Wayzata World Factbook 1996/The World Factbook - 1996 Edition - Wayzata Technology (3079) (1996).iso/mac/TEXT/HUMANrts/GUINEA_B.TXT

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TITLE:  GUINEA-BISSAU HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES 1994
AUTHOR:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DATE:  FEBRUARY 1995

                         GUINEA-BISSAU


The Republic of Guinea-Bissau held its first multiparty
elections in July and August, electing Joao Bernardo Vieira
President.  Vieira has ruled the country since taking power in
a 1980 coup.  He is also the president of the African Party for
the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde (PAIGC) which
was the only legal political party from independence in 1974
until the 1991 adoption of a multiparty Constitution.  Despite
a few minor irregularities in the first round, international
observers judged the elections free and fair.  The PAIGC won 62
of the 100 seats in the new National Assembly where 4 other
parties are represented.  The Constitution provides for an
independent judiciary.

The police, under the direction of the Ministry of Internal
Administration, called the Ministry of Interior until November,
have primary responsibility for the nation's internal security;
they committed human rights abuses in 1994.  The armed forces
are responsible for external security, and can assist the
police in internal emergencies.

The population of 1 million relies largely on subsistence
agriculture.  Guinea-Bissau has an annual per capita gross
domestic product estimated at $200.  The economy grew in 1994,
with an emerging private sector leading the way.  However, the
economy remains precarious because of the heavy external debt
burden and inadequate tax revenues.

The human rights situation continued to improve, with
multiparty elections and the November installation of a
pluralistic government.  Nevertheless, the police engaged in
intimidation, arbitrary detention, physical mistreatment of
detainees, and occasional harassment of opposition parties.  No
members of the security forces were tried or punished for
abuses.  Societal discrimination against women continued.

RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Section 1  Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including
           Freedom from:

     a.  Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing

There were no reports of political or other extrajudicial
killing.

The 1992 death of Ussumane Quade, an army officer beaten to
death while in police custody, remains unresolved.  Human
rights monitors continue to press for a thorough and impartial
investigation of his death, ostensibly a suicide, but the
police refuse to cooperate.

The March 17, 1993 assassination of the commander of an elite
army unit resulted in conviction and a 15-year prison term for
the confessed killer, Amadou Mane (see also Section 1.e.).

     b.  Disappearance

There were no known cases of disappearance.

     c.  Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading
         Treatment or Punishment

The Constitution prohibits cruel and inhuman punishment, and
evidence obtained through torture or other coercion is
invalid.  However, the Government often ignores these
provisions.  Security and police authorities have historically
employed torture and abusive interrogation methods, usually in
the form of severe beatings or deprivation.  The Government
rarely enforces legal provisions prescribing punishment for
these abuses.

Prison conditions are poor, but generally not life-threatening.

     d.  Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile

The legal system provides for procedural rights, such as the
right to counsel, the right to release if no timely indictment
is brought, and the right to a speedy public trial.  In
practice, the judicial system generally fails to provide these
rights.

Police detain suspects without judicial authority or warrants,
occasionally through the device of house arrest.  The
Government holds detainees without charge or trial for extended
periods of time, sometimes incommunicado.  In February police
detained the president of the National Teachers Union, Luis
Nancassa for 3 days without charges; the police released him
without charge after appeals from a variety of leaders and the
threat of a prolonged teachers' strike.

Human rights monitors estimate that pretrial detainees arrested
without warrants and imprisoned without charges make up 90
percent of the prison population.  The authorities do not
routinely observe bail procedures.

There were no known cases of forced exile.

     e.  Denial of Fair Public Trial

Traditional law still prevails in most rural areas, and urban
dwellers often bring judicial disputes to traditional
counselors to avoid the costs and bureaucratic impediments of
the official legal system.  Police often resolve disputes.

