A/HRC/28/50
defence forces at all points of entry into Guinea. The movement of persons is restricted and
is subject to health monitoring measures at the various points of entry at land borders,
seaports and airports. All health workers and security and defence forces have been
mobilized to combat the disease. A temperature-monitoring system has been set up at
Conakry airport, and anyone with an abnormally high body temperature is prohibited from
travelling.
39.
These restrictions on freedom of movement, while justified, limit the exercise of
certain rights, as described above. They may well limit people’s participation in the 2015
presidential elections.
5.
Administration of justice
40.
The Government has made commitments to improve the administration of justice
and to improve conditions of detention. With support from national and international
partners, including OHCHR, reform of the main pieces of criminal legislation and of
legislation on the organization of the judicial system has been initiated. The Criminal Code,
the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Military Justice Code are all being reviewed with
the aim of bringing them into line with the State’s commitments under the international and
regional human rights instruments to which it is a party.
41.
The Supreme Council of Justice, which is responsible for, inter alia, safeguarding
judges’ careers, was established in March 2014, and the President of the Republic enacted
the Act on the Special Status of Judges in June of that year. In July 2014, the Head of State
also approved a document on judicial reform prepared by the National Steering Committee
for Judicial Reform.
42.
Two training workshops were organized by OHCHR in Kindia and Labé from 22 to
29 October 2014, at which 107 judges and judicial officials (criminal police officers,
response unit officers, lawyers, prison staff and bailiffs) in Basse Guinée and Moyenne
Guinée were informed about their roles and responsibilities for promoting and protecting
human rights. These sessions provided an opportunity for participants to reflect on the
failures and shortcomings of the judicial system and to consider appropriate solutions for
strengthening the rule of law.
43.
However, the absence or lack of adequate infrastructure, the lack of trained and
specialized staff and the insufficient budget allocated to the Ministry of Justice continue to
have a major effect on the administration of justice. In addition to these factors, which are
attributable to the State, defendants regularly report corruption among some judges. Many
detainees interviewed by the staff of the OHCHR office in Guinea claimed that they were in
prison because they were unable to pay the sums of money demanded by criminal police
officers or judges for their release.
6.
Combating impunity
44.
In the previous report, the High Commissioner for Human Rights recommended that
the Government should strengthen the fight against impunity, in particular by prosecuting
the alleged perpetrators of the human rights violations committed on 28 September 2009
(A/HRC/25/44 and Corr.1, para. 57 (a)). Likewise, on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the
28 September massacres in Conakry, the High Commissioner urged the Guinean authorities
to take immediate and concrete steps to move forward the investigation and to prosecute
those responsible for the human rights violations, including the acts of murder, rape and
10
GE.15-03278
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents