Human rights in Guinea, a nation of approximately 10,069,000 people in West Africa,[1] are a contentious issue. In its 2012 Freedom in the World report, Freedom House named Guinea "partly free" for the second year in a row, an improvement over its former status as one of the least free countries in Africa.[2]
Guinea gained its independence from France in 1958. Alpha Condé won the 2010 presidential election and in December 2010 become the country's first democratically elected president.[3] The following chart shows Guinea's ratings since 1972 in the Freedom in the World reports, published annually by Freedom House. A rating of 1 is "free"; 7, "not free".[4]1
Amnesty International was claiming Guinea contained prisoners of conscience as early as their 1969 report.[5] In 1968 over one hundred people were arrested, and 13 sentenced to the death penalty, for their roles in an alleged plot against the government. Included in those arrested were cabinet ministers and high-level military officers.[5] After the 1970 Portuguese invasion of the capital, the government stepped up its campaign against political opposition and by the end of the year at least 85 people had reportedly been sentenced to death. Thousands had been arrested, including 22 Europeans, Germans, French, and Italians among them.[6][7][8]
In December 1970 the Archbishop of Conakry, Raymond-Marie Tchidimbo, was sentenced to hard labour for refusing to read government documents from the pulpit calling on Christians to support the government against foreign imperialism. He and at least a thousand other political prisoners remained detained in 1977.[9] A report published in June 1977 by the International League for Human Rights estimated the number of political prisoners at over 3000, alleging prisoners were subject to starvation, torture, murder, and arbitrary execution. The most notorious prison was Camp Boiro, which included amongst its prisoners Diallo Telli.[9]
Loffo Camara, a former cabinet minister who was shot on 25 January 1971.
After severe criticism of its human rights situation, and the withholding of aid by the United States under the Food for Peace Act, the government attempted a rapprochement strategy with its neighbours and the West, and claimed to be improving its internal situation.[10] In August and October 1977, however, the government fired upon a series of economic protests and killed an unknown number of women. They then began to round up those thought responsible. By 1978 reports were estimating the number of political prisoners had grown to 4000.[10]
In late 1978 President Sékou Touré proclaimed to journalists that all prisoners who had been sentenced to execution at Boiro were now dead. He went on to explain that Amnesty International was "trash".[11] By 1979 reports were claiming fewer than 20 of the original arrestees were still being held at Boiro. Hundreds who had been arrested never reappeared, however, and some sources put the number dead at over 4000. Arrests continued, however.[12]
A May 1980 grenade attack on the Palais du Peuple and a February 1981 bomb explosion at Conakry Airport precipitated two more waves of politically motivated arrests, with hundreds detained and reports of death.[13] People continued to be killed at Boiro through what was known as the "black diet" – a complete lack of food and water.[14][15] The Guinean government also reached agreements with the governments of Liberia and Côte d'Ivoire to forcibly repatriate expatriates involved in opposition activity. Reports of detainment and beatings upon their arrival leaked to the outside world.[16]
In September 1982, Touré held a news conference proudly proclaiming that there were no more political prisoners being held in the country. He could not explain the fate of approximately 2900 people arrested since 1969 who remained unaccounted for.[17] Reports of the number of prisoners at Boiro continued to range from several hundred to thousands. Torture methods reportedly used at the prison included bondage, forced burning with cigarettes, and electric shocks applied to the head and genitals.[18] After Touré's death in March 1984, major political changes were afoot.[19]
Lansana Conté regime (1984–2008)
On 3 April 1984 the military took control of the country, suspended the constitution, dissolved the ruling Parti Démocratique de Guinée, and launched the Military Committee for National Redress to run the nation under Lansana Conté.[19] In their first public statement the new rulers claimed they would treat human rights as a priority and named those who had "lost their lives simply because they wanted to express their opinions on the country's future" as martyrs.[19]Camp Boiro was closed and all political prisoners immediately released.[19] Following the death of a criminal suspect in police custody in September 1984, protests erupted in Kamsar and 200 people were arrested.[19]
A coup d'état was announced six hours following Conté's death on 22 December 2008.[20] On 27 September 2009, the day before planned demonstrations Conakry, the government declared demonstrations illegal. Thousands of protestors defied the ban, assembling in a soccer stadium. 157 were left dead after the level of violence used by security forces escalated.[21]
Human Rights organizations demanded justice for the killing of more than 150 peaceful demonstrators by Guinean security forces on September 28, 2009, in a stadium. The domestic investigation begun in February 2010 and concluded in 2017, where 13 suspects were charged and 11 were sent for trial. However, some of the suspects continued being in an influential position. The trial was last scheduled for July, but no progress was made in the case. Association of Victims, Relatives and Friends of September 28, 2009 (AVIPA), Equal Rights for All (MDT), the Guinean Human Rights Organization (OGDH), the International Federation for Human Rights, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch have made the call of justice.[22]
Current issues (2010–present)
Despite president Alpha Condé's assertion that the death penalty does not exist in Guinea, sixteen people were given that sentence in 2011.