Because of low salaries and poor training, judges are sometimes
subject to political pressures and corruption.  In May,
however, the Supreme Court resisted pressure from a number of
parties and ruled that all eight presidential candidates were
eligible to run.  The system is sometimes capable of providing
fair trial, even in very controversial cases.  For example,
after the police arrested 49 persons, including two prominent
members of opposition political parties for the 1993
assassination of an army officer, an investigation by a joint
military/police commission of inquiry resulted in the police
charging 17 persons with a variety of offenses.  The trials, in
a military court, received wide media attention and were
considered fair.  The court exonerated the two politicians,
sentenced most of the other detainees to terms of 2 to 8 years,
and sentenced the killer, Amadou Mane, to 15 years in prison.
Mane testified that senior security officials compelled him to
accuse the politicians falsely of attempting a coup.

Citizens who cannot afford an attorney have the right to a
court-appointed lawyer.

Under the new constitutional provisions which took effect in
November, military tribunals will only try cases of a strictly
military nature.  Civilian courts will now try state security
cases.  The Supreme Court is the final court of appeal for both
civilian and military cases.  The President has constitutional
authority to grant pardons and reduce sentences.

f.   Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
     Correspondence

The Constitution provides for the inviolability of domicile,
person, and correspondence, but the Government does not always
respect these rights.  The authorities examine international
and domestic mail, the security forces seldom use judicial
warrants, and the police sometimes force entry into private
homes.

Section 2  Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

     a.  Freedom of Speech and Press

The Constitution provides for freedom of speech and the press.
The Government owns and controls the only television station
and the major radio station.  In mid-1994 a station affiliated
with Radio France International began broadcasting under a
bilateral agreement.  At least one opposition political party
has been seeking a radio license since 1993.

There are two regularly published independent newspapers, which
are often critical of the Government, and several opposition
parties and the Human Rights League produce monthly
publications.  However, journalists continued to practice
self-censorship.

Television, radio, and newspapers provided a relatively
balanced selection of public opinion during the July and August
electoral campaign.  All opposition political parties took
advantage of access to television and radio air time.

Academic freedom is observed in schools and research
institutions.

     b.  Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association

The Constitution provides for freedom of assembly and
association.  The Government requires prior approval for all
assemblies and demonstrations but permitted all opposition
political rallies which were requested.  In late July the
Ministry of Interior attempted to constrain opposition efforts
to support a single candidate in the second round of voting by
prohibiting campaign assistance to third parties.  The National
Election Commission overruled the Ministry, and all opposition
parties united behind the presidential candidacy of Dr. Koumba
Yala.  On February 8 police halted and dispersed a protest
march organized by the National Federation of Independent Trade
Unions (see Section 6.a.).

     c.  Freedom of Religion

The Constitution provides for freedom of religion and the
Government respects this right.  While religious groups must be
licensed by the Government, none were refused licenses.
Jehovah's Witnesses began missionary activities in 1994.

     d.  Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign
         Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation

The Government does not restrict movement within the country
and generally does not restrict foreign travel and emigration.
However, the Ministry of Interior used its authority to issue
passports to deny temporarily freedom of movement to one
opposition politician.  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 decreased to an estimated 13,600 as
peace in Senegal's Casamance region encouraged some Senegalese
refugees to return.  The Government 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

For the first time in the country's history, voters were able
to choose their government in multiparty elections judged by
international observers to be free and fair although they
acknowledged irregularities.  The PAIGC, the former ruling and
only legal political party, retained power by winning 62 of the
100 seats in the new National Assembly.  There are 2 opposition
blocs in the legislature, each with 19 seats.  The
Guinea-Bissau Resistance/Bafata Movement elected 19 deputies; 3
other parties joined together to form a second group of 19
deputies.

Women are underrepresented in the political process.  One of
the eight candidates for President in the recent national
elections was a woman.  In the National Assembly 10 of the 100
deputies are women, and they have formed a caucus across party
lines.  Only 2 of the new Cabinet's 25 members are women.

