Guinea-Bissau’s human rights record to be reviewed by Universal Periodic Review

22 Jan 2015

Guinea-Bissau’s human rights record to be reviewed by Universal Periodic Review

21 January 2015 - Guinea-Bissau's human rights record will be examined by the UN Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group for the second time on Friday 23 January 2015 at Palais des Nations, Geneva.

Guinea-Bissau is one of the 14 States to be reviewed by the UPR Working Group during its upcoming session taking place from 19 to 30 January. Guinea-Bissau's first UPR review took place on 4 May 2010.

The documents on which the reviews are based are: 1) national report - information provided by the State under review 2) information contained in the reports of independent human rights experts and groups, known as the Special Procedures, human rights treaty bodies, and other UN entities; 3) information provided by other stakeholders including national human rights institutions, regional organizations and civil society groups.

Among the issues raised in the above-mentioned documents are: human rights violations in connection with the coup d'état of 2012; creating conditions for governance and institutional stability; combatting discrimination and violence against children; preventing female genital mutilation; tackling discrimination against women and gender based violence; eradicating child labour; combatting transnational organized crime and drug trafficking; reforming the justice system; the fight against impunity; the juvenile justice system; enabling a safe working environment for the media; combatting poverty;; maternal and child mortality rates; strengthening health care and reproductive health services; and ensuring access to education for all children.

The delegation of Guinea-Bissau will be headed by Mr. Fernandes Idelfrides Manuel Gomes, Secretary of State for Cooperation and Communities, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The three country representatives serving as rapporteurs ("troika") for the review of Guinea-Bissau are: Botswana, Estonia and Kazakhstan

The UPR is a unique process which involves a periodic review of the human rights records of all 193 UN Member States. Since its first meeting was held in April 2008, all 193 UN member States have been reviewed during the first UPR cycle and 112 thus far during the second cycle. The second review of States aims to highlight human rights developments in the country since its first review and provides an opportunity for States under review to spell out steps taken to implement recommendations posed during their first reviews.

Source: OHCHR