Guinée

Declaration under article 3 (2):

The Government of the Republic of Guinea declares that the Republic of Guinea has adopted Act 001/CNT/2012 of 17 January 2012 on the general situation of members of the armed forces. Chapter I on recruitment states:
‘Article 39: Any citizen of Guinean nationality between the ages of 18 and 28 may be recruited to the Guinean armed forces.
Article 40: Recruits must have Guinean nationality, be in possession of their civic rights, have the physical and intellectual capacities required for their duties and be able to read and write.
Article 41: Recruitment to the army shall be by voluntary enlistment. However, in the event of a serious threat to the integrity of the national territory, the army may as an exceptional measure proceed with general mobilization. The arrangements for such mobilization shall be established by decree of the President of the Republic.
Article 42: Recruitment to the Guinean army shall take place each year, in the light of the staffing needs of the armies and units and on the basis of budget forecasts.
For the recruitment of specialists, the Chiefs of Staff and units shall be allowed to select their recruits, who shall be made available to the National Recruitment Board.
Article 43: All recruits shall be hired for an initial two-year contract and sent to infantry training centres for nine months’ joint basic training before joining the various armies and units.
Article 44: Six (6) months before the expiration of the initial contract, each recruit shall appear before the Review Board, which shall decide whether the recruit’s application to enlist is to be accepted. The accepted candidates shall appear before the National Recruitment Board for registration. Arrangements for recruitment to the ranks of career officers and non-commissioned officers shall be specified in the Special Statute.’
On behalf of the Government of the Republic of Guinea, I declare that the above provisions concerning the minimum age for voluntary enlistment in the Guinean armed forces shall be scrupulously and strictly observed.

Upon signature:

The Government of the Republic of Guinea reserves the right to interpret any article of the Convention in the context and taking due account of the sovereignty of Guinea and of its territorial integrity as it applies to the land, space and sea.

The Government of the Republic of Guinea considers that the dispositions of articles V and VII of the Convention on the Non-Applicability of Statutory Limitations to War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity, adopted by the General Assembly on 26 November 1968, make it impossible for a number of States to become parties to the Convention and are therefore of a discriminatory character which is contradictory to the object and aims of this Convention.
The Government of the Republic of Guinea is of the opinion that, in accordance with the principle of sovereign equality of States, the Convention should be open to all States without any discrimination and limitation.

In accordance with the principle whereby all States whose policies are guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations are entitled to become parties to covenants affecting the interests of the international community, the Government of the Republic of Guinea considers that the provisions of article 48, paragraph 1, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights are contrary to the principle of the universality of international treaties and the democratization of international relations.

In accordance with the principle whereby all States whose policies are guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations are entitled to become parties to covenants affecting the interests of the international community, the Government of the Republic of Guinea considers that the provisions of article 26, paragraph 1, of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights are contrary to the principle of the universality of international treaties and the democratization of international relations.
The Government of the Republic of Guinea likewise considers that article 1, paragraph 3, and the provisions of article 14 of that instrument are contrary to the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations, in general, and United Nations resolutions on the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples, in particular.
The above provisions are contrary to the Declaration on Principles of International Law Concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States contained in General Assembly resolution 2625 (XXV), pursuant to which every State has the duty to promote realization of the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples in order to put an end to colonialism.