A/HRC/25/44 means necessary to perform their public security role in accordance with the relevant applicable international principles and ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (para. 54 (d)). The right to life and the right to respect for the physical and moral integrity of the person form part of the “hard core” of human rights. They are protected respectively by articles 3 and 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, articles 6 and 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ratified by the Republic of Guinea in 1978, and article 6 of the Guinean Constitution. 11. In 2013, political violence and inter-communal clashes caused heavy loss of life. Between February and May 2013, the demonstrations organized in Conakry by the opposition in protest against the conditions for the organization of the legislative elections degenerated into violent clashes between the security forces and demonstrators. These demonstrations were characterized by the almost systematic use of violence at the end of the march by the demonstrators or other persons infiltrating the demonstration. The violence included the throwing of objects, the erection of barricades, the use of knives and the destruction of private and public property. 12. The Government has taken little action although it is responsible for initiating investigations and prosecutions related to this violence, punishing the perpetrators and paying appropriate compensation to the victims and their families. 13. Likewise, despite hundreds of deaths, injuries and disappearances caused by the inter-ethnic violence in July 2013 in the Forest Region, the judges appointed to investigate these incidents have been obliged to postpone their work for political reasons. 14. Furthermore, the OHCHR office in Guinea has noted the almost systematic use of torture and ill-treatment against persons in detention, police custody or held at control posts. The incidents that occurred in Siguiri prison, in the Soronkony military camp, near Kankan,3 the cases of torture in the Lola prison in Guinée Forestière and the acts committed during custody in the Mandiana police station in Haute Guinée are examples of these practices. In this latter case, two individuals were tied up, burnt and exposed to the sun. One person died as a result of the physical abuse received during detention in Siguiri prison. 15. In February 2013, in its concluding observations, the Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed its deep concern that children who are taken to police stations are often subjected to ill-treatment or torture with a view to extracting confessions from them (CRC/C/GIN/CO/2, para. 46). B. Sexual violence and violence against women and girls 16. Of the 105 universal periodic review recommendations, at least 16 call on Guinea to take action to combat violence against women and girls and female genital mutilation (A/HRC/15/4, para. 71). The Committee on the Rights of the Child has recommended that the State party should strengthen efforts to prevent female genital mutilation, including through awareness-raising (CRC/C/GIN/CO/2, para. 56 (b)). 3 6 In September 2013, 33 young people were arrested for public order disturbances during the election campaign; some were arrested in front of their homes and others rounded up at night. These persons were arrested by security forces in Conakry and then transferred without any form of procedure to a military camp at Soronkony, 700 km to the east of Conakry, where they were detained for 10 days and subjected to ill-treatment. According to the victims, these arrests were not linked to the electoral context. GE.14-10910