girls, take them to Angola, and sell the girls to local brothels while the men work in diamond mines. This is not only a violation of child marriage, but also sex tourism.
9- Child marriage endangers the life trajectories of girls in multiple ways. Child brides are at greater risk of experiencing a range of poor health outcomes, having children at younger ages when they are not yet ready to do so, dropping out of school, earning less over their lifetimes and living in poverty compared to their peers who marry at later ages. They may also be more likely to experience intimate partner violence, have restricted physical mobility, and limited decision-making ability. Most fundamentally, child brides may be disempowered in ways that deprive them of their basic rights to health, education and safety.
10- Guinea has committed to eliminate child, early and forced marriage by 2030 in line with target 5.3 of the SDGs.
11- Internationally, the minimum legal age of marriage is 18, the foundation of which can be found or derived from multiple conventions, treaties, and international agreements, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child (ratified by Guinea in 1990), CEDAW (ratified in 1982), and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
12- According to the Guinean Children’s Code 2008 the minimum legal age of marriage is also 18. However the President of Guinea by request of the Minister of Justice may allow individuals to marry before 18 years for “serious reasons” and with parental consent. No clear definition of “serious reasons” is given.
13- In 2011, Guinea ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, and is thus in violation of this protocol. In particular, it is in violation of Article 1 that prohibits the sale of children, defined as any act or transaction whereby a child is transferred by any person or group of persons to another for remuneration or any other consideration. The “serious reasons”, not defined in the Children’s Code, is likely some form of remuneration enacted in Article 1 of the Protocol.
LGBTQ+ Rights
14- LGBTQ+ rights are still taboo in Guinea. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity is illegal. Article 325 of the Guinean Penal Code provides that ‘Any indecent act or act against nature committed with an individual of the same sex will be punished by imprisonment of six months to three years and a fine of 100,000 to 1,000,000 Guinean francs. If the act was committed with a minor under 21, the maximum sentence must be pronounced. If the act was consummated or attempted with violence or attempted violence, the guilty person will be condemned to five to ten years of imprisonment’. There are no official or NGO reports of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, although societal stigma likely prevent victims from reporting abuse or harassment. There are no LGBTQ+ organizations. As homosexual conduct is illegal, discrimination is permitted for these people. The government has also explicitly stated its disapproval of homosexual conducts.
15- Guinea is thus in violation of the UDHR that states that all humans are born equal and are entitled to the same rights. It is unlawful to make any distinction of people’s rights based on the fact that they are LGBTQ+.
Violence Against Women
16- The Guinean Code of conduct criminalizes rape and domestic violence, but both occur frequently, and authorities rarely prosecute perpetrators. The law does not address spousal rape. Victims rarely report these crimes to police due to custom, fear of stigmatization and reprisal, and lack of cooperation from investigating police or gendarmes. Studies indicated citizens also were reluctant to report crimes because they feared police would ask the victim to pay for the investigation.
17- Rape is punishable by 5 to 20 years in prison and fines of 50,000 to 300,000 Guinean francs ($5.50 to $33). Violence against a woman that causes an injury is punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to 30,000 GNF ($3.30). If the injury causes mutilation, amputation, or other loss of body parts, it is punishable by 20 years’ imprisonment; if the victim dies, the crime is punishable by life imprisonment.
Trafficking
18- Human trafficking is prevalent in the society. Parents send girls to intermediaries who subject them to domestic servitude and sex trafficking, sometimes in motels and restaurants in Conakry, Guinea’s capital. Traffickers exploit boys in begging, street vending and shoe shining, forced labor in gold and diamond mines, and in herding, fishing, and agriculture, including farming and on coffee, cashew, and cocoa plantations.
19- Some traffickers take children with parents' consent under the false pretenses of providing an education. Instead, they are exploited by Marabouts—Muslim religious leaders—who force them to beg in Quranic schools in Senegal, Mauritania, and Guinea-Bissau, or forced labor in West African gold mines.
20- The government has tried to take action by prosecuting and sentencing more sex and labor traffickers than in the past, as well as by allocating funding to provide shelter and services to identified trafficking victims and drafting a new national action plan. These actions brought Guinea to the Tier 2 Watch list,[1] but trafficking is still a major issue in Guinea.
21- By not fully complying to the international norms of human trafficking, Guinea is in violation of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, ratified in 2011. By not taking action against sex trafficking, it allows child sex tourism, prohibited by the convention.
22- Guinea is also in violation of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children, ratified in 2004. The Protocol prohibits trafficking in persons, and encourages State Parties to prevent trafficking, as well as repatriate and protect victims.
23- Guinea should join the Convention on the Civil Aspects of the International Child Abduction, regarding custody rights. When the country does not take action by preventing children sent to Marabouts, it is in violation of the Convention, stating that rights of custody include rights relating to the care of the person of the child and, in particular, the right to determine the child's place of residence.
Arbitrary Killings and Excessive Police Force
24- Arbitrary or unlawful killing by government’s agents is a major issue. Use of force by authorities, including the use of torture, is frequent. Journalists, human rights defenders and others expressing dissents are arbitrarily arrested. Impunity is widespread. The police and gendarmerie are widely implicated in excessive force, corruption, and criminality.
