July, 08 2009, 09:29am EDT
![Human Rights Watch (HRW)](https://assets.rbl.ms/50602809/origin.jpg)
Guinea: Coup Leaders Undermining Rights
Six Months After Coup, More Abuses and Promised Restoration of Democracy Off Track
NEW YORK
Respect for human rights by the coup government that took power six months ago has been undermined by arbitrary arrests and detentions, restrictions on political activity, unpunished criminal acts by the military, calls for vigilante justice, and disappointing progress in organizing elections, Human Rights Watch said today.
"The new government has had six months to show that it was serious about improving respect for human rights in Guinea," said Corinne Dufka, senior West Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. "There is no time to waste; they need to put a stop to human rights violations and organize free, fair, and transparent elections without any more delays."
A group of Guinean military officers calling themselves the National Council for Democracy and Development (CNDD) seized power hours after the death on December 22, 2008, of Lansana Conte, Guinea's president for 24 years.
Human Rights Watch research since the coup has found numerous instances in which the CNDD has violated its commitment to end human rights violations and taken little concrete action to organize elections promised before the end of the year.
At least 16 military personnel, including a former army commander, have been detained, and sources within the military have suggested that some of them have been abused in detention. All remain in detention, though none has been charged with any crime. Human Rights Watch calls on the Guinean authorities either to initiate formal trial proceedings against the men or order their release.
While the coup leaders initially agreed to a timetable for new elections, there has been little concrete action taken or funding committed to plan the elections. A ban on political activity has been reinstated, and there have been attacks on opposition parties. Human Rights Watch called on the Guinean authorities to repeal the ban on political activity immediately and to hold parliamentary and presidential elections as quickly as possible.
Human Rights Watch has documented a number of violent attacks by the military on ordinary Guineans, but no member of the military has been held to account for the attacks. Officials also appear to have condoned instances of vigilante justice. Human Rights Watch called on the coup government to retract the call for vigilante justice, and ensure that attacks on citizens by vigilantes end immediately and that those responsible are brought to justice.
Attacks and Other Episodes that Violated Promises Made by the Coup Leaders
Continued Arbitrary Detention of at Least 16 Military Personnel
In late December and early January 2009, the CNDD detained 12 military officers who had been assigned to provide security for the late President Conte. Military personnel interviewed by Human Rights Watch in Conakry said that the 12 were questioned by gendarmes only once, shortly after being taken into custody, but have yet to be allowed access to their lawyers or charged with a crime. The detained men were prevented from receiving family visits for a period of three months, and remain in custody in an unofficial detention center on the grounds of the CNDD's headquarters at the Alpha Yaya Diallo military camp in Conakry.
A second group of at least three military personnel was detained in late April following an alleged coup attempt against the CNDD president, Captain Moussa Dadis Camara. Sources within the military told Human Rights Watch that these men are being held in a military camp on Kassa Island - a few kilometers off the coast of Conakry. Military officers interviewed by Human Rights Watch suggested that this group had suffered repeated beatings.
In the afternoon of May 26, dozens of security forces personnel beat, tied up, and detained Kader Doumbouya, a former military commander under Conte, and then looted his residence in Conakry. He has since then been held without charge in the "PM3" gendarmes detention center in Conakry. Sources told Human Rights Watch that he is being treated for a cracked rib suffered during the incident.
This prolonged detention of the men without charge, access to a lawyer, or review by an independent judge constitutes arbitrary detention, in violation of Guinea's international law obligations. Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ratified by Guinea in 1978, states that anyone arrested shall be informed, at the time of arrest, of the reasons for his arrest and shall be promptly informed of any charges against him. Human Rights Watch calls on the Guinean authorities either to initiate formal trial proceedings against the men in question and ensure that they are immediately brought before a judge, or order their immediate and unconditional release. In any case, the men should be compensated for their arbitrary detention.
Elections and Freedoms of Political Expression and Assembly
Little progress has been made toward the return to civilian rule through free and fair legislative and presidential elections, despite the CNDD's commitment to restore constitutional order by the end of 2009. In March, the Forces Vives of Guinea - an organization consisting of political parties, unions, and civil society leaders - presented the CNDD with a timetable for elections preparations, with a view toward holding legislative elections in October and presidential elections by December 2009. Though Camara agreed in March to this timetable, the CNDD has taken few concrete steps to organize elections, and has refused to provide funding for the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) - the government body charged with organizing and monitoring the elections - in May and June 2009.
