III 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 345 

Deploring the rape and assault of women in Guinea and the killing of 

political protesters on September 28, 2009. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 9, 2009 

Mrs. BOXER (for herself, Ms. COLLINS, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Ms. STABENOW, 

Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mrs. LINCOLN, Mrs. HUTCHISON, Ms. LANDRIEU, Mrs. 

FEINSTEIN, Ms. SNOWE, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mrs. MCCASKILL, Mr. CORKER, 

and Mr. LEAHY) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 

to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

NOVEMBER 18, 2009 

Reported by Mr. KERRY, without amendment 

FEBRUARY 22, 2010 

Considered, amended, and agreed to with an amended preamble and an 

amendment to the title 

RESOLUTION 

Deploring the rape and assault of women in Guinea and 

the killing of political protesters on September 28, 2009. 

Whereas, on December 23, 2008, a group of military officers 

calling itself the National Council for Democracy and Development (referred to in this preamble as the ‘‘CNDD’’) 

seized power in a coup in Guinea, installed as interim 

President Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, and promised 

to hold elections; 


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SRES 345 ATS 

Whereas, on September 28, 2009, authorities of the Government of Guinea opened fire on a crowd of thousands of 

unarmed opposition protesters who were gathered in and 

around an outdoor stadium to protest statements made 

by Captain Camara that he may run for president, after 

he said that he would not; 

Whereas, on September 29, 2009, the United States Department of State condemned the brazen and inappropriate 

use of force by the military against civilians in Guinea, 

and demanded the immediate release of opposition leaders and a return to civilian rule as soon as possible; 

Whereas according to the United Nations Security Council 

Report of the International Commission of Inquiry Mandated to Establish the Facts and Circumstances of the 

Events of 28 September 2009 in Guinea, 156 people were 

killed or disappeared and at least 109 women and girls 

‘‘were subjected to rape and other sexual violence, including sexual mutilation and sexual slavery’’; 

Whereas according to Human Rights Watch, these killings 

and assaults were part of a ‘‘premeditated massacre’’ in 

which the ‘‘level, frequency, and brutality of sexual violence that took place at and after the protests strongly 

suggests that it was part of a systematic attempt to terrorize and humiliate the opposition, not just random acts 

by rogue soldiers’’; 

Whereas the United Nations High Commissioner for Human 

Rights characterized the events as a ‘‘blood bath’’ and 

stated that they ‘‘must not become part of the fabric of 

impunity that has enveloped Guinea for decades’’; 

Whereas according to the humanitarian organization CARE, 

‘‘What happened in Guinea is an outrage—and a stark 


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reminder of a larger epidemic of violence against women 

and girls around the world.’’; 

Whereas Amnesty International reports that violence against 

women knows few bounds, and that ‘‘in armed conflicts, 

countless women and girls are raped and sexually abused 

by security forces and opposition groups as an act of war, 

and often face additional violence in refugee camps. Government sponsored violence also exists in peacetime, with 

women assaulted while in police custody, in prison, and 

at the hands of any number of state actors.’’ and that 

‘‘violence against women is a violation of human rights 

that cannot be justified by any political, religious, or cultural claim’’; 

Whereas the International Commission of Inquiry of the 

United Nations concluded that ‘‘the crimes perpetrated 

on 28 September 2009 and in the immediate aftermath 

can be described as crimes against humanity’’ and that 

there is sufficient evidence that Captain Camara ‘‘incurred individual criminal liability and command responsibility for the events that occurred during the attack and 

related events in their immediate aftermath’’; 

Whereas, on January 15, 2010, General Se ́kouba Konate and 

Captain Camara of the Republic of Guinea and President 

Blaise Compaore ́ of Burkina Faso signed the Joint Declaration of Ouagadougou pledging to form a transitional 

government of national unity in Guinea, to hold elections 

within six months without the participation of candidates 

from the military junta, and to permit the entry of an 

international observer mission from the Economic Community of West African States; and 

Whereas, in accordance with the Joint Declaration of 

Ouagadougou, a prime minister from the coalition of opVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:27 Feb 24, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR345.ATS SR345

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position forces, Forces Vives, has been named to the 

transitional government: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) deplores the rape and assault of women and 

3 the killing of political protestors in Guinea; 

4 (2) urges the prosecution, by the appropriate 

5 authorities, of those responsible for orchestrating or 

6 carrying out the violence in Guinea; 

7 (3) urges the President, in coordination with 

8 leaders from the European Union and the African 

9 Union, to continue to consider punitive measures 

10 that could be taken against senior officials in Guinea 

11 found to be complicit in the violence, and in par12 ticular, the atrocities perpetrated against women and 

13 other gross human rights violations; 

14 (4) encourages the President to remain actively 

15 engaged in the political situation in Guinea, and to 

16 continue to convey that the blatant abuse of women 

17 will not be tolerated; 

18 (5) calls on President Blaise Compaore ́ of 

19 Burkina Faso to ensure that Captain Camara does 

20 not return to Guinea in order to allow a peaceful 

21 transition to civilian rule; 

22 (6) notes that the first steps set forth in the 

23 Joint Declaration of Ouagadougou have been initi24 ated with the naming of a prime minister and urges 


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1 all parties to continue to adhere to the agreement to 

2 see the process through free, fair, and timely elec3 tions; and 

4 (7) recognizes the importance of the multilat5 eral observer mission to help ensure peace and secu6 rity in Guinea during the period of transition. 

Æ 


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