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I.
SUMMARY
Hundreds of thousands of Sierra Leonean
and Liberian refugees along Guinea's border were relocated from the embattled
border area in early 2001 to camps in the interior of the country. While
the organized movement from the border is a welcome and long overdue step,
the long-term safety of the refugees is still under threat.
The refugees are generally faced with the
difficult choice of remaining in Guinea, or returning to Sierra Leone or
Liberia, where serious threats to their safety persist. Some refugees say
they are being asked to choose whether to die in Guinea or at home. If
they stay in Guinea, refugees fear a repeat of last year's outbreak of
harassment and violence at the hands of Guineans who blame them for the
violence at the border. If they return home, they face an uncertain
future, since both Sierra Leone and Liberia remain in a fragile balance
between war and peace. Either choice raises serious protection concerns
for the long-term safety of the refugees.
The likelihood of renewed and escalating
violence in Guinea and the sub-region remains high, as does the risk of
refugees falling victim yet again to this insecurity: a situation that
they are acutely aware of. Many of these refugees have already suffered
violence and abuse repeatedly. They originally fled horrific civil war
atrocities in their home countries. As refugees in Guinea, they are
victim to cross-border attacks by the very forces they sought to flee.
They are also subject to anti-refugee violence and harassment at the hands
of Guineans.
Over the past few years, cross-border attacks
between Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone have escalated. The fighting
between varying alliances of government and rebel forces threatens to drag
the entire sub-region into a widening circle of war. Heightened security
in Guinea is evident, particularly in the border area. A state of emergency
is in effect at the border and military checkpoints have increased. The
Guinean government, which has generously hosted many of these refugees
for over a decade, is becoming increasingly hostile to their presence;
in part, due to legitimate concerns about the threats to national security
posed by attacks from Sierra Leone and Liberia, but also for reasons of
domestic politics.
Attention by the Office of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Guinea has largely been focused
on a program to relocate the refugees from the border area to new camps
in the interior, in operations completed at the end of May 2001. While
the relocation process is a major step towards assuring the security and
protection of the refugees, there are a number of human rights issues that
will continue to remain of concern.
Refugees remain vulnerable to abuses by
the Guinean authorities on the road, in towns, and in their camps. Human
Rights Watch believes that UNHCR, the Guinean government, and donor governments
should focus on a number of human rights issues in following up the recently
completed relocation process. These include:
· Improper Screening of Refugees
for the Presence of Rebels: Unsubstantiated accusations of rebel association
by the authorities, with no means of appeal or recourse, remain a major
problem for refugees.
· Harassment, Extortion, and Obstacles
to Free Movement: Refugees are routinely subjected to abuses, particularly
at checkpoints, including beatings, strip searches, extortion, sexual assault,
arbitrary arrest and detention, and widespread intimidation.
· Arbitrary Arrests and Poor
Prison Conditions: Refugees have been held in Guinean detention facilities
in Forecariah, Guéckédou, and Kissidougou, often without
charge or trial, and some have been subjected to torture and summary executions.
Refugees who are accused of rebel affiliation and arrested are held in
poor conditions, physically mistreated, and denied due process of law.
Refugees can be held for weeks or even months without being charged, and
without any real evidence or specific complaint against them.
· Inadequate Registration
and Identity Documentation: The abuses that refugees encounter at the hands
of the authorities are exacerbated by the absence of a standard form of
identity documentation for refugees in Guinea. The Guinean government and
UNHCR currently issue no official documents to identify refugees.
· Insufficient Attention to Refugees
Remaining in the Border Area: UNHCR ended its principal assistance programs
to the border area at the end of May 2001 after completing the relocation
program. UNHCR has stated its intent to try to continue as much as possible
to assure protection to remaining refugees and new arrivals at the border,
although the insecurity and militarization in the area will make this difficult.
Many refugees are choosing to stay, although violence is likely to erupt
in the area again. They are reluctant to leave the area where many have
lived for a decade, are well integrated, and have strong cultural ties
with the local community. Others believe that the border will give them
a possible escape route if they are threatened with renewed Guinean anti-refugee
violence. It is difficult to know what will happen to these refugees, particularly
since violence is likely to erupt in the area again, but their welfare
must continue to be of concern to UNHCR.
The Guinean government has legitimate
security concerns. The conflicts in neighboring Liberia and Sierra Leone
have, and may again, spill over into Guinea. The Guinean government has
the right to ensure that weapons or rebel fighters are not moving into
the interior of the country. However, indiscriminate harassment, extortion,
arbitrary arrests, and the lack of due process procedures for refugees
accused of being rebels remains a serious problem for both Guinean national
security and accused refugees alike. While national security issues are
clearly a priority for any government, Human Rights Watch believes that
long-term security interests are best served through the implementation
of mechanisms that uphold the rule of law. Ultimately, indiscriminately
criminalizing refugees and violating their human rights does not provide
for the most effective or sustainable security policy.
Due in part to the emergency nature of
the situation, as well as security, logistic, staffing, and financial constraints,
the protection of refugees in Guinea appears to have received less attention
than necessary from UNHCR and most of its implementing partners. The number
of UNHCR protection officers in Guinea is insufficient, and refugees often
have difficulty in accessing and obtaining the help of UNHCR staff. UNHCR
protection staff in Guinea appear to have a high turnover, are often on
short-term appointments, and some seem unfamiliar with the country and
the sub-region. UNHCR has made a commitment to increase the number of its
staff in Guinea, including protection staff, although these posts have
not yet been filled and deployed. Donor governments have failed to provide
the needed funding for assistance and protection of refugees in Guinea.
Given the situation, it is critical that refugee protection in Guinea be
made an even a stronger priority.
The findings of this report are based on
interviews in Guinea conducted by Human Rights Watch in April 2001, as
well as interviews conducted in Sierra Leone with refugee returnees from
Guinea in February 2001. The interviews were conducted in English or in
Krio using an interpreter.
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