Methodology

The report is based primarily on research conducted by two Human Rights Watch staff in Conakry between June 18 and June 29, 2012.

During the mission, staff conducted approximately 25 interviews in French and English with Guinean government officials, including in the Justice Ministry; practitioners with knowledge of the September 28, 2009 investigation, including judges, prosecutors, lawyers, and legal support staff; international partners, including Western diplomats, United Nations officials, and NGO staff; and Guinean civil society members, journalists, and victims.

Between July 2012 and November 2012, staff conducted additional interviews in French and English in New York and by telephone with United Nations officials, Western and West African diplomats, International Criminal Court officials, and Guinean government officials, along with obtaining further information through email exchanges.

Guinea’s justice minister was not in the country when Human Rights Watch staff conducted research there in June 2012. Human Rights Watch researchers sent a letter to the minister in September 2012 to obtain information from him on issues detailed in this report. At time of writing, the justice minister had not yet responded to the letter.

Many individuals interviewed wanted to speak candidly, but did not wish to be cited by name, citing the sensitivity of the issues discussed. As a result, generic descriptions of all interviewees are used throughout the report to respect the confidentiality of these sources.

In October and November 2012, Human Rights Watch circulated an earlier version of this report in English around diplomatic meetings in New York and The Hague where delegates discussed the ICC’s complementarity principle.