Guinea : Two Years After the Enforced Disappearance of Oumar Sylla and Mamadou Billo Bah, the Guinean Authorities Must Finally Be Held Accountable
Joint Statement
Two years after the enforced disappearance of Oumar Sylla, known as « Foniké Menguè », National Coordinator of the National Front for the Defence of the Constitution (FNDC), and Mamadou Billo Bah, another leading figure of the citizens' movement and National Coordinator of Tournons La Page Guinea (TLP-Guinea), our organisations remain deeply concerned by the complete absence of truth and justice in this case.
On the night of 9 July 2024, the two human rights defenders were abducted from Oumar Sylla's home in Conakry by armed men whom numerous witnesses identified as members of the Guinean defence and security forces. Since then, no credible information has been provided regarding their fate or whereabouts. Despite the relentless efforts of their families, lawyers, human rights organisations, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), and several related UN mechanisms, the Guinean authorities continue to refuse to provide the answers they are obliged to give under both national and international law.
The enforced disappearance of Oumar Sylla and Mamadou Billo Bah remains an ongoing human rights violation. As long as the authorities refuse to establish the truth, the violation continues.
Beyond the daily anguish inflicted on their loved ones, this situation has become a particularly alarming symbol of the gradual erosion of the rule of law in Guinea.
A Stalled Investigation and a Failing Justice System
The absence of any judicial progress raises serious questions about the genuine willingness of the Guinean authorities to uncover the truth. Although the circumstances surrounding the abduction have been extensively documented and substantial evidence points to the involvement of State agents, no independent, impartial, thorough and transparent investigation has succeeded in identifying those responsible or determining the victims' fate.
The families continue to be deprived of essential information, while government authorities merely refer to an ongoing judicial investigation without any concrete results or even a public update ever being released by the competent judicial authorities. Even more troubling, no credible explanation has been provided to the victims' families or their lawyers regarding the investigative steps allegedly undertaken by the judiciary.
This inaction fuels a climate of impunity that seriously undermines confidence in Guinea's judicial institutions. It also sends a deeply troubling message to perpetrators of human rights violations : that it is possible to abduct, forcibly disappear and silence critical voices without being held accountable.
Abductions and Enforced Disappearances Are Becoming Normalised
The case of Oumar Sylla and Mamadou Billo Bah is unfortunately no longer an isolated one. In recent months, numerous political opponents, journalists, human rights defenders and relatives of government critics have been subjected to abductions, arbitrary detention, acts of violence or enforced disappearances under circumstances involving, or strongly suggesting the involvement of, State agents.
The abduction of opposition figure Néné Oussou Diallo, the disappearance of journalist Habib Marouane Camara, the violence inflicted on activist Abdoul Sacko and lawyer Mohamed Traoré, the abductions targeting relatives of singer Elie Kamano and of journalist Babila Keita's father, together with several other recent cases, all point to a deeply worrying trend. To date, more than a dozen individuals linked to opposition to the current authorities have disappeared after being abducted.
Against a backdrop of continuous restrictions on fundamental freedoms since the September 2021 coup d'état—including the dissolution of citizens' movements, independent media outlets and major political parties, as well as the repression of peaceful demonstrations—abductions and enforced disappearances have now become a recurring tool of political control and intimidation.
This development is extremely dangerous. When individuals can be abducted with complete impunity, society as a whole is placed under threat. Fear gradually replaces public debate, self-censorship replaces freedom of expression, and impunity becomes the norm. Our organisations refuse to allow enforced disappearances to become a normalised practice in Guinea.
Two Years of Silence, Two Years of Impunity
The second anniversary of the enforced disappearance of Oumar Sylla and Mamadou Billo Bah must not mark the beginning of oblivion. On the contrary, it underscores the urgent need for the Guinean authorities to comply with their international obligations, guarantee the families' right to the truth, and put an end to the impunity surrounding this case.
The Guinean authorities bear the primary responsibility for protecting the fundamental rights of everyone living within their territory. They are also under an obligation to prevent enforced disappearances, investigate them and prosecute those responsible. Two years after the events, they have still failed to fulfil these obligations.
Our organisations call on the Guinean authorities to :
- Immediately disclose all information in their possession regarding the fate and whereabouts of Oumar Sylla and Mamadou Billo Bah ;
- Ensure an independent, impartial, effective and transparent investigation into their disappearance, with the support of independent international experts ;
- Identify and prosecute the direct perpetrators, those who ordered these crimes, and all superiors responsible for these violations ;
- Guarantee the protection of the victims' families, witnesses, lawyers and human rights defenders engaged in the search for truth ;
- Put an end to abductions, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention and all other forms of repression and intimidation targeting political opponents, journalists and civil society actors ;
- Strengthen judicial independence and ensure effective respect for the rule of law ;
- Ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and recognise the competence of the United Nations Committee on Enforced Disappearances.
Our organisations also call on Guinea's international partners, particularly the European Union and France, to :
- Make truth and justice for Oumar Sylla and Mamadou Billo Bah a priority in their relations with the Guinean authorities and systematically raise this case during all bilateral diplomatic engagements ;
- Publicly condemn all enforced disappearances, abductions and attacks on civic space in Guinea ;
- Ensure that the protection of human rights, fundamental freedoms and the fight against enforced disappearances remain central to their engagement with the Guinean authorities ;
- Actively support calls for an independent, impartial and credible investigation into the enforced disappearance of Oumar Sylla and Mamadou Billo Bah ;
- Ensure that any political, security, military or financial cooperation with the Guinean authorities is conditional upon respect for human rights, the fight against impunity, and tangible progress in establishing the truth concerning enforced disappearances.
Two years after their disappearance, our organisations reaffirm their solidarity with the families of Oumar Sylla and Mamadou Billo Bah. As long as their fate remains unknown, and as long as those responsible are neither identified nor brought to justice, we will continue to demand the truth.
Signatory organisations :
- Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture (ACAT-France)
- African Defenders (Pan African Human Rights Defenders Network)
- French Democratic Confederation of Labor (CFDT)
- Research and Information Center for Development (CRID)
- International Federation of ACATs (FIACAT)
- International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), as part of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
- Front Line Defenders
- Human Rights Foundation (HRF)
- Human Rights Watch (HRW)
- World Organization Against Torture (OMCT), as part of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
- Tournons La Page (TLP)
