S/PV.6743 Security Council

I thank Mr. Mutaboba for his briefing. I now give the floor to Mrs. Viotti. Mrs. Viotti: I thank you, Mr. President, for the invitation to brief the Security Council in my capacity as Chair of the Guinea-Bissau configuration of the Peacebuilding Commission. I would also like to thank the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Mr. Joseph Mutaboba, for his briefing and for his work as Head of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS). I also welcome the presence among us of His Excellency Ambassador João Soares Da Gama, Permanent Representative of Guinea-Bissau. Since I last briefed the Council, Guinea-Bissau has made important strides towards sustainable peace. During the past months, the country’s institutions have been able to maintain political stability and sustain economic growth. They have also managed to withstand two potentially destabilizing events, which occurred a few days apart: the incident of 26 December 2011 and the demise of President Malam Bacai Sanhá, on 9 January. The national authorities and the people of Guinea-Bissau overcame those difficult moments with political maturity and in full respect of the relevant provisions of the country’s Constitution. When facing the unexpected challenge of dealing with the presidential succession, the national leadership opted for steering the process in an inclusive and consultative manner. Interim President Raimundo Pereira opened up broad consultations with all political forces, including the opposition. In accordance with the Constitution, he scheduled the polls within 60 days of the President’s demise, notwithstanding the huge logistical and financial challenges that that decision entailed. The Guinea-Bissau configuration has endeavoured to extend immediate and concrete support to the country at this most delicate juncture. It met on 6 February to exchange views and to promote support and resource mobilization for the elections. The international community’s timely and generous response has demonstrated its confidence in Guinea-Bissau during these challenging times. According to electoral observers, including from the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States and the Community of Portuguese- speaking Countries, the first round of the presidential elections was considered to have been free, fair and transparent. It is crucial now that all stakeholders, especially the two run-off candidates and their supporters, demonstrate political maturity, maintain a peaceful environment and refrain from any action that could lead to unnecessary tension. It is important that electoral grievances be resolved through legally established channels, with full respect for the rule of law. While supporting Guinea-Bissau in its efforts to hold the anticipated elections, the configuration has not lost sight of other peacebuilding priorities, such as security sector reform. The launch of the pension fund for the armed forces and the security forces remains one of the highest priorities for peace consolidation and stability in the country. It is very important that the new Government, once installed, pursue the launch and implementation of the fund as a matter of priority. As I highlighted in previous briefings, an area in which Guinea-Bissau has certainly made remarkable strides is macroeconomic management and economic revitalization. This month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) conducted the fourth review of the country’s performance under the Extended Credit Facility, as approved in May 2010. The mission concluded that Guinea-Bissau had made further progress in stabilizing its economy, reaching a growth rate of 5.3 per cent and meeting most structural benchmarks. The IMF team encouraged the Government to pursue its reform efforts and noted that political stability and improved security would be critical for sustained economic growth. As the international community, we must continue to support Guinea-Bissau so that such achievements can help to create a virtuous cycle of stability and growth. That is why sustained efforts also need to be geared towards other peacebuilding priorities, among which is capacity-building to strengthen the justice sector, to consolidate the rule of law and to fight drug trafficking, as well as initiatives that address social challenges, including critical shortcomings in the delivery of basic social services and the creation of opportunities for youth employment and empowerment. We look forward to the successful and peaceful completion of the current electoral process and to continuing our proactive engagement with the new authorities on our joint peacebuilding agenda.

I thank Mrs. Viotti for her briefing. I now give the floor to the representative of Guinea-Bissau.

