U.S. Mission to International
Organizations in Geneva

As delivered by Charles Bentley

The United States welcomes the Bissau-Guinean delegation to the UPR Working Group and notes Guinea-Bissau’s recent peaceful, free, and fair elections.

We recommend that Guinea-Bissau:

1. Appoint and empower a prison ombudsman to address complaints of inhumane treatment and poor conditions in prisons and detention centers.
2. Pass legislation to define child abuse as a specific crime with appropriate criminal penalties.
3. Increase efforts to vigorously investigate, prosecute, and convict individuals responsible for or complicit in trafficking in persons, including child sex tourism within the Bijagos Islands.

We remain concerned about reports of inhumane prison conditions, as well as impunity for individuals engaged in child abuse and trafficking in persons, including child sex tourism.  We call on the government to pass or strengthen legislation to address and impose strict penalties for these crimes.