A/HRC/25/44
between April and June 2013, leaving 4 people dead. Political and ethnic clashes also took
place in Conakry in March 2013.
7.
As well as political tensions, Guinea experienced social unrest in 2013, which led to
violent demonstrations, in particular in certain districts of Conakry. The main demands
related to better living conditions, given that there had been limited progress in improving
access to basic social services.
8.
With regard to economic governance, efforts to improve the macroeconomic
situation launched in 2012 are ongoing. Progress in controlling inflation and stabilizing the
currency has been confirmed. The wage rate of workers in the public and private sectors
has increased gradually. The Government has taken measures to simplify procedures for
starting businesses and amended the Mining Code in order to encourage investment. Once
the legislative elections had been held, the European Union announced the release of the
tenth and eleventh European Development Funds. These measures have resulted in Guinea
gaining four places in the ranking of the Doing Business 2014 report of the World Bank.1
Nevertheless, Guinea remains one of the least developed countries, ranking 178 out of 187
countries on the Human Development Index.2 The poverty rate increased at the national
level, rising from 53 per cent in 2007 to 55.2 per cent in 2012. Furthermore, youth
unemployment remains a major concern, affecting at least 15 per cent of young people with
secondary-level education, 42 per cent of those having completed technical and vocational
education programmes and nearly 61 per cent of university graduates. For female
graduates, the figure for those unable to find employment is 85.7 per cent, compared to 61
per cent for male graduates. Other than young people in education, joblessness affects 70
per cent of those aged under 25, irrespective of their level of education and place of
residence.
III. Situation of human rights
9.
Since the previous report of the High Commissioner, the authorities have made
efforts to strengthen the promotion of human rights. These efforts have resulted in
particular, in the security sector, in the adoption of the Code of Military Justice and the
establishment of a military court. It should, however, be noted that, owing to the absence of
a legislative body as a result of the postponement of the elections, it has not been possible
to undertake comprehensive structural reforms aimed at achieving lasting results in such
areas of human rights and the rule of law as the administration of justice, transitional justice
and the fight against impunity. The lack of improvement in this last area has been a factor
in the rise in sexual violence against women and has contributed to the increase of cases of
torture and ill-treatment in detention.
A.
Extrajudicial killings, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment
10.
In her previous report (A/HRC/22/39, para. 54 (b)), the High Commissioner for
Human Rights recommended that the Government should equip the security forces with the
GE.14-10910
1
World Bank, Doing Business 2014: Understanding Regulations for Small and Medium-Size
Enterprises, Washington, 2013. www.doingbusiness.org/~/media/GIAWB/Doing%20Business/
Documents/Annual-Reports/English/ DB14-Full-Report.pdf.
2
United Nations Development Programme, Human Development Report 2013, The Rise of the South:
Human Progress in a Diverse World, New York, 2013, Table 1, http://hdr.undp.org/en/data.
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