CAT/C/GIN/CO/1
(g)
The establishment in August 2012 of a special police unit to deal with
trafficking in persons.
C.
Principal subjects of concern and recommendations
Definition and criminalization of torture
7.
Notwithstanding the preparation by the Legislative Reform Commission of draft
revised texts of the Criminal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Military Justice
Code which incorporate the definition of torture as set out in article 1 of the Convention,
the Committee remains concerned at the fact that no definition of torture as such is
contained anywhere in Guinea’s domestic law. The Committee is also extremely concerned
that such acts are not yet considered to constitute criminal offences in themselves but are
criminalized only when they constitute an aggravating circumstance in the context of
another criminal offence, as stipulated in article 287 of the Guinean Criminal Code (arts. 1
and 4).
The Committee urges the State party to fill all gaps in its legislation where acts of
torture and ill-treatment are concerned, so that any person committing such an act,
whether perpetrator or accomplice, shall be personally held responsible before the
law, subject to criminal prosecution and duly punished. It therefore strongly urges the
State party to ensure that the Reform Commission revises legislation with a view to
making an act of torture or ill-treatment a separate criminal offence, with a view to
incorporating a definition of torture that is consistent with article 1 of the Convention.
Furthermore, in the light of the Committee’s general comment No. 2 (2007) on the
implementation of article 2 by States parties, the Committee is of the view that
“serious discrepancies between the Convention’s definition and that incorporated into
domestic law create actual or potential loopholes for impunity”. The State party
should also ensure that the penalties provided in this regard are proportional to the
seriousness of the acts committed.
Absolute prohibition of torture
8.
While taking note of article 6 of the Constitution, the Committee deeply regrets the
absence of any specific legal provision providing for an absolute ban on torture and illtreatment, which no exceptional circumstance of any kind, be it a state of war or the threat
of war, internal political instability or any other state of emergency, can justify. It likewise
regrets the absence of any provision regarding the non-applicability of the statute of
limitations to the crime of torture (art. 2).
The State party should:
(a)
Establish, in law, an absolute and specific prohibition against torture
and inhuman and degrading treatment;
(b)
Establish in law the non-applicability of the statute of limitations to the
crime of torture;
(c)
Clearly and publicly reaffirm the absolute, non-derogable and intangible
nature of the ban on torture.
Generalized practice of torture
9.
The Committee is deeply concerned by credible reports of acts of torture and illtreatment practised in such places as facilities for the deprivation of liberty and especially
in gendarmeries and military detention camps. The Committee is particularly concerned by
credible reports provided in connection with the cases of the following persons:
GE.14-05766
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