Legal system
Sixteen people were sentenced to death in 2011, which is apparently at odds with President Condé's assertion that Guinea is abolitionist.[23]
Arbitrary arrest and torture
While the constitution prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention, its practice is quite common.[3] Prisoners are beaten and raped by police.[3]Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture alleges that four youths accused of stealing were tortured by police in 2011.[3] Abuses at the Kassa Island military prison in 2009 reportedly included castration.[3] Amnesty has two reports of the use of torture in 2011: in February a man in Mamou was taken to the local police station after setting up roadblocks and beaten while handcuffed.[23] In April a man was arrested in Dixinn and beaten at a local station.[23]
Torture is used by "judicial police officers" to coerce confessions from detainees.[24]:14
On 19 February 2025, the national coordinator of the Forum of the social forces of Guinea, Abdoul Sacko, was kidnapped and tortured.[25] In June 2025, the Laywer's Order of Guinea boycotted hearings for two weeks and their members left national institutions in which they served in reaction to the kidnapping and torture of Mohamed Traoré, the Order's ex-bâtonnier and a critic of Doumbouya.[26]
Womens' rights
Women do not have equal legal status as men, including in inheritance, property, employment, credit, and divorce. Women receive different pay for similar work. Women cannot be employed in professions deemed hazardous. Laws prohibiting hiring discrimination against women aren't effectively enforced. Divorce laws generally favor men. Testimony given by women carries less weight than testimony given by men[27]:26–27,[35]
Despite governmental efforts to promote women's rights, acts of discrimination, sexual violence and domestic violence against women are widespread in Guinea.[28]:8Human Rights Watch claims that thousands of young girls working as housekeepers are raped by their employers.[2]
Female genital mutilation is widespread despite being outlawed by Act No. L10/AN/2000.[29]:7Indeed, the law isn't effectively enforced. In 2018, ~95% of polled women aged 15 to 49 had undergone the procedure.[27]:24 The Guinean government is taking measures to combat female genital multilation. In 2023, 105 communities pledged to end female genital mutilation.[30] In 2024, 236 new villages committed to abandoning female genital mutilation[24]:14
Childs' rights
The legal age of marriage is 18, and child marriage is criminalized. However, customary child marriages with parental consent are mentionned in law.[24]:15 Child marriage is relatively common: around 13% of all children and 22% of girls aged 12 to 17 are married.[29]:7UNICEF and others provided programs to end child marriage. In 2024, 8285 girls aged 10-19 received prevention and support services.[24]:15 In 2023, 105 communities pledged to end child marriage.[30]
Child labor is illegal in the formal sector. The minimum legal working age is 16 years old, but children as young as 12 years old can work as apprentices with light work. Children are prohibited from hazardous work.[27]:34
However, child labor is not illegal within the informal sector of the economy, not all hazardous occupations are prohibited and conditions in which light work may be done are not specified. Enforcement of child labor law is also limited to large firms. As a result, the worst forms of child labor remain.[27]:34 Large numbers of children are exploited in economic activities, including in hazardous conditions. Notably, child labor remained frequent in artisanal mining operations of Basse-Guinée.[28]:8 Forced child labor occurred primarily in the cashew, cocoa, coffee, gold, and diamond sectors of the economy.[27]:35
Child abuse is widespread and open. It is generally ignored by families or dealt with at the community level. Offenders are rarely persecuted.[30]
Homosexual sexual activity is criminalized by article 274 of the Penal Code. Sexual minorities have unequal access to education, employment and housing due to prejudice and discrimination.[29]:2–3