A communique from Camara, read on Guinean public radio on June 26, reinstated a ban on all political and union activities. Prior to the official banning of political activity, rallies by three Guinean political parties planned in different towns across Guinea were cancelled by order of local authorities, presumably to comply with commands from authorities in the capital.
On June 18, the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea (UFDG) was forced to cancel its month-long nationwide campaign tour for its presidential candidate, Cellou Dallein Diallo, after local authorities and the military in the eastern town of Kerouane - 1,000 km from Conakry - ordered hundreds of supporters who had gathered for the rally to return to their homes, and then ordered the party's delegation to leave town. Shortly before reaching Kankan, 130 km away, the delegation was stopped by about 50 military personnel. Witnesses interviewed by Human Rights Watch said that the commander told the delegation that he had received orders that they would not be allowed into Kankan, where they had planned to hold a rally later that day.
Similarly, rallies by the United Front for Democracy and Change (FUDEC) in the towns of Coyah and Boffa, north of Conakry, and by the Democratic Union of Guinea (UDG) on June 18 in Foracariah were forbidden by the local authorities.
Human Rights Watch also spoke with a witness who described a June 20 attack on the UDG party headquarters in Kagbelen, outside Conakry. He said that approximately 25 members of the military led by the minister in charge of presidential security, Claude Pivi, forced their way into the local headquarters. The witness said that the military told them that they were looking for the local party representative.
"The military were heavily armed and wearing red berets," the witness said. "Pivi was seated in his four-wheel-drive car, watching everything. He called me and asked me where the head of our party was. We said we didn't know. His men then forced their way into our offices looking for him, beat up a few of our people, and stole two of our mobile phones."
On July 4, there were media reports of a second raid on the UDG in Kagbelen by members of the military wearing red berets, in which several UDG activists were allegedly rounded up and detained at a nearby military camp.
Human Rights Watch called on the Guinean authorities to repeal the ban on political activity immediately and uphold the right of all Guineans to choose their representatives by holding free, fair, and transparent parliamentary and presidential elections as quickly as possible.
Criminality by Military Personnel with No Mechanism for Accountability
The CNDD promised in May to prevent acts of criminality by military personnel. However, little concrete action has been taken to improve the situation, Human Rights Watch said. While the security forces have made arrests of civilians alleged to have committed crimes, no member of the military has yet faced arrest, investigation, or prosecution for the types of criminal acts documented by Human Rights Watch in April.
Human Rights Watch has since then documented several incidents of theft and violence by members of the military against businesspeople and ordinary citizens, including thefts of goods and cars, and extortion by soldiers manning checkpoints in the Matoto and Bonfi neighborhoods of Conakry. In one egregious incident, a Guinean businessman who had recently returned from living abroad described how, on May 30, two armed soldiers threw him out of a third-story window after robbing him and spraying tear gas in his eyes. The soldiers then stole his car. The fall broke the man's back, both legs, and both arms.
Official Call for Vigilante Justice that Undermines the Rule of Law
A call from a CNDD top law enforcement official for vigilante justice to be meted out against suspected thieves has seriously undermined respect for the rule of law in Guinea. At least one person appears to have been murdered in a vigilante attack.
During a June 2 meeting with local government and community leaders, which was widely reported in national and international media, Captain Moussa Tiegboro Camara (no relation to the CNDD president, Dadis Camara), the minister charged with the fight against drug trafficking and serious crime, urged youths to set up surveillance brigades and to "burn all armed bandits who are caught red-handed committing an armed robbery," adding that there was no more room in Guinea's prisons to accommodate these criminals.
In the early morning hours of June 5, residents in the Yimbaya neighborhood of Conakry found a young man lying under a tree whose body was severely burned and whose face, fingers, and ears had been cut in multiple places. They informed Human Rights Watch that the man told them he had hours before been accused of theft by other local residents, who then burned him on his chest, back, and buttocks with a clothes iron, severely beat him, and cut him with a razor blade. The man died two hours after he was found by the residents.
