A/HRC/19/49 10. Following these interventions, the President set up a committee for dialogue between the Government and the opposition. The opposition parties insisted, however, on the release of detained demonstrators and a consensus on the date of elections as a condition for participation in any dialogue. In a bid to reduce tensions, the President pardoned 25 people convicted for participating in an unauthorized demonstration and other counts relating to the incidents of 28 September 2009. Meanwhile, the legislative and local elections, which were scheduled for December 2011, were postponed. There remains a fear that the current tensions could spill over into the electoral process and lead to more violence and human rights violations. 11. There were also signs of political instability that had an impact on human rights. On 19 July 2011, the President’s residence was attacked by several armed people, apparently in an attempted coup d’état. A member of the presidential guard was killed during the attack and several bodyguards and attackers were injured. Following the attack, road blocks that had been established in Conakry and other parts of the country were used by parts of the security forces to intimidate and harass the public. In addition, several people suspected of involvement in the attack were arrested; 25 soldiers and 28 civilians are currently in pretrial detention at the central prison in Conakry. They have been charged with treason, homicide, attempted homicide of the President and illegal possession of weapons. IV. Situation of human rights 12. The situation of human rights has improved since the post-electoral crisis at the end of 2010. The Government has also taken some steps towards reform of the security and judicial sectors, and institutional reform more generally. The security forces have also made some progress in improving crowd-control techniques by reducing the number of security forces carrying firearms and keeping the army in the barracks during the demonstrations. Nevertheless, some of the structural and institutional impediments remain, including the persistence of impunity and weaknesses in the judicial sector as well as in the national human rights protection framework more generally. Reports were received of serious human rights violations during this period, including the violation of the right to free assembly and association, cases of arbitrary arrest and detention, poor conditions of detention and increased poverty. A. Right to peaceful assembly and freedom of association 13. Although the Penal Code of Guinea requires only prior notification of public demonstrations, authorities often insisted on formal authorizations to organize demonstrations. In the absence of bourgmestres (mayors) legally authorized to receive notifications, administrative authorities often abused their power by prohibiting demonstrations they deemed contrary to their interest. A clear example of such a situation was observed in April 2011, when police and gendarmerie agents used excessive force to quell a peaceful demonstration organized by UFDG supporters to mark the return of opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo after a long stay abroad. Even though the organizers notified the authorities, as required by law, the Governor of Conakry – who had no prerogative in such matters – banned the demonstration. the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America. 6