7883rd Security Council Meeting: Situation in Guinea-Bissau

Structural causes of instability in Guinea-Bissau must be tackled, top official tells Security Council, urging parties to implement Conakry Accord, at 7883rd meeting.

• Categories: Meetings & Events / Security Council
• Video Length: 00:44:00
• Production Date: 14 February 2017
• Asset Language: Arabic; Chinese; English; French; Russian; Spanish
• Personal Subject: MODIBO TOURÉ
• Corporate Name: UNITED NATIONS INTEGRATED PEACEBUILDING OFFICE IN GUINEA-BISSAU - UNIOGBIS
• Subject Topical: AGREEMENTS
• Geographic Subject: GUINEA-BISSAU
• MAMS Id: 1831127
• Parent Id: 1830743

Description

Discord over Prime Minister’s appointment and interpretation of accord highlighted.

Any breakthrough in the institutional crisis gripping Guinea-Bissau would be short-lived if the structural causes of instability were not addressed, the senior United Nations official in the West African country told the Security Council today, urging national actors to implement the Conakry Agreement signed last year to surmount the political impasse.

Modibo Touré, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS) called for a more sustained and well-coordinated approach going forward. National authorities must focus on reviewing the Constitution and revising both the electoral law and those governing political parties in preparation for the 2018 legislative elections.

Further, he called on Guinea-Bissau’s international partners to press for implementation of the six-point road map brokered by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the subsequent Conakry Agreement. In the absence of a fully functioning Government, it was essential that the United Nations and international financial institutions coordinate efforts towards mitigating risks and socioeconomic vulnerabilities, including through business-for-peace initiatives.

Lewis G. Brown II (Liberia), Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States, said the failure to implement the Conakry Agreement and contentious non-consensual appointment of the Prime Minister were issues of grave concern. To help resolve the crisis, the President of Liberia had led a mission to Guinea-Bissau in November 2016. Its outcome, a final communiqué signed by key stakeholders, focused on the swift and consensual appointment of a Prime Minister and the formation of an all-inclusive Government.

“The message that we bring today is simple,” said Mauro Vieira (Brazil), Chair of the Guinea-Bissau configuration of the Peacebuilding Commission, calling upon all parties to agree on steps that would enable implementation of the six-point road map and the Conakry Agreement. While the overall situation remained stable, local authorities must place the best interests of the people above all other considerations, he stressed.

Soares Sambú, Political Diplomatic Adviser and Special Envoy to Prime Minister Umaro Sissoco Embalo of Guinea-Bissau, reiterated the Government’s commitment to scrupulously uphold the Conakry Agreement, noting that it had acted to include all signatory parties in order to extend the political base. Despite differences among signatories over interpretation of the Agreement, and the persistent “blockage attitude” by Parliament’s Permanent Commission, the Government believed there was still space for discussion and had respected all dialogue mechanisms.

Elbio Rosselli (Uruguay) said the Security Council was fully aware of the difficult political environment and the enormous challenges ahead. However, it was the primary responsibility of authorities in Guinea-Bissau to lead the way, he said, urging UNIOGBIS to help find a sustainable solution.

The meeting began at 10 a.m. and ended at 10:49 a.m.