A/HRC/16/26 summary executions. OHCHR immediately reported these events to the Chief of Staff of the National Gendarmerie, which, however, had not opened investigations into these allegations at the time this report was finalized. 17. There was inadequate protection for civilians during the demonstrations and resulting violence in Conakry and, subsequently, in Haute-Guinée. Many houses and shops were reportedly attacked, looted and burned; in some cases, it appears that such actions were motivated by the ethnicity of the owners. Local hospitals treated a large number of the injured. The violence and lack of protection from local authorities led to a displacement of populations in late October and throughout November 2010, creating an influx of internally displaced persons to the region of Moyenne-Guinée. 18. OHCHR also received reports of attacks on law enforcement officials. Some defence and security agents who went to restore order in certain areas were injured by angry mobs carrying machetes, knives and stones. Families and houses of military personnel were also reportedly attacked. IV. Human rights challenges in Guinea 19. The situation of human rights in Guinea presents a number of challenges. These include: impunity, in particular of the security forces; sexual and gender-based violence and harmful traditional practices, e.g. female genital mutilations; and widespread corruption, which has impeded the full realization of economic, social and cultural rights. The ability of Guinea to address these challenges has been constrained by a weak legislative framework, the weakness of the judiciary, its lack of independence and weak civil society organizations. A. 1. Key human rights challenges Impunity for human rights violations 20. Lack of discipline within the Armed Forces and abuses committed by security forces have been a long-standing threat to human rights in Guinea. The country’s Armed Forces have been involved in serious human rights abuses in their attempts to quell a series of public protests, for example in June 2006, January and February 2007 and September 2009. Exacerbated by mutinies and strike actions by the Army and police over salary arrears and poor living conditions, there has been recurrent insecurity over recent years. 21. There have been numerous reports of various human rights violations committed by members of the Army and security forces in Guinea over decades, including extrajudicial killings, the violent suppression of public protests, torture, arbitrary arrests and detentions, unlawful interference with privacy, and interferences with the exercise of the right of peaceful assembly and freedom of association. 22. The International Commission of Inquiry into the 28 September 2009 events highlighted impunity as a priority concern in Guinea. The Government of Guinea has been cooperating with the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, which visited the country on several occasions in 2010. 23. In this connection, a panel of three renowned judges was appointed by the Minister of Justice to investigate the human rights violations committed on 28 September 2009 and its aftermath. The ability of the panel of judges to carry out their mandate and conduct investigations has been limited by the lack of material and human resources. There was also a lack of political support to their work, the Government focusing more on the political transition than on the prosecution of the presumed perpetrators of the above-mentioned 7