A/HRC/19/49 5. The High Commissioner also visited the Centre mère et enfant, a facility that caters for female survivors of sexual violence and other acts of torture committed on 28 September 2009. She met privately with some 35 of the victims, who shared their stories and called for justice and reparations. She also met with about 40 male victims of torture and listened to their concerns, which mostly related to impunity and the lack of medical and social services available to them. III. Main political developments affecting human rights 6. The human rights situation in Guinea during the period under review was influenced by a number of political developments. In particular, delays in completing the envisaged political transition, including the organization of parliamentary elections, impeded much needed institutional and legislative reforms. The stalemate over parliamentary elections also generated tensions, which occasionally degenerated into violence. There were also some issues of general insecurity. 7. As part of the political transition in Guinea, it was envisaged that the presidential elections at the end of 2010 would be followed by parliamentary elections, and that the parliament would then undertake the necessary institutional and legislative reforms. The parliamentary elections were not held because of a disagreement between the governing party, the Rassemblement du peuple de Guinée (RPG), and the main opposition party, the Union des forces démocratiques de Guinée (UFDG), over the timetable for legislative elections and related issues. The Government proposed to carry out several electoral reforms before the elections, including organizing an electoral census, developing a new voters’ list and reconstituting the Commission nationale électorale indépendante (CENI). On the other hand, the opposition parties, represented by the Collectif des partis politiques pour la finalisation de la transition, maintained that a simple revision of the voters’ list would be adequate. They requested that the Government stop all commitments in relation to the electoral process and to restructure CENI, which they regarded as polarized along the memberships of political parties. 8. In the midst of this disagreement, on 16 September 2011, the President of CENI announced that the legislative elections would be held on 29 December 2011, and went ahead with the recruitment and training of enumerators. In response, the opposition organized a protest march on 27 September to put pressure on the Government to respond to their demands. The march was banned by the authorities, and protesters’ attempts to demonstrate turned violent; three people were allegedly killed and several injured, owing reportedly to the use of excessive force by law enforcers. Numerous arrests and detentions were subsequently made by the security forces, and those arrested were charged with participation in an unlawful demonstration and destruction of property, then tried and sentenced to prison terms. 9. There was concern that the relationship between the RPG and the Collectif des partis politiques pour la finalisation de la transition could further deteriorate. Several international partners and some national stakeholders thus intervened to mediate and the Group of Friends1 met with the president to facilitate dialogue between the Government and opposition parties. 1 Initiated by the President to replace the Contact Group on Guinea. It comprises representatives of the United Nations, the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States, the International Organization of la Francophonie, the World Bank, the Mano River Union, Communauté des Etats Sahélo-Sahariens, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Burkina Faso, China, France, 5