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TITLE: GUINEA-BISSAU HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1993
DATE: JANUARY 31, 1994
AUTHOR: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
GUINEA-BISSAU
The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is led by General Joao Bernardo
Vieira, who serves as Head of State, President of the Council
of State, Commander in Chief, and General Secretary of the
previously sole legal political party, the African Party for
the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde (PAIGC). In
elections held in June 1989, Vieira, the only candidate, was
elected for a second 5-year term as President. Effective power
and day-to-day decisions rest in the hands of the President and
the Council of State. The Government controls the pace of
political reform and in 1993 formed a National Elections
Commission charged with organizing legislative and presidential
elections in March 1994. In accordance with the 1991
Constitution, it legalized 12 political parties, including the
PAIGC, which are expected to participate in these elections.
Only the PAIGC is represented in the National Assembly.
The national police forces have primary responsibility for
internal security, while the armed forces (FARP) provide for
external security and may be called upon to assist with
internal security in case of emergency. Both institutions are
under the control of the Government and were responsible for
human rights abuses.
The population of 1 million is engaged largely in subsistence
agriculture. There are some exports of cashews, peanuts, and
fish. Following the Government's failed postindependence
efforts to exercise central control over the economy, the PAIGC
started liberalizing the economy in 1986. International
Monetary Fund stabilization and World Bank restructuring
agreements led to some improvement in the economic situation.
However, the economy remained weak due to the lack of monetary
and fiscal control, a small and inexperienced private sector,
and a heavy debt burden.
Although progress was made, notably in legislation providing
for legislative and presidential elections, human rights
remained circumscribed. The Government continued its practices
of arbitrary detentions, physical mistreatment and other forms
of harassment, occasionally targeting supporters of opposition
political parties. Preferring indefinite detention in many
instances, it rarely brings cases before the courts; and thus
is often responsible for the denial of fair trial. Controversy
still surrounds the assassination of a key military commander,
an incident which the Government claims was part of a coup
attempt on March 17. Members of the police and security forces
were rarely tried or punished for abuses.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including
Freedom from:
a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing
In March the commander of the rapid reaction forces, Major
Robalo, was murdered, allegedly by a man named Amadu Mane.
Security forces captured Mane, who remained in prison awaiting
trial at year's end. Government and military officials alleged
opposition party support for the killing, while opposition
leaders accused the Government of instigating it. The
Government detained some 49 persons for involvement in the
killing (see Section l.d.).
In August the authorities freed seven police officials jailed
in 1992 for involvement in beating to death Ussumane Quade, a
military officer, even though their trial had not concluded.
The Government announced that Quade had committed suicide but
refused to return his body to relatives for burial.
b. Disappearance
There were no known cases of disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment
Although the Constitution prohibits cruel and inhuman
punishment, and evidence obtained through torture or other
coercion is invalid, these constitutional provisions are rarely
enforced. Security and police authorities systematically
employ torture and abusive interrogation methods, usually in
the form of severe beatings, and are rarely punished. Prison
conditions are poor but not life threatening. There were no
reported deaths as a result of imprisonment during 1993. Women
are kept in separate areas within prisons. There were no
reports of rape in prison in 1993.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
In the aftermath of the March 17 case, 49 persons were detained
without charge or trial for 2 months while a military
commission of inquiry investigated. Among the detainees were
the president of one opposition political party and an active
member of another.
In June, following the commencement of closed trials by the
Supreme Military Tribunal, 10 of the detainees, including those
from the opposition, were released from prison, pending the
outcome of charges--not yet specified--placed against them.
Ambiguity surrounded the Tribunal's legal right to detain the
suspects and conduct a commission of inquiry investigation.
During the first 2 months of the detainees' imprisonment, the
Government denied the defendants access to lawyers and family
members, but authorized medical care and visits by the
International Committee of the Red Cross and the Human Rights
League of Guinea-Bissau (LDH).
The legal system provides for procedural rights, such as the
right to counsel, the right to be released if charges are not
brought within a short period of time, and the right to a
speedy trial. However, the judicial system generally fails to
provide adequate protection of these rights.
Security and police forces continue to have the administrative
power to detain suspects without reference to judicial
authority or warrants, occasionally through the device of house
arrest. Once detained, the Government holds persons without
charge or trial for extended periods of time, sometimes
incommunicado. Bail procedures are not routinely observed.
The number of political detainees (pretrial) and prisoners held
at year's end was unknown. Human rights monitors estimated
that 90 percent of the prison population are pretrial detainees
arrested without warrants and imprisoned without charges filed
against them. There were no known cases of exile.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
Traditional law still prevails in most rural areas, and many
urban dwellers bring judicial disputes to traditional
counselors to avoid the costs and problems associated with the
official legal system. With some exceptions, the official
judicial system is based on the Portuguese model, which does
not use juries, and courts are usually composed of three
judges, two assistants, and a presiding officer for a tribunal
of six. Because of low salaries and a lack of training, judges
are sometimes subject to political pressures and corruption.
