S/PV.6105 Security Council

The President (spoke in Spanish): The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. The Council is meeting in accordance with the understanding reached in its prior consultations. Members of the Council have before them document S/2009/169, which contains the report of the Secretary-General on developments in Guinea-Bissau and on the activities of the United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office in that country. Following consultations among members of the Security Council, I have been authorized to make the following statement on behalf of the Council. "The Security Council recalls its previous statements on Guinea-Bissau and notes the latest report of the Secretary-General on developments in Guinea-Bissau and on the activities of the United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNOBGIS)(S/2009/169). The Council reaffirms its support for the continuing efforts to consolidate peace in that country. "The Security Council welcomes the swearing-in as interim President of Guinea- Bissau of Mr. Raimundo Pereira and notes with satisfaction the commitment of the new authorities to maintain the constitutional order, following the assassinations of the President of Guinea-Bissau, Joao Bernardo Vieira, and of the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, Tagme Na Waie, and to deepen national consensus on the transition and the electoral process. "The Security Council also welcomes the convening of the presidential election for 28 June 2009 and urges the Government and all political actors to create the best conditions for the holding of a free, fair, transparent and credible presidential election. It welcomes the assistance already provided by bilateral and multilateral partners to support the electoral budget, and calls upon the donors to continue to provide technical and financial assistance for the electoral process. "The Security Council takes note of the final communique of the 26th Meeting of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Mediation and Security Council expressing the need to deploy military and police contingents to ensure the protection of the republican institutions, the authorities, as well as the electoral process in Guinea-Bissau. In this regard, the Security Council invites ECOWAS to work in coordination with the Government of Guinea-Bissau. "The Security Council condemns recent cases of arbitrary detentions, armed attacks and intimidation, and demands full protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms of the people of Guinea-Bissau. It urges the Armed Forces leadership to ensure that its commitment to abide by the civilian authorities and respect constitutional order is fully honoured. "The Security Council stresses the importance of national reconciliation and the fight against impunity in Guinea-Bissau, and calls on the international community to support the Commission of Inquiry established to investigate the assassinations of the President and of the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces. "The Security Council reiterates the importance of security sector reform (SSR) in Guinea-Bissau, and in this regard urges the international partners to continue to support the implementation of the quick-impact projects. It welcomes the convening of a round table on Guinea-Bissau's Security Sector Reform with a View to follow up the coordination and the implementation of the identified projects and programmes on SSR, to be held in Praia, Cape Verde, on 20 April 2009. "The Security Council remains seriously concerned by the growth in illegal drug trafficking as well as transnational organized crime in Guinea-Bissau and in the subregion. It commends the joint action of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Department of Political Affairs/UNOWA, the 09-29863 Department of Peacekeeping Operations and INTERPOL to help implement the ECOWAS Plan of Action against drug trafficking. It calls upon the international community to continue to support the implementation of the Guinea-Bissau anti-narcotics operational plan, as well as of the ECOWAS Plan ofAction. "The Security Council calls on the international community to provide timely and adequate support for the implementation of the Strategic Peacebuilding Framework adopted by the Peacebuilding Commission. It looks forward to a sustainable mobilization of resources for economic reconstruction and peace consolidation in Guinea-Bissau. "The Security Council reiterates the importance of the regional dimension in the resolution of the problems faced by Guinea- Bissau and, in this regard, welcomes the role of the African Union, ECOWAS, the CPLP and the European Union in the peacebuilding process. 09-2986} "The Security Council commends the Representative of the Secretary-General and the staff of UNOGBIS, as well as the United Nations country team and the Peacebuilding Commission country-specific configuration on Guinea-Bissau for their contribution to peace, democracy and the rule of law in Guinea-Bissau. The Security Council reiterates that it looks forward to receiving recommendations from the Secretary- General on how the United Nations presence in Guinea-Bissau should be reconfigured to support peacebuilding more effectively." This statement will be issued as a document of the Security Council under the symbol S/PRST/2009/6. The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on its agenda. The meeting rose at 12.40 p.m.