Sanctions against Guinea
Background to the sanctions against Guinea
Guinea´s President Lasana Conté, who had been in office since 1984, died at the end of 2008. The military took control by means of a coup led by Captain Moussa Dadis Camara. The military junta was made up of 32 members of the National Council for Democracy and Development (NCDD). The coup was condemned by the international community. The African Union (AU) then suspended Guinea´s membership of the organisation until such time as the country is governed in accordance with the constitution. In addition, at the beginning of 2009 the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) announced that until further notice, Guinea would not be permitted to take part in the organisation´s meetings.
Dissatisfaction with the military regime increased in Guinea, and on 28 September 2009 some 50 000 people gathered to protest the fact that coup leader Camara would be a candidate in the presidential elections. Security forces opened fire and, according to estimates, more than 150 people were killed and 1 250 injured. Other serious human rights violations, such as mass rape, also took place. The violence during the gathering of the opposition was strongly condemned by the international community. In December 2009, Camara was shot and injured by one of his close associates.
An international contact group on Guinea (ICG-G) (which in addition to ECOWAS also includes representatives of the AU, the UN and the EU) met regularly and played an important role in achieving an agreement on a transitional government in early 2010. It was led by Jean-Marie Doré and implemented a first round of presidential elections in June 2010. The second round of elections in November was won by Alpha Condé. A parliamentary election is expected to take place in December 2011.
The EU introduces sanctions
In October 2009 the Council of the European Union adopted a Common Position, which introduced travel restrictions for members of Guinea´s military junta, as well as for persons associated with the junta and who are guilty of violations in connection with the demonstration in September, or who paralyse the political process towards democratic governance. The Common Position also introduced an arms embargo in relation to Guinea. In December 2009 the EU decided to expand the sanctions against Guinea to include freezing the assets of persons upon whom travel restrictions were previously imposed, and also added new names to the list. The possibility of freezing the assets of legal persons and entities associated with these persons was also introduced. The arms embargo was supplemented with a ban on providing financial or technical assistance in connection with prohibited arms exports. The categories of sanctions pertaining to EU law were later the subject of an EU regulation. In October 2010 the EU adopted a Council Decision to extend the restrictive measures by one year to October 2011. This decision updates and replaces the previous common position. After the presidential election in November, discussions were started within the EU to gradually lift the restrictive measures in connection with the parliamentary election expected to take place in 2011. The positive trend in Guinea after the presidential election led to a decision by the EU in March 2011 to ease the restrictive measures directed at individuals. At present, five people who have been identified by an international commission of inquiry as responsible for the events in September 2009 are subject to the EU restrictive measures. In October 2011, the EU resolved to introduce certain exemptions from the arms embargo concerning non-lethal equipment in favour of the Guinean authorities and their maintenance of public order and safety.