Defendants have the right to private counsel or may choose to
be represented by a court-appointed attorney who generally
receives no pay. Judges' determination as to who is given
access to accusatory material and witnesses is sometimes
arbitrary.
Trials involving state security are conducted by the Supreme
Military Tribunal and are usually not open to outside
observers. Military courts try all cases involving members of
the armed forces as defendants or accused. The Supreme Court
is the final court of appeal for both civilian and military
cases, except those involving national security matters. In
this instance the Council of State reviews all decisions.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence
The 1991 Constitution provides for the inviolability of
domicile, person, and correspondence, but these rights are not
always respected. Judicial search warrants are seldom
utilized. International and domestic mail may be subject to
surveillance, and police sometimes force entry into private
homes. Membership in the PAIGC, while not required, plays a
role in government appointments and promotion opportunities,
particularly in the interior.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
The Constitution provides for freedom of speech and press. It
states that citizens have the right to express themselves
freely and make public their views by all means available, as
well as having the right to be informed and to inform without
hindrance or discrimination. This right cannot be limited or
hindered by any form of censorship. Citizens openly debated
the attributes of the 12 legalized political parties and their
candidates.
On August 2, by order of the Supreme Military Tribunal, the
authorities arrested opposition leaders Joao Da Costa and Tagne
Na Waie for having violated the conditions of their earlier
release by engaging in political activities, notably by
appearing on a television show and discussing various political
subjects. They were released on August 6 after a brief
appearance before the Supreme Military Tribunal's prosecutor.
The television, radio, and newspapers continue to provide a
relatively balanced selection of public opinion, and opposition
political parties took advantage of their access to television
and radio air time.
All media are owned and controlled by the Government, with the
exception of several opposition party monthly publications and
one irregularly appearing newspaper. Strong criticism of the
Government occurs only in the opposition papers. The
Government's PAIGC party tended to receive greater media
coverage than other political groups. Journalists continued to
practice some self-censorship. One opposition party
unsuccessfully tried to establish its own radio station; it is
not clear whether this initiative failed because of political
or economic considerations.
Academic freedom is observed in schools and research
institutions.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
Although the Constitution provides for freedom of assembly and
association, government approval is required for all assemblies
and demonstrations. Most opposition parties, including several
fledgling political and labor groups, held legal political
rallies. The opposition jointly organized and received
government authorization for a demonstration in February which
was closely supervised but not disturbed by security forces.
There were continued credible reports of the local authorities
verbally harassing opposition elements during rallies in the
interior.
Several new professional, religious, and regionally oriented
associations formed. One new political party was legalized,
bringing the total to 12.
c. Freedom of Religion
Religious freedom is provided for in the Constitution and
respected in practice. Christians, Muslims, and animists
worship freely, and proselytizing is permitted. Religious
groups must be licensed by the Government, but there were no
reports of groups being refused licenses.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign
Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation
In connection with the March 17 case, the authorities ordered
opposition political party members Joao Da Costa and Tagne Na
Waie to remain within the Bissau area unless their travel to
other areas was authorized by the Supreme Military Tribunal.
Foreign travel and emigration are generally not restricted.
Citizens have the right to return and are not subject to
political revocation of their citizenship. There are no
provisions for asylum.
The number of refugees from the Casamance region of southern
Senegal, where Senegalese troops have been fighting Casamance
rebels, increased dramatically between the end of 1992 and
mid-1993, with estimates of at least 14,000 persons, not
including those who remained following fighting in 1990 and
1991. The Government cooperated with international relief
efforts and continued its policy of placing no pressure on
refugees to return to Senegal.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens
to Change Their Government
Although citizens are not free to change their government, slow
progress was made towards democratic and multiparty
presidential and legislative elections, now scheduled for
March 27, 1994. The National Assembly approved changes in the
electoral law, including provisions for secret balloting and
universal suffrage, and named several independent members to
the National Elections Commission which began preparations for
an electoral census and a civic education program.
While the Government consulted opposition parties to a greater
degree than in the past, the Government continued to control
the pace of reform, and the PAIGC-dominated National Assembly
rejected some of the measures unanimously approved by the
multiparty Transitional Commission established in 1992.
Some citizens are disqualified as presidential candidates
because of a controversial new law requiring all candidates to
have parents and at least one grandparent on both the maternal
and paternal sides of the family born in Guinea-Bissau.
Women are inadequately represented in the political process.
Two of 17 Cabinet ministers are women (one is head of the
Ministry for the Advancement of Women). In the National
Assembly, 19 percent of the members are female.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations
of Human Rights
The Human Rights League of Guinea-Bissau (LDH) claims over
3,000 members throughout the country and is the leading
organization for advancing human rights. It is funded by
members' dues as well as by assistance from foreign
nongovernmental organizations and several countries, including
Germany and Sweden. The LDH and international human rights
monitors continued to investigate human rights cases without
overt government interference until May, when the Government
began refusing access to all prisoners on the basis of
allegations of LDH involvement in the alleged March 17 coup
attempt. Members of the LDH reported occasional verbal
harassment by police. The Government did not respond to LDH
reports on mistreatment of prisoners and poor prison
conditions, or to Amnesty International's call for an inquiry
into the death of Ussumane Quade (see Section 1.a.).
