A/HRC/22/39 United Nations General Assembly Distr.: General 21 January 2013 English Original: French Human Rights Council Twenty-second session Agenda items 2 and 10 Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General Technical assistance and capacity-building Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Guinea* Summary In resolution 19/30, the Human Rights Council invited the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to report at its twenty-second session on the situation of human rights in Guinea and OHCHR activities there. The report describes changes in the human rights situation given the contextual and structural challenges identified in the previous report and describes the action taken by the Government on the High Commissioner’s recommendations and in fulfilment of the human rights obligations it has voluntarily assumed. The human rights situation remains worrisome and is characterized by violations arising from structural problems such as impunity, on the one hand, and political tension, on the other. The legislative elections marking the end of the transition period did not take place owing to a lack of consensus. This delay has hindered the adoption of reforms needed to address the root causes of the violations. The main areas of concern are: political violence, especially the breaking up of public demonstrations; cases of bodily harm and acts of torture; and ongoing impunity, in particular for the security forces. Furthermore, the report finds that little progress has been made in implementing the Government’s priority actions, thereby impeding the re-establishment of the rule of law. The main issues are the delay in launching the national reconciliation process through national consultations, the slow pace of proceedings against perpetrators of serious human rights violations and the lack of progress on setting up an independent national human rights institution. In 2012, the Government took measures to strengthen the institutional human rights framework, including the establishment of the Ministry of Human Rights and Public * Late submission. GE.13-10258 (E) 110414 140414 *1310258*