Local residents further described to Human Rights Watch how, at around 5 p.m. the same day, Tiegboro visited the neighborhood to look at the corpse and address local residents. According to several residents who attended the meeting, Tiegboro told them: "You've done well to kill this man. He is a criminal and any time you see such a criminal, you should kill him. If you don't have the money to buy petrol, come to my office and I will give you money to buy it."
Another man attending the meeting said: "No one opposed what Captain Tiegboro said, but I think what happened to him [the victim] is wrong. In fact, it is the torturers who should be arrested and tried for what they did to him."
When interviewed by Human Rights Watch on June 24, Tiegboro asserted that he supported the rule of law and the right to a fair trial, but that his appeal for "popular justice had been intended as a preventive action to frighten would-be perpetrators." He denied offering money to local residents intending to burn criminals alive, but noted emphatically that the victim of the June 5 incident had a well-known criminal history and had been in and out of Conakry's main prison at least eight times.
While Human Rights Watch was unable to ascertain whether those who attacked the man were incited to action by Tiegboro's statement, it appears that he endorsed the killing after the fact. Human Rights Watch called on the Guinean authorities to retract the minister's call for the formation of vigilante groups and any calls to kill suspected criminals. Those who carry out vigilante attacks, including the murder in Yimbaya, should be investigated and prosecuted.
Human Rights Watch is one of the world's leading independent organizations dedicated to defending and protecting human rights. By focusing international attention where human rights are violated, we give voice to the oppressed and hold oppressors accountable for their crimes. Our rigorous, objective investigations and strategic, targeted advocacy build intense pressure for action and raise the cost of human rights abuse. For 30 years, Human Rights Watch has worked tenaciously to lay the legal and moral groundwork for deep-rooted change and has fought to bring greater justice and security to people around the world.
LATEST NEWS
'Tragic Outcome' for Gig Workers as California Supreme Court Hands Win to Uber, DoorDash
"Today's ruling only strengthens our demand for the right to join together in a union so that we can begin improving the gig economy for workers and our customers," the case plaintiff said.
Jul 25, 2024
Labor advocates on Thursday decried a ruling by the California Supreme Court upholding a lower court's affirmation of a state ballot measure allowing app-based ride and delivery companies to classify their drivers as independent contractors, limiting their worker rights.
The court's seven justices ruled unanimously in Castellanos v. State of California that Proposition 22, which was approved by 58% of California voters in 2020, complies with the state constitution. Prop 22—which was overturned in 2021 by an Alameda County Superior Court judge in 2021—was upheld in March 2023 by the state's 1st District Court of Appeals.
The business models of app-based companies including DoorDash, Instacart, Lyft, and Uber rely upon minimizing frontline worker compensation by categorizing drivers as independent contractors instead of employees. Independent contractors are not entitled to unemployment insurance, health insurance, or compensation for business expenses.
There are approximately 1.4 million app-based gig workers in California, according to industry estimates.
While DoorDash hailed Thursday's ruling as "not only a victory for Dashers, but also for democracy itself," gig worker advocates condemned the decision.
"Over the last three years, gig workers across California have experienced firsthand that Prop 22 is nothing more than a bait-and-switch meant to enrich global corporations at the expense of the Black, brown, and immigrant workers who power their earnings," plaintiff Hector Castellanos, who drives for Uber and Lyft, said in a statement.
"Prop 22 has allowed gig companies like Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash to deprive us of a living wage, access to workers compensation, paid sick leave, and meaningful healthcare coverage," Castellanos added. "Today's ruling only strengthens our demand for the right to join together in a union so that we can begin improving the gig economy for workers and our customers."
Lorena Gonzalez, president of the California Federation of Labor Unions, AFL-CIO, said that "we are deeply disappointed that the state Supreme Court has allowed tech corporations to buy their way out of basic labor laws despite Proposition 22's inconsistencies with our state constitution."
"These companies have upended our social contract, forcing workers and the public to take on the inherent risk created by this work, while they profit," she continued. "A.B. 5 granted virtually all California workers the right to be paid for all hours worked, health and safety standards, unemployment insurance, workers compensation, and the right to organize."