LGBTQ persons face arbitrary arrest, violence, and harassment by security forces. The Office for the Protection of Women, Children, and Morals has a unit dedicated to investigating morals offenses, including same-sex sexual activities.[30] The junta has carried frequent raids on places where LGBT individuals congregate. Many such places were shut down in 2021.[29]:8
There are cultural and religious taboos and stigma against sexual and gender minorities. LGBTQ persons are subjected to physical and mental abuse in their families, in their community and online[29]:8; notably, sexual assault.[30] LGBTQ individuals report bullying by peers and teachers, and often aren't able to finish their studies. They are often forced into heterosexual marriages by family[31]:27
LGBTQ individuals are targeted by abusers in jail.[30] Transgender individuals are subject to "compassionate incarceration" under the pretext of protection from community violence, but are placed in prison according to their gender at birth, thus leading to high rates of sexual violence[31]:8; particularly, women held in male-only facilities.[30]
Groups representing the LGBTQ+ community were unable to obtain legal recognition despite there being no law to prevent their recognition.[31]:14
Minority rights
Although 50 people were arrested for rape in 2011, no prosecutions were made.[3] A 2003 study revealed that more than 20% of women at a local hospital were there for sexual violence. The situation is reported to remain unchanged, and more than half of rape victims are girls between 11 and 15 years. Many rapes occur at school.[3]
Guinea is ethnically diverse, and people tend to identify strongly with their ethnic group. Racial rhetoric during political campaigns resulted in the deaths of at least two people in 2011.[3]
Disabled peoples' rights
In 2021, there were around 155,900 people with disabilities in Guinea. The law prohibits discrimination against persons based on disabilities in education, employment, air travel and other transportation, access to health care, or the provision of other government services.[30]
There are laws describing the rights of disabled persons (access to school, quotas in government hiring...), but they are not effectively enforced.[27]:29 Persons with disabilities could in some cases have equal access to education, health services, public buildings, and transportation.[30]
Albinos' rights
Discrimination against persons with albinism occurs, particularly in the Forested Guinea Region, where they were historically sought for witchcraft purposes and sacrifices. A May 2021 law guaranteed albinos an equal access to education, health care, mobility, and employment. Penalties were also strengthened penalties for those forcing albinos to beg and seeking to use them in ritual ceremonies.[27]:31
People with albinism are not legally protected from discrimination in Guinea.[28]:2
Freedom of speech
Media and censorship
Media freedom is guaranteed by the constitution.[2] Journalists critical of the government are, however, reportedly harassed and arrested by security forces.[2]
Religious rights are generally respected, though it is claimed non-Muslims are discriminated against in the allocation of government employment. Restrictions exist on Muslims' freedom to convert to other religions.[2]
Christians face discrimination in Guinea. Converts are threatened and harassed if they do not renounce their faith. Churches have been attacked and destroyed as a result of political unrest.[29]:4
1.^Note that the "Year" signifies the "Year covered". Therefore the information for the year marked 2008 is from the report published in 2009, and so on.
3.^The 1982 report covers the year 1981 and the first half of 1982, and the following 1984 report covers the second half of 1982 and the whole of 1983. In the interest of simplicity, these two aberrant "year and a half" reports have been split into three year-long reports through interpolation.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