Allow me, first of all, to express my sincere thanks for the honour that you grant me, Mr. President, by giving me the floor before Council members, whom we would like to thank for their commitment to and understanding of the situation in our country. We would also like to commend Mr. Joseph Mutaboba, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS), and Mrs. Viotti for their remarkable work towards the peacebuilding and development of Guinea-Bissau. This statement comes at a time when my country, Guinea-Bissau, is in the middle of an electoral period brought about by the passing on 9 January of President Malam Bacai Sanhá, who strove for dialogue, peace and development in Guinea-Bissau. As stipulated in the Constitution, after the death of the President of the Republic, early presidential elections should have taken place within 60 days following a series of internal political consultations so as to respect the will expressed by the country’s various political parties. The Acting President of the Republic set the date of 18 March for the holding of the early presidential elections, thus upholding the Republic’s Constitution. However, the actual organization of those elections was not easy owing to the serious issue of their financing, in particular because of the very short two-month period for their organization and the country’s financial difficulties. But, fortunately, thanks to the resolve of the national authorities and the international community’s tireless commitment to help Guinea-Bissau to pursue the path of strengthening its young democracy and respecting the constitutional order, my country was able to gain the necessary financial and logistical assistance to hold those elections. They took place on 18 March, as planned, preceded by an exemplary electoral and incident-free campaign. As a result, I would like to take the opportunity to reiterate my Government’s gratitude to all countries and organizations that kindly once again stood alongside us during that electoral period. Following the voting, international observers, in particular from the African Union, the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries, the Economic Community of West African States, the West African Economic and Monetary Union, a group of 10 parliamentarians from the United Kingdom and some from the European Union and South Africa, commended the peaceful climate in which the elections took place. They all described them as free, fair and transparent. On 21 March, the National Electoral Commission (NEC) announced the provisional official results of the vote, which placed the former Prime Minister, Mr. Carlos Gomes Júnior, in the lead, with more than 48 per cent of the vote, followed by the former President of the Republic, Mr. Kumba Yalá, with more than 23 per cent of the vote. Given that neither of those two candidates gained more than 50 per cent of the required votes, it is provided for that they go to a second round, which, in principle, will be held towards the end of April. Speaking even before the publication of the provisional results by the NEC, a group of five candidates, including the contender with the second- highest number of votes, made it known that it would not accept the results of the elections, citing irregularities and fraud, and requested that the elections be annulled. Once the provisional results were published, the five candidates lodged an appeal with the NEC on the basis of the same arguments, underscoring, furthermore, the lack of updated electoral registries that included new voters who had reached 18 years of age. At the same time, Mr. Kumba Yalá, as the candidate with the second-highest number of votes, announced that he would not participate in the second round of the election. In that regard, it should be underscored that the NEC issued its decision yesterday, on 27 March, stating that those allegations were ill founded and that that group of candidates had a final recourse to the Supreme Court of Justice, in accordance with the law in force. Despite the slightly tense atmosphere owing to the refusal of Mr. Kumba Yalá, supported by the four other candidates, to participate in the second round, we hope that decisions issued by the competent electoral bodies, namely, the NEC and the Supreme Court of Justice, will be respected and that, in the interests of the country, the people’s will and good sense will prevail and that the second round of elections will indeed take place. Despite the current election challenge, the Government of Guinea-Bissau remains convinced that reform of the defence and security sector is crucial to peacebuilding in the country, and it is its foremost priority. We therefore hope that conditions will be rapidly met so as to move to implementing that reform through the upcoming launch of the special pension fund, which will enable the demobilization process of elements of the armed forces and security forces to start. In that regard, we hope to receive as soon as possible the release of funds pledged by our partners. We also hope that other actors will join us in that step. Nevertheless, I would recall that the Government of Guinea-Bissau, under His Excellency Mr. Carlos Gomes Júnior, with the support of our bilateral and multilateral partners, had to agree to tremendous sacrifices that, to date, have enabled us to see very positive results in terms of the recovery of the national economy and public funds administration, as well as in the areas of infrastructure and combating drug trafficking, among others. National dialogue remains one of Guinea- Bissau’s priorities. In that regard, the National Conference on Reconciliation, which is to bring together political actors, civil society, elements of the defence and security forces, religious leaders and others, set up by President Bacai Sanhá, will indeed take place with the election of the Republic’s new President. That will enable the people of Guinea- Bissau to freely express their opinion and to find a lasting path of understanding on issues affecting our country. I would therefore like to conclude by reiterating my Government’s gratitude to the international community for its tireless support to Guinea-Bissau to date. We ask it to continue to provide its valuable assistance to us in the context of peacebuilding and development in our country.

There are no more names inscribed on the list of speakers. I now invite Council members to informal consultations to continue our discussion on the subject.