"Rideshare and delivery drivers deserve those rights as well," Gonzalez stressed.
The Gig Workers Rising campaign said on social media that "Uber and other app corporations spent $220 million to buy this law, and they did it by tricking Californians."
Prop 22's passage in November 2020 with nearly 59% of the vote was the culmination of what was by far the most expensive ballot measure in California history. App-based companies and their backers outspent labor and progressive groups by more than 10 to 1, with proponents pouring a staggering $204.5 million into the "yes" campaign's coffers against just $19 million for the "no" side.
"Voters were told the initiative would provide us with 'historic new benefits' and guaranteed earnings," said Gig Workers Rising. "But since it went into effect, drivers have seen our pay go down, learned the benefits are a sham, and have to accept unsafe rides because of the constant threat of being 'deactivated,' kicked off the app with little explanation or warning."
"If Uber really cared about good benefits and fair wages, it could make that happen tomorrow," the campaign added. "Instead, it has shown it would rather slash pay, bamboozle voters, and put drivers' lives and livelihoods in danger—all while promising $7 billion in stock buybacks to banks and billionaires."
Veena Dubal, a law professor at the University of California, Irvine who focuses on labor and inequality, toldCalMatters that Thursday's ruling was "a really tragic outcome," but "it's not the end of the road."
Dubal's sentiment was echoed by some California state legislators, who said the ruling presents an opportunity to act.
"While this decision is frustrating, it must also be motivating," said state Senate Labor Committee Chair Lola Smallwood-Cuevas (D-28). "I'm more determined than ever to ensure that all workers—including our diverse and Black, Indigenous, and people of color-led gig workforce—have the basic protections of workers compensation, paid sick leave, family leave, disability insurance, and the right to form a union."
Prop 22 has served as a template for lawmakers in other states seeking to deny or limit basic worker rights, benefits, and protections.
In Massachusetts, app-based companies have been fighting for years to get a measure to classify drivers as contractors on the state ballot. In 2022, Lyft made the largest political donation in state history—$14.4 million—to a coalition funding one such proposal.
Last month, Uber and Lyft reached an agreement with the office of Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell, a Democrat, to pay $175 million to settle a lawsuit filed in 2020. As part of the deal, the companies also agreed to increase driver pay and provide paid sick leave, accident insurance, and some health benefits. The agreement does not address how app-based gig workers should be classified.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Young Voters Tell Kamala Harris to 'Fight for Our Future'
"This is your chance to energize young people and our communities to vote, mount one of the greatest political comebacks in decades, and deliver a resounding defeat to the far-right agenda of Trump and Vance."
Jul 25, 2024
Four youth-led groups on Thursday urged Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, to "fight for our future" by pursuing a policy agenda the coalition unveiled in a March letter to U.S. President Joe Biden.
It's been less than a week since Biden left the race and endorsed Harris, who is expected to face former Republican Donald Trump and his running mate, U.S. Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), in the November election. Since then, she's racked up endorsements from Democratic members of Congress and progressive groups focused on issues including climate, labor, and reproductive rights.
March for Our Lives, which was launched after the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, honored Harris with the group's first-ever endorsement on Wednesday, calling her "the right person to stand up for us and fight for the country we deserve."
"To defeat Trump, you must rebuild support and enthusiasm among young voters."
The gun violence prevention organization is part of the youth-led coalition behind the new letter, which also includes the climate-focused Sunrise Movement; Gen-Z for Change, which advocates on a range of issues; and the national immigrant network United We Dream Action.
"You have an urgent and important task. To defeat Trump, you must rebuild support and enthusiasm among young voters," the coalition told Harris on Thursday, noting that she sought the Democratic nomination during the last cycle. "You should build on your 2020 campaign platform where you put forward a strong vision to make the economy work for everyday people and ensure a livable future for us all."
The groups urged Harris to support the Green New Deal, Medicare for All, and the Reverse Mass Incarceration Act. They pushed her to expand pathways to citizenship, keep families together, end fossil fuel subsidies, and create good, union jobs. They also called on her to prioritize gun violence prevention and investments in public health solutions and green, affordable housing.
