country of Guinea in March 2020, together with the hypothetical
Human Rights
LW2033
Word Limit: 3000 words
Question
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Answer Part 1 and one question only from Part 2:
Part 1 (this part accounts for 50% of the total marks for this
assessment) – do not write more than 1500 words for this question
Read the following report of human rights abuses in the African
country of Guinea in March 2020, together with the hypothetical
facts, and then answer the following question:
Which rights contained in the African Charter on Human and
Peoples’ Rights may have been infringed? Give reasons for your
answer.
‘Guinea’s security forces failed to protect people from election-related and
intercommunal violence and committed human rights abuses in Nzérékoré,
southeastern Guinea, during legislative elections and a constitutional
referendum in March 2020, Human Rights Watch said in a report released
today.
The 43-page report…documents the violence which killed at least 32 people
and injured more than 90 as clashes between pro-government and
opposition supporters ignited longstanding political and ethnic tensions.
Security forces deployed to provide security for the polls did not do enough
to prevent the killings or widespread destruction of property, and allegedly
killed two people and beat and arbitrarily arrested dozens of men, Human
Rights Watch found…
The violence reached its peak in Nzérékoré, Guinea’s second-largest
city…Many were shot, hacked, or beaten to death, and at least one was
burned alive. Human Rights Watch also documented one case of a 17-yearold girl raped by a group of armed men.
Despite the presence of the security forces, including police, gendarmes,
and soldiers deployed to provide election security, witnesses said that the
security forces and the political authorities did not intervene or respond to
desperate calls to stop mobs from attacking people or destroying property…
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Guinea’s government initially said that 4 people died, but later admitted a
heavier human toll of 30 deaths. Human Rights Watch documented at least
32 killings and found credible evidence to support an allegation by Guinean
human rights groups that the bodies of over two dozen people killed during
the violence were removed from Nzérékoré’s regional hospital and secretly
buried in a mass grave in the city. Relatives told Human Rights Watch that
the hospital had refused to hand over their family members’ remains and
that they did not know where the bodies had been buried.
Although the majority of the killings in Nzérékoré were by armed citizens,
witnesses said security forces also killed at least two people, including a
pregnant woman, arrested scores, raided homes, and looted and damaged
properties. Most of those arrested were illegally detained at the Beyanzin
Military Camp in Nzérékoré between March 22 and 25, where they were
beaten and kept in inhuman conditions, in a dirty cell without adequate
ventilation, and were deprived of food and water.
Human Rights Watch sent preliminary findings and a list of questions to
Albert Damantang Camara, the security and civilian protection minister,
on September 8. On September 21, Minister Camara shared with Human
Rights Watch an April 30 Guinean police report on the March violence in
Nzérékoré. The report stated that a government prosecutor in Nzérékoré
had set up a commission of inquiry to identify and prosecute those
responsible for crimes committed in the city between March 22 and 24. The
report did not, however, address the role of the security forces in
responding to violence in Nzérékoré, other than stating that the Bellevue
neighbourhood, where the election day violence began, had been
“inaccessible” to the Guinean police due to the fighting there and that “the
army had been requisitioned to work with the security forces to pacify the
area.”
Human Rights Watch, ‘Guinea: Security Forces Failed to Stem Election
Violence’ 25th September 2020
https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/09/25/guinea-security-forces-failedstem-election-violence
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Hypothetically, when those arrested by the authorities were released, they
were charged with violating the (fictitious) Emergency Powers Act 2020
which became law only during the period of their detention. If they were
employed, the detainees were dismissed from their jobs and their children
were excluded from school.
Later, the authorities harassed significant members of the Guerzé ethnic
group, a group seen as sympathetic to the opposition, forcing them away
from their homes. This was to clear space for a power station which
opponents claimed would pollute the local air and water and undermine the
local economy.
Part 2 (this part accounts for 50% of the total marks for this
assessment) – do not write more than 1500 words for this question
1. ‘In recent times, there have been no successful prosecutions of
police officers for fatally shooting individuals in the UK, despite
widespread public criticism. Article 2 of the ECHR, the right to life,
is therefore insufficient to prevent the arbitrary killing by state
agents.’
Critically discuss this statement.