Since independence in 1958 Guinea has faced many waves of widespread human rights violations under repressive regimes, with violent flashpoints frequently occurring around elections or in response to protests: ethnic or political targeting and abuses, a culture of impunity, and a lack of reparations to victims. The 2009 protest by the opposition and civil society was against repression and dictatorship. More than 100 demonstrators were killed, women were raped, acts of torture and other crimes were committed during these protests. After more than a decade long wait for the victims, the trial of the perpetrators of the September 28, 2009 stadium massacre opened in 2022 and is currently ongoing in Conakry. 

Alpha Conde was elected president during the country’s first democratic elections in 2010 since its independence in 1958. President Conde established the Provisional Commission on National Reconciliation (CPRN) in 2011 with the mandate to unearth the causes of decades of political and communal violence since independence. The CPRN’s final report was submitted to President Conde in 2016 with 22 recommendations including the establishment of an independent truth-telling commission. However, not much was done to implement the commission’s recommendations. With the most recent coup in 2021, there has been chequered progress on transitional justice issues in Guinea.