UP CLOSE: GUINEA
Sparking Solidarity: Creating New Networks in Guinea THE PROBLEM: Since its independence in 1958, Guinea has experienced ongoing cycles of violence characterized by massive human rights violations, violent transitions of power and ethnic and political tensions that have been further exacerbated by authoritarian rulers who failed to hold perpetrators accountable and allowed a culture of impunity to flourish. In 2008, a group of military officers, led by Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, seized power immediately after the death of the previous president and established the National Council for Democracy and Development (CNDD), which went on to commit serious human rights abuses. On
September 28, 2009, CNDD forces opened fire on a group of peaceful protestors—a massacre in which 156 civilians were killed and at least 109 women and girls were raped by security forces. The protest that preceded the September 28 Stadium Massacre, as it would come to be known, had been organized by civil society leaders and opposition party leaders to denounce a long delay in holding elections and the military’s refusal to hand over power to civilians. The scale of the violence and the organization of democratic elections in 2010 led to renewed calls for accountability and reparations for survivors, in the hopes of building a more just and stable future. When GIJTR began its work in the country in March 2017, however, CSOs were inexperienced, largely untrusting of one another and almost entirely unfamiliar with transitional justice.
“This exchange was very beneficial for us, personally and collectively. Visiting a country that has been through extreme violence, specifically Apartheid, and that has initiated a transitional justice process to bring healing to the population has been of great help to us Guineans who want to end the ongoing violence in Guinea. I know that this discovery will help us to rectify and fill the gaps in the reconciliation process initiated by the Guinean authorities.”
—GIJTR local partner, Guinea
For GIJTR’s multi-phased project in Guinea, 12 CSO representatives—including survivors and journalists—participated in an exchange program in South Africa with additional participants from across the continent to learn about the successes and challenges of the Truth Commission in South Africa and gain exposure to regional approaches to advocacy, memorialization and truth-telling processes.
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Transforming Transitional Justice: A Decade of Change, Growth & Sustained Impact—A Summary Report
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