Guinea-Bissau
Expected Council Action
In March, the Council expects a briefing by the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Guinea-Bissau, Joseph Mutaboba, on recent developments in the country, including presidential elections scheduled for 18 March to succeed Malam Bacai Sanhá, who died on 9 January. The mandate of the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS) expires on 28 February 2013.
A press statement on the elections is a possibility.
Key Recent Developments
Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs B. Lynn Pascoe briefed the Council on the situation in Guinea-Bissau on 10 January, following the death of President Sanhá in Paris the day before and on an apparent attempted military coup on 26 December 2011. The Council issued a press statement (SC/10521) after the briefing expressing condolences and welcoming Guinea-Bissau’s decision to investigate the coup attempt and to hold accountable those responsible. The statement called on the government to “continue to pursue important reforms for the consolidation of peace and stability in Guinea-Bissau, especially regarding security-sector reform, with particular attention to the launching of the pension fund for members of the armed forces and efforts to counter narcotics trafficking.”
In a statement on 13 January, the Secretary-General encouraged the government, political parties and people of Guinea-Bissau to respect the country’s legal institutions during the transition in order to ensure peaceful, timely and fair presidential elections.
As part of his monthly briefing on emerging issues, Pascoe again briefed the Council on Guinea-Bissau on 10 February, noting the forthcoming presidential elections. That same day, Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Júnior appointed Adiatu Djalo Nandigna as his replacement, allowing Gomes Júnior to focus on his presidential campaign to succeed Sanhá. Nandigna is the first female prime minister of Guinea-Bissau. (Resolution 2030, which renewed the mandate of UNIOGBIS on 21 December 2011, emphasised the important role of women in peacebuilding and called for an improvement in women’s participation in governance.) Gomes Júnior is favoured to win at the polls on 18 March. Nandigna is Gomes Júnior’s campaign manager.
On 3 November 2011, the Council discussed the Secretary-General’s latest report on UNIOGBIS. The Council was briefed by Mutaboba; Ambassador Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti (Brazil), chair of the Guinea-Bissau configuration of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC); and Maria Helena Nosoline Embaló, Guinea-Bissau’s Minister of Economy, Planning and Regional Integration.
The briefing, like the Secretary-General’s report, focused on the uncertain political situation caused by the deep challenges facing the security and rule-of-law sectors and the problems of organised crime and drug trafficking. During the briefing, Embalo noted that her government lacks the technical and financial capacity to ensure the rule of law but that the government is moving forward with its justice-sector reforms, including prison system reform, strengthening criminal justice legislation and tackling transnational crime.
Resolution 2030, adopted on 21 December 2011, noted “threats to national and sub-regional security and stability posed by the growth in illicit drug trafficking and organized crime” in Guinea-Bissau and underlined these and “the fight against impunity” as key “priority sectors for peace consolidation” in the country. The resolution hailed the assistance of the Economic Community of West African States and the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries towards the reform of the defence and security sectors in Guinea-Bissau. The resolution called on the Secretary-General to report back to the Council on progress on these efforts in March and to submit a written report in July and every six months thereafter.
The resolution urged leaders of Guinea-Bissau’s armed forces to respect constitutional order, civilian rule and oversight, and to refrain from interfering in political issues. It further urged the country’s political leaders to refrain from involving the military and the judiciary in politics.
After the resolution was passed, Ambassador João Soares da Gama (Guinea-Bissau), said that his government would do everything possible, with international assistance, to maintain peace, security and the rule of law in the country.
However, the government announced on 26 December—barely five days after the resolution was adopted—that a “small group of soldiers” tried to “topple the top brass of the army and the government” but failed. The incident highlighted the fragility of the country. A significant development afterwards was the arrest of the Chief of Staff of the Navy, Rear Adm. José Américo Bubo Na Tchuto, who is believed to be the mastermind of previous coups. Tchuto is also believed to be the kingpin of drug trafficking in the country (in 2010 the US Treasury froze his assets). It appears that his arrest has somewhat calmed the political and military situation in the country.
Key Issues
The key issues for the Council remain reform of the security and the rule of law sectors, as well as issues relating to organised crime, in particular drug and child trafficking.
A related issue is the perception of entrenched impunity, since some senior army officers suspected of being involved in a bloody coup in 2009 remain in powerful positions.
An important issue down the line is to prepare for an eventual transition from UNIOGBIS to a UN country team.
Underlying Issues
The case of Tchuto epitomises two key underlying problems facing the peacebuilding process in Guinea Bissau: the threat posed to civil authority by the armed forces and the widespread sense of impunity for senior military officers. A military court tried Tchulo briefly for the political assassinations of 2009, but in May 2010 the case was inexplicably closed. Shortly after, in October 2010, Tchuto was promoted.
Options
Options for the Council include:
- issuing a press statement on the March election;
- addressing key extant issues such as impunity and lack of civilian oversight of the military; or
- taking no action and awaiting the written report from the Secretary-General on UNIOGBIS in July.
Council Dynamics
Togo replaced Nigeria as lead on Guinea-Bissau in the Council in January. Guinea- Bissau remains of interest to most Council members because it is an unhappy confluence of several key global anxieties: international narcotics trafficking and organised crime, issues relating to impunity and the rule of law and militarism. There is a broad consensus in the Council that because of the fluidity of the situation in the country, the civilian government of Guinea-Bissau needs international support to combat these various scourges.
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Security Council Resolution |
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Secretary-General’s Report |
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Press Statements |
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Meeting Records |
Other Relevant Facts
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Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNIOGBIS |
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Joseph Mutaboba (Rwanda) |
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Duration |
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1 January 2010 to present; mandate expires 28 February 2013 |
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Chair of the Sierra Leone Configuration of the PBC |
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Brazil |