Section 4  Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
           Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations
           of Human Rights

The Government generally did not interfere with the
Guinea-Bissau Human Rights League and international human
rights groups, which continued to investigate human rights
abuses.  However, the police did occasionally harass members of
the League.  In addition, the League's conference on police and
prisoner reform, which was to have featured Adama Dieng,
secretary general of the International Commission of Jurists,
was canceled when the Government prohibited security staff from
attending.

Section 5  Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
           Disability, Language, or Social Status

     Women

Discrimination against women persists although officially
prohibited by law.  Women are responsible for most work on
subsistence farms and have limited access to education,
especially in rural areas.  Women do not have equal access to
employment.  Among certain ethnic groups, women cannot own or
manage land or inherit 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 taken
any measures to counter social pressure against reporting
domestic violence, rape, incest, and other mistreatment of
women.

     Children

Although there is no pattern of societal abuse against
children, within certain ethnic groups, especially the Fulas
and Mandinkas, female genital mutilation (FGM) is widespread.
Despite official prohibition of this practice which
international health experts have condemned as dangerous to
both physical and psychological health, the Government has not
taken effective action to halt FGM.  The Ministry of Public
Health initiated a poster campaign against FGM in 1994.  The
Government allocates only limited resources for children's
welfare and education.

     People with Disabilities

There is no legislation mandating accessibility to buildings or
government services for people with disabilities.

The law does not specifically prohibit discrimination against
people with disabilities, and the Government does not ensure
equal access to employment and education.  The State has made
some effort to assist disabled veterans through pension
programs, but these programs do not adequately address
veterans' health, housing, and food needs.

Section 6  Worker Rights

     a.  The Right of Association

The Constitution provides to all civilian workers the freedom
to form and join independent trade unions.  However, the vast
majority of the population works in subsistence agriculture;
only a small percentage of workers are in the wage sector and
are organized.

The Government registers all labor unions.  There are 11 labor
unions registered and operating.  All unions are officially
independent of the Government, but seven unions are affiliated
with the National Trade Union Confederation (UNTG), which
retains informal ties with the PAIGC.  The law does not favor
UNTG-affiliated unions over others.  The Constitution provides
for the right to strike and protection from retribution against
strike activities.

The only legal restriction on strikes is the requirement for
prior notice, including the reasons for the strike and its
expected duration.  The National Teachers Union conducted the
only legal strike; its grievances were never fully resolved,
and despite laws prohibiting such practices, employers
retaliated against the strikers.  According to union and human
rights monitors, several teachers supporting the strike lost
their jobs or were transferred to positions of lesser
responsibility.  Several other labor disputes were resolved by
nonbinding arbitration conducted by unions or the Ministry of
Public Works, Civil Service and Administrative Reform.

All unions are free to affiliate with national confederations
and international labor organizations of their choice.

     b.  The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

The Constitution does not provide for or protect the right to
bargain collectively, and 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.

The Government's provision for the protection of workers
against antiunion discrimination has little effect where union
membership is low.  The Government did not adopt any laws 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 illegal, and it is not known to
exist.

     d.  Minimum Age for Employment of Children

The General Labor Act of 1986 established a minimum age of 14
years for general factory labor and 18 years for heavy or
dangerous labor, including all labor in mines.  These minimum
age requirements are generally followed in the small wage
sector, but the Ministry of Civil Service and Labor does not
enforce these requirements in other sectors.  Children in
cities often work in street trading, and those in rural
communities do domestic and field work without pay.  The
Government does not attempt to discourage these traditional
practices.

     e.  Acceptable Conditions of Work

The Government's Council of Ministers annually establishes
minimum wages for all categories of work but does not enforce
them.  The lowest monthly wage is less than $10 (140,555
pesos).  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.  The maximum number of hours permitted
in a normal workweek without further compensation is 45, but
the Government does not enforce this provision.

The Ministry of Civil Service and Labor establishes legal
health and safety standards for workers, with the cooperation
of the unions, which are then adopted into law by the National
Assembly.  However, the Government does not enforce these
standards, and many persons work in conditions which endanger
their health and safety.