Guinea-Bissau
Expected Council Action
In November the Council is expected to consider the next report of the Secretary-General on the UN Peacebuilding Support Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNOGBIS). (The mandate of UNOGBIS expires on 31 December. It will be succeeded by the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS) with an initial mandate period of 12 months, as authorised in June by resolution 1876.)
Key Recent Developments
Political violence against high-profile personalities in Guinea-Bissau resurged on 5 June when armed men killed presidential candidate Baciro Dabό and Helder , a former government minister and member of parliament, as well as his driver and a bodyguard. The local authorities later said that both politicians had been resisting arrest over involvement in an alleged coup attempt. (These killings followed the assassination of the president and head of the army in March.)
On 9 June the Council issued a press statement:
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expressing concern over the resurgence of political violence and condemning the killings;
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calling on the government of Guinea-Bissau to bring to justice those responsible for those violent acts and emphasising the importance of the fight against impunity in Guinea-Bissau; and
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calling on the international community to work closely with the government to support the investigations into the pattern of killings of high-profile personalities in the country, and to ensure the holding of free, fair and transparent presidential elections.
(Similar condemnations of the assassinations came from the Secretary-General, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the AU, the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP) and the EU.)
On 23 June the Council was briefed by the head of UNOGBIS, Joseph Mutaboba, on the Secretary-General’s report on the mission and the political and military tensions in the wake of the March and June assassinations. Mutaboba indicated that there was widespread scepticism in the country over reports that Dabό and Proença were killed because they resisted arrest during an alleged coup attempt on 5 June. He indicated that six individuals were detained at different military facilities in Bissau in relation to the alleged June coup attempt, and that they included the director of the intelligence services “because he refused to sign the intelligence communiqué of 5 June on the existence of a coup attempt.”
Mutaboba urged the Council to support the Secretary-General’s recommendations for the establishment of an integrated UN peacebuilding office to succeed UNOGBIS. He said that this would ensure effective coordination, through the facility of the office, of the hitherto various and separate strategies and programmes between the UN agencies, funds and programmes, between the UN and international donors and between the integrated office, ECOWAS, and other UN missions in the subregion.
The chair of the PBC’s Guinea-Bissau configuration, Ambassador Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti of Brazil, briefed the Council. She also advised on the need for continued peacebuilding engagement before and after the presidential elections, which were held in June.
On 26 June the Council adopted resolution 1876 extending the mandate of UNOGBIS until 31 December. The Council requested the Secretary-General to establish UNIOGBIS for an initial period of 12 months after that. The mandate of UNIOGBIS will include:
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assisting the PBC “in its work in addressing critical peacebuilding needs in Guinea-Bissau”;
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strengthening the capacities of national institutions in order to maintain constitutional order, public security and the full respect for the rule of law;
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assisting national authorities to combat drug trafficking and organised crime, human trafficking, as well as efforts to curb the proliferation of small arms and light weapons; and
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enhancing cooperation with the AU, ECOWAS, the CPLP, the EU and other partners in their efforts to contribute to the stabilisation of Guinea-Bissau.
The Council also requested the Secretary-General to develop a strategic work plan with appropriate benchmarks to measure and track progress on the implementation of the mandate of UNIOGBIS in his next report, and to inform it every four months on progress with establishing the UNIOGBIS, with the first report due by 31 October.
On 28 June presidential elections were held in Guinea-Bissau. Malam Bacai Sanhá of the governing African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) and Kumba Yalá of the opposition Social Renewal Party (PRS) won the highest number of votes during the first round of votes, but neither achieved an outright majority.
After a run-off on 26 July, Sanhá was declared the winner with 63 percent of the votes. He was inaugurated as president of Guinea-Bissau on 8 September.
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Developments in the Peacebuilding Commission The chair of the Guinea-Bissau configuration visited the country to attend the inauguration of Sanhá on 8 September and subsequently reported to the Commission on the outcome of her visit, saying a window of opportunity arising from the peaceful elections existed in Guinea-Bissau and that it merited increased international assistance. The PBC’s work to assess progress with the country’s integrated peacebuilding framework was put on hold until its biannual assessment of the situation in the country originally scheduled for June, in order to focus on other immediate priorities like the successful holding of new presidential elections. However, at press time, the biannual assessment had not yet been held but a review process had been started in the country by national authorities and UNOGBIS regarding the country’s peacebuilding priorities. There was also an ongoing information gathering exercise by the country-specific configuration from its members in New York to review the implementation of PBC commitments regarding the country. (This process is expected to end in mid-December, following the configuration’s upcoming annual field trip to Guinea-Bissau.) |
Key Issues
The key issues for the Council include:
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the transition from UNOGBIS to UNIOGBIS;
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the fragile security and political situation in the country;
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the progress which the newly elected government is making in establishing a stable environment; and
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the issues of impunity addressed in its June statement.
Options
Options for Council action in November include:
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a statement giving encouragement to the new government and urging action on the issues raised in its June statement; and
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waiting to see how the situation consolidates with perhaps a statement in December or January to mark the termination of the UNOGBIS mandate.
Council Dynamics
The unanimous decision to transform UNOGBIS into an integrated UN mission has displayed Council members’ support for the concept. This past year’s dramatic political violence and major challenges in Guinea-Bissau, as well the additional functions that the new mission is expected to assume, galvanised the Council into adopting the resolution without dissent.
Looking ahead, Brazil, an incoming member of the Council for 2010-2011, is expected to again take the lead on this issue in the Council given its leading role as a member of the CPLP and the chair of the PBC country-specific configuration for Guinea-Bissau. Burkina Faso is the current lead country but is leaving the Council at the end of this year.
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Selected Security Council Resolution |
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Selected Presidential Statements |
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Selected Letters |
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Selected Report on UNOGBIS |
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PBC Documents |
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Other |
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Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNOGBIS |
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Joseph Mutaboba (Rwanda) |
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Size of UNOGBIS Staff |
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27, including international and local civilians, military advisers and a police adviser |
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Duration |
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3 March 1999 to present; mandate expires on 31 December 2009. |