25- The government frequently prohibits opposition and popular protests, saying there are risks to public security. Security forces are regularly deployed to deter protesters from assembling and often dispersed demonstrators by tear gas and water cannons. Civil society leaders filed a lawsuit challenging the ban on protests, which they said violates the right to freedom of assembly.
26- During the February 2018 protests, some police and gendarmes vandalized homes and vehicles, stole money, mobile phones, and cash. Guinean and international human rights groups reported credible allegations of torture to intimidate or to obtain confessions from detainees in police and gendarme custody in Conakry, including, in several cases, against minors.
27- In April, May and September 2018, security forces used live ammunition during violent protests against poor living standards in the Boké region. At least four people died from gunshot wounds.
28- In May 2018, Gangan TV journalist Aboubacar Camara was beaten by gendarmes as he filmed a land dispute in a Conakry suburb where he believed the security forces were using excessive force. The officers forced him into their car, took him to the gendarmerie and released him later the same day after deleting his recordings.
29- On 30 October 2018, four Gangan TV journalists were arrested by gendarmes in Matam, a neighborhood of Conakry, and charged with publishing false information and offending the head of state by spreading rumors of President Condé’s death. Three of them were released hours later and one was released the following day. At least 18 journalists who gathered in solidarity with the arrested journalists at the Matam gendarmerie were beaten and had their equipment broken by security forces.
30- In February 2018, an Anti-Crime Brigade captain in Kipé, a neighborhood of Conakry, was arrested and charged with torturing a man in police custody in March 2016. At least 10 other gendarmerie and police officers were suspended over the incident, but were not brought to justice.
Child Labor
31- The law prohibits child labor in the formal sector and sets forth penalties of imprisonment and confiscation of resulting profits. The law does not protect children in the informal sector. The minimum age for employment is 16. Exceptions allow children to work at age 12 as apprentices for light work in such sectors as domestic service and agriculture and at age 14 for other work. The law, however, does not prescribe the number of hours per week for light work nor specify the conditions in which light work may be undertaken, as defined by international standards on child labor.
32- These violations go against the International Labor Organizations’ principles stating that members must promote effective abolition of child labor; and elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.
Climate Change
33- Guinea has set an NDC of 13% reduction in GHG emissions by 2030 compared to 1994, excluding Land-Use Change and Forestry (LUCF), however, no official policies or laws are in place.
34- Projected changes include: increase in annual average temperatures of 1.1°C –3.0°C by 2060; increase in number of “hot” days by 21–52% by the 2060s; increased variability of rainfall (changes in frequency and distribution; increased drought risk due to rising temperatures and more variable rainfall; rise in sea levels of 0.4 m to 0.7 m by 2100.
35- Warming temperatures, decreased overall rainfall, and increased heavy rainfall events threaten water quantity and quality for domestic, agricultural, and commercial uses. Increased frequency and intensity of heavy rainfall events raise the risk of pollutants, including agricultural fertilizers, human waste, and mining waste, washing into water bodies and reducing water quality. This is particularly dangerous for the more than 30% of the population that lacks access to safe drinking water.
36- In addition, in a country where 26% of the population currently experiences chronic malnutrition, increasing climate variability will have important implications for food security and nutrition.
37- As climate and other factors drive people to clear more land for agriculture, increased contact between humans and animals (both livestock and wildlife) becomes more likely. Food insecurity can push households to hunt for bushmeat as a source of animal protein, increasing risk of contracting Ebola or other zoonotic diseases through contact with reservoir species (e.g., bats). Changes in rainfall distribution and frequency, and rising temperatures may also impact the population density, migration, habitat use, reproduction, and feeding behaviors of species suspected to be disease carriers.
Recommendations
38- Enforce the FGM ban to make sure the practice gets completely banned from the country. Judicial authorities who have full knowledge that the practice is undertaken all over the country need to enforce the rules and punish the perpetrators, including family members and practitioners.
39- Completely forbid marriage before the end of 18; set up clear national policies with steps on how to end child marriage, such as keeping children (mostly girls) in school.
40- Authorize same-sex activity; conduct seminars or other activities to break the taboo behind same-sex activities; create a law on discrimination and prosecute people who discriminate someone because of their sexual orientation.
41- Address spousal rape as a crime; prosecute and punish rapists; create NGOs that support victims of sexual assault and provide them shelter if need be.
42- The government needs to vigorously investigate and prosecute traffickers, including officials and marabouts. It should provide serious sentences. It should increase victims’ care by increasing financial and emotional support. To do so, it also needs to increase funding for NGOs and other organizations working for the victims’ well-being, as well as increasing campaigns for knowledge.
43- Enforce the law on forced labor; prosecute people conducting forced labor; prosecute people conducting child labor.
44- Immediately commence with more robust preparations to prepare for climate change and the imminent climate breakdown. We urge the government of Guinea to prepare for the climate breakdown no later than the end of this year.
Respectfully submitted,
/s/ Dave Inder Comar and Maylis Pourtau
of Just Atonement Inc.
[1] The Trafficking in Persons Report, or TIP Report, is an annual report issued by the U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. It ranks governments based on their perceived efforts to acknowledge and combat human trafficking. The report divides nations into tiers based on their compliance with standards outlined in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000 (Tiers 1-2-3).