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
Disability, Language, or Social Status
Women
While officially prohibited by law, discrimination against
women persists. Women are responsible for the majority of the
work on subsistence farms and have limited access to education,
especially in the rural areas. Women do not have equal access
to employment opportunities, largely due to their level of
education, and because, among certain ethnic groups, women are
prohibited from owning or managing land and inheriting other
property.
Physical violence, including wife beating, is an accepted means
of settling domestic disputes. While police will intervene in
domestic disputes if requested, the Government has not
undertaken specific measures to counter social pressure against
reporting domestic violence, rape, incest, and other
mistreatment of women. Rapes are infrequent.
Children
Government expenditures on children's welfare are inadequate,
but roughly commensurate with total resources available to the
State. There are no known patterns of societal abuses directed
specifically against children.
Within certain ethnic groups, especially the Fulas and
Mandinkas, female genital mutilation (circumcision) is still a
widespread practice and occurs at an early age. It continues
to take place despite official prohibition and educational
campaigns assisted by United Nations organizations which
educate the public about the damaging physical and
psychological aspects of the practice.
People with Disabilities
The law does not specifically prohibit discrimination against
people with disabilities, and in practice persons with
disabilities have unequal access to employment and education.
The State has made some efforts to assist disabled veterans
through pension programs, but these programs do not adequately
address veterans' health, housing, and nutritional needs.
There is no legislation mandating accessibility.
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
The 1991 Constitution grants all workers except military
personnel the freedom to form and join independent trade
unions, and legislation approved in 1991 enumerates the rights
and obligations of new unions. The vast majority of the
population is engaged in subsistence agriculture. Only a small
percentage of workers are in the wage sector and are organized.
There were 11 individual craft unions registered and operating
during 1993. All unions are officially independent of the
Government, but seven unions are affiliated with the National
Trade Union Confederation (UNTG) which still retains close
informal ties to the PAIGC. The four independent unions are
comprised of teachers, transport and communications workers,
judicial employees, and health workers. The law does not favor
UNTG-affiliated unions over others.
The Constitution recognizes the right of workers to strike and
in theory, workers have protection from retribution against
strike activities. The only legal restriction on strikes is
the requirement for prior notice, which must include the
reasons for the strike and its expected duration. There were
no illegal strikes in 1993. Three legal strikes occurred: two
of these resulted in direct negotiations with government
employers that satisfied most of the demands of the striking
employees. A third strike carried out by the Teachers' Union
was not resolved, and despite laws prohibiting such practices,
retribution against strikers took place. Several teachers
supporting the strike lost their jobs or were transferred to
positions of lesser responsibility. Several other labor
disputes were resolved via nonbinding arbitration conducted by
unions or by the Ministry of Public Works, Civil Service, and
Administrative Reform.
All unions legally have and exercise the right to affiliate
freely with national confederations and international labor
organizations of their choice. Unions cultivate contacts with
a wide range of labor organizations worldwide. UNTG is
affiliated with the Organization of African Trade Union Unity.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
The Constitution does not provide for or protect the right to
bargain collectively, and in practice there were no instances
of genuine collective bargaining. Most wages are established
in bilateral negotiations between workers and employers, taking
into consideration the minimum salaries set annually by the
Government's Council of Ministers. Because of the shortage of
wage-paying jobs, however, the employer in many cases is free
to set salaries.
The Government's provision for the protection of workers
against antiunion discrimination has very little effect where
union membership is very low. Despite pressure from the
International Labor Organization, no laws were adopted to
establish penal sanctions against employers practicing such
discrimination.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
Forced or compulsory labor is not permitted by law and not
known to exist.
d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children
The General Labor Act of 1986 established a minimum age of 14
for general factory labor and 18 for heavy or dangerous labor,
including all labor in mines. These minimum age requirements
are generally followed in the small wage sector, but there is
minimal enforcement by inspectors from the Ministry of
Administrative Reform, Civil Service and Labor in other
sectors. Children in the cities are often involved in street
trading, and those in rural communities do domestic and field
work for no pay. The Government does not attempt to discourage
these traditional practices.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
Although not consistently enforced, the Government's Council of
Ministers establishes minimum wage rates for all categories of
work, the lowest of which is the monthly wage of $13.95
(150,000 Pesos), set annually. This wage is inadequate to
maintain even a minimum standard of living, and workers must
supplement their income through other work, reliance on the
extended family, and subsistence agriculture. Although not
enforced, the maximum number of hours in a normal workweek
is 40.
Legal health and safety standards for workers are established
through the cooperation of the unions and the Ministry of
Administrative Reform, Civil Service, and Labor; they are then
adopted into law by the National Assembly. However, these
standards are not enforced, and many persons work in conditions
which endanger their health and safety.
[end of document]
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