UN envoy tasks int'l community on atrocities in Guinea

New York, US (PANA) - The UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Ms. Margot Wallstrom, has urged the international community not to forget the deadly violence which ravaged Guinea in September 2009, noting that while justice in the country had been delayed, it could not be denied.

In a statement issued Wednesday in New York, following her visit last week to the West African country, Wallstrom said; "the atrocities, including mass rapes, committed on 28 September, 2009, against peaceful protesters in the capital, Conakry, had `shocked the world'."

She stated: "Its legacy is far from over. There remains today an urgent need to assist the survivors and bring the perpetrators to justice," disclosing that, "in 2009, at least 150 Guineans were killed and many others raped after armed forces opened fire on unarmed demonstrators at an opposition rally in Conakry."

The statement noted that Wallstrom met with survivours, representatives of victims’ associations and senior government officials.

The UN envoy, however, welcomed the Guinean government’s commitment to fighting impunity and preventing sexual violence, noting that, "the UN will continue to monitor the situation” in Guinea and “anywhere else that sexual violence may occur".

She also added that, "the atrocities that occurred on 28 September, 2009, must never be forgotten and never be repeated."

PANA learnt that Wallstrom is currently on a three-country trip to West Africa, visiting Guinea, Sierra Leone and Cote d’Ivoire on issues relating to sexual violence in conflicts.
-0- PANA AA/BOS 23Nov2011