Conakry, 28 September 2024. Today marks the 15th anniversary of the Conakry massacre in Guinea. This is a particularly significant event, just a few weeks after the verdict handed down on 31 July 2024, in which former high-ranking officials, including Moussa Dadis Camara, former President and leader of the National Council for Democracy and Development (NCDD), the junta in power at the time, were sentenced to long prison terms for crimes against humanity. While all but one of those convicted have appealed, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and its member organisation in Guinea, Organisation Guinéenne de Défense des Droits de l’Homme et du Citoyen (OGDH), together with their partner, Association des Victimes, Parents et Amis du 28 septembre 2009 (AVIPA), have decided to ask the appeal judges to rule on key points concerning victims’ reparations and the situation of the disappeared.
"This verdict was a reminder that no one is above the law and that everyone is obliged to respect rights and human dignity. For the first time on 28 September, we may feel a degree of satisfaction, even if the pain remains and always will", says DS Bah, Vice President of OGDH and coordinating lawyer for the collective of civil party lawyers. "This crucial trial is entering a second phase. FIDH, OGDH, and AVIPA remain mobilised alongside the victims and are determined to contribute to the fight against impunity and the strengthening of the rule of law in Guinea."
"Reparations can never replace what has been lost, but they can help to restore the dignity of the victims and enable them to rebuild their lives", says Asmaou Diallo, president of AVIPA. "We call on the authorities to keep their promises and put in place the necessary mechanisms to ensure that reparations are paid to each victim as quickly as possible."
The central issue of reparations
FIDH, OGDH, and AVIPA explicitly call for the State to be held jointly and severally liable to ensure that the victims are effectively compensated. The 31 July ruling, which awarded substantial sums to the victims, places the responsibility for payment on the convicted individuals. The three NGOs are also calling for the court ruling supplemented with an exhaustive list of the victims to be compensated. Finally, the three NGOs reiterate that the fate of the disappeared -men and women whose bodies have never been found- must be addressed, including the mass graves mentioned during the investigation, which remained unexplored.
On 28 September 2009, peaceful demonstrators gathered at the city’s main stadium to call for a democratic transition and free elections. Guinean defense and security forces, including members of the presidential guard, then orchestrated a massacre. At least 156 people were killed and dozens are missing. More than a hundred women were victims of rape or other forms of sexual violence, including genital mutilation and sexual slavery. Since 2009, OGDH and FIDH have been investigating the violations committed. In 2010, FIDH, OGDH and AVIPA filed civil suits. Since September 2022 and the trial’s opening, they have represented more than 730 victims in an emblematic case for international criminal justice.
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Context of the appeal trial: Shrinking civic and democratic space
The three NGOs believe that the Guinean judiciary has so far succeeded in conducting this extraordinary trial. However, they are concerned about the deteriorating context in which they must now operate as the political climate becomes increasingly tense repressive. The Guinean authorities are actively restricting civic space, violently repressing demonstrations and increasing the number of arrests and enforced disappearances of civil society leaders and even members of the defence and security forces. Attacks on fundamental freedoms of expression, association and the press are reaching alarming levels.
"Because of its political and educational significance, this trial should mark a turning point in the history of Guinea by breaking the cycle of impunity for serious human rights violations that have been committed systematically since 1958 by the defence and security forces and senior politicians", stresses Drissa Traoré, FIDH secretary general, lawyer for the victims and member of FIDH’s Judicial Action Group. "The Guinean authorities must restore the rule of law and respect for human rights at this time of uncertain political transition."
Next week, FIDH, its member organisations in Guinea, OGDH and Mêmes Droits pour Tous (MDT), as well as AVIPA, will be conducting an advocacy mission in Conakry with civil society, political actors and international institutions to voice their concerns and recommendations.