Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2006 states that Guinea has "no discriminatory laws based on sexual orientation" (US 6 Mar. 2007, Sec. 5). However, various other sources report that homosexuality is illegal in Guinea (AI 2004; BTM n.d.a; IGLHRC n.d.; World Bank Mar. 2004, 17). In particular, Behind the Mask (BTM) - a Web site providing information on gay and lesbian issues in Africa (n.d.b) - reports that homosexuality is prohibited by means of the following articles of Guinea's Penal Code:

Paragraph 3: Public Indecency

Article 325: Any indecent act or act against nature committed with an individual of the same sex will face three years of imprisonment and a fine of GNF 100 000 [CAD 19.00 (XE.com. 19 Mar. 2007a)] to GNF 1,000,000 [CAD 196.00 (XE.com. 19 Mar. 2007b]

If the act was committed with a minor under 21 years of age, the maximum penalty must be pronounced.

If the act was consummated or attempted with violence, the guilty person will be condemned to five years.

Article 326: A public indecency is defined as any intentional act committed publicly and likely to offend the sentiments of those who are its inadvertent witnesses.

Article 327: Any person that has committed a public indecency will be punished by three months to two years of imprisonment and a fine of GNF 50,000 [CAD 9.00 (XE.com. 19 Mar. 2007c)] to GNF 420,000 [CAD 82.00 (XE.com. 19 Mar. 2007d)] or simply one of these two punishments.

When an indecent act is committed by a group of individuals, the penalties described in the first paragraph of the current article will be doubled. (BTM n.d.)

It was not possible to ascertain the date these articles were passed among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. Nonetheless, the following information may be useful for contextualizing the currency conversions of the fines noted above. The Guinean Franc (GNF) "depreciated sharply" in 2006, according to the United States (US) government (15 Mar. 2007). Moreover, the economy in Guinea is characterized by "desperately low wages and soaring prices," with most people living on less than US 1.00 a day, according to an article published by the news service of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) (3 Mar. 2006).

A book on homophobia published by Amnesty International (AI) - based largely on non-AI sources - corroborates that the maximum prison sentence for engaging in homosexual acts in Guinea is a fine or three years in prison (2004).

No mention of any case in which the punishments outlined in the Penal Code had been applied could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. Furthermore, Country Reports indicates that there are no "official reports" of discrimination against homosexuals (US 6 Mar. 2007 Sec. 5).

Information was scarce on the treatment of homosexuals by government authorities and Guinean society among sources consulted by the Research Directorate. However, according to a working paper published by the Word Bank, homosexuals in Guinea are "sometimes the victims of severe hate crimes" (Mar. 2004, 17). The working paper, which focuses on gender issues as they pertain to HIV/AIDS projects in Africa, further states that, in Guinea, "fear and stigma" are associated with homosexuality (World Bank Mar. 2004, 17). Similarly, Country Reports indicates there are "deep social, religious and cultural taboos" against homosexuality in Guinea (US 6 Mar. 2007 Sec. 5).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Amnesty International (AI). 2004. Vanessa Baird. "National Legislation Around the World on Homosexual Acts." Sex, Love & Homophobia. http://www.amnestyinternational.be/doc/IMG/pdf/Legislation_LGBT_2004.pdf [Accessed 12 Mar. 2007]

Behind the Mask (BTM) [Johannesburg]. N.d.a "About Guinea." http://www.mask.org.za/index.php?page=guinea [Accessed 12 Mar. 2007]

_____. N.d.b "Who We Are." http://www.mask.org.za/index.php?page=whoweare [Accessed 19 Mar. 2007]

International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC). N.d. Where Having Sex is a Crime: Criminalization and Decriminalization of Homosexual Acts (2003). http://www.iglhrc.org/site/iglhrc/content.php?type=1&id=77#Introduction [Accessed 12 Mar. 2007]

United Nations (UN). 3 March 2006. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN). "Guinea: Grinding Poverty Drives Unprecedented General Strike." http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=58318 [Accessed 19 Mar. 2007]

United States (US). 15 March 2007. Central Intelligence Agency. "Guinea." The World Factbook. https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/print/gv.html [Accessed 19 Mar. 2007]

_____. 6 March 2007. "Guinea." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2006. http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2006/78738.htm [Accessed 12 Mar. 2007]

World Bank March 2004. Daniela P. Ligiéro and Kees Kostermans. Integration of Gender Issues in Selected HIV/AIDS Projects in the Africa Region: A Baseline Assessment." http://www.worldbank.org/afr/aids/gom/submanuals/12%20Gender%20HIV-AIDS.pdf [Accessed 12 Mar. 2007]

XE.com. 19 March 2007a. "Universal Currency Converter." http://www.xe.com/ucc/convert.cgi [Accessed 19 Mar. 2007]

_____. 19 March 2007b. "Universal Currency Converter." http://www.xe.com/ucc/convert.cgi [Accessed 19 Mar. 2007]

_____. 19 March 2007c. "Universal Currency Converter." http://www.xe.com/ucc/convert.cgi [Accessed 19 Mar. 2007]

_____. 19 March 2007d. "Universal Currency Converter." http://www.xe.com/ucc/convert.cgi [Accessed 19 Mar. 2007]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral Source: A representative of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) with a specialization in Africa could not provide information.

Internet sites, including: The Advocate, The African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights, AllAfrica.com, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Columbia Law School, Droit Francophone, Freedom House, Gay Times, GlobalLex, Government of Guinea, The Gully, The Human Rights Databank, Human Rights Watch, Norwegian Council for Africa, One World, Population Council, Sodomy Laws, World Law Guide, World Legal Information Institute.