"Democrats are at a critical crossroads with young people," the coalition wrote to Harris on Thursday. "Polls showed Biden and Trump neck-and-neck among young voters."
ANew York Times/Siena College poll conducted July 22-24 shows Trump leading Harris 48% to 47% among likely voters and 48% to 46% among registered voters—differences that fall within the margin of error.
Forbesnoted Thursday that "Democrats are far more enthusiastic about Harris than they were Biden, the Times/Siena survey found, with nearly 80% of voters who lean Democrat saying they would like Harris to be the nominee, compared to 48% of Democrats who said the same about Biden three weeks ago."
The outlet also pointed to two other polls conducted by Morning Consult and Reuters/Ipsos since Biden dropped out, which both show Harris with a narrow lead over Trump.
"You have an opportunity to win the youth vote by turning the page and differentiating yourself from Biden policies that are deeply unpopular with us, such as approving new oil and gas projects, denying people their right to seek refuge and asylum, and funding the Israeli government's killing of civilians in Gaza," the youth coalition highlighted Thursday. "You must speak to the economic pain young people are facing from crushing student debt and skyrocketing housing and food prices."
Looking beyond November, the groups told Harris—who could be the first Black woman and person of Asian descent elected to the country's highest office—that "you could be a historic president. Not just because of who you are, but what you can accomplish."
"Young people are energized and ready to organize against fascism and for the future we deserve," they concluded. "This is your chance to energize young people and our communities to vote, mount one of the greatest political comebacks in decades, and deliver a resounding defeat to the far-right agenda of Trump and Vance."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Video Game Actors Strike for AI Protections
"The video game industry generates billions of dollars in profit annually," said one union leader. "The driving force behind that success is the creative people who design and create those games."
Jul 25, 2024
After nearly two years of negotiations with video game giants and no deal that would protect performers from artificial intelligence, unionized voice and motion capture actors who work in video game development announced Thursday that they will go on strike starting at 12:01 am on Friday, July 26.
The performers are represented by Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), which last year won a contract for TV and film actors that included "unprecedented provisions for consent and compensation that will protect members from the threat of AI," after the union went on strike for four months.
The union has been negotiating on behalf of video game actors with major production companies including Disney Character Voices Inc., Activision Productions Inc., and WB Games Inc., and has won concessions over wages and job safety—but "AI protections remain the sticking point," said SAG-AFTRA on Thursday as the impending strike was announced.
Unionized actors want protections that would stop video game companies from training AI to replicate actors' voices or likeness without their consent and without compensating them.
"The video game industry generates billions of dollars in profit annually," said Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, national executive director and chief negotiator for SAG-AFTRA. "The driving force behind that success is the creative people who design and create those games. That includes the SAG-AFTRA members who bring memorable and beloved game characters to life, and they deserve and demand the same fundamental protections as performers in film, television, streaming, and music: fair compensation and the right of informed consent for the AI use of their faces, voices, and bodies."
"Frankly, it's stunning that these video game studios haven't learned anything from the lessons of last year—that our members can and will stand up and demand fair and equitable treatment with respect to AI, and the public supports us in that," he added.
Sarah Elmaleh, negotiating committee chair for the union's interactive media agreement, said the negotiations have shown the companies "are not interested in fair, reasonable AI protections, but rather flagrant exploitation."
"We look forward to collaborating with teams on our interim and independent contracts, which provide AI transparency, consent, and compensation to all performers, and to continuing to negotiate in good faith with this bargaining group when they are ready to join us in the world we all deserve," said Elmaleh.
The unionized actors voted in favor of the strike authorization with a 98.32% yes vote, said SAG-AFTRA.
The strike was announced as more than 500 workers who help develop the popular World of Warcraft video game franchise voted to join the Communications Workers of America (CWA), with the games publisher, Blizzard Entertainment, recognizing the bargaining unit.
CWA noted that the workers' journey to union representation began with a walkout in 2021 at Activision Blizzard, which was later bought by Microsoft, over sexual harassment and discrimination.
"What we've accomplished at World of Warcraft is just the beginning," Eric Lanham, a World of Warcraft test analyst, said in a statement. "We know that when workers have a protected voice, it's a win-win for employee standards, the studio, and World of Warcraft fans looking for the best gaming experience."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular