"Zogota Massacre: Paris Judicial Court recognises the judgment ordering Guinea to compensate the victims", 8 July 2026

In an unprecedented ruling, the Paris Judicial Court has agreed to recognise a judgment ordering Guinea to compensate the victims of the Zogota massacre, paving the way for the enforcement of that judgment in France. In 2012, protests against iron ore exploration [managed by VBG, a joint venture between Vale and BSG Resources] near the village of Zogota were brutally suppressed, resulting in the deaths of six people...

...In November 2020, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court of Justice ruled that Guinea had breached its international human rights obligations and ordered it to compensate the victims of the massacre. However, Guinea has never executed this judgment and, almost 14 years after the events, the victims have still not received compensation.

Today’s ruling by the Paris Judicial Court now paves the way for this reparation. Following a case brought by the survivors of the massacre, with the support of organisations Sherpa, Les Mêmes Droits pour Tous and Advocates for Community Alternatives, the court ordered the recognition (called exequatur) of the judgment handed down by the ECOWAS Court of Justice in favour of the victims. In other words, this judgment can now be enforced in France in the same way as a French judgment – allowing, in particular, the seizure of Guinean assets on French territory.

This is an unprecedented ruling: it is the first time that a French court has granted exequatur to a judgment handed down by an international human rights court...