S/PV.6915 Security Council

I should like to take this opportunity to pay tribute, on behalf of the Council, to His Excellency Mr. Mohammad Masood Khan, Permanent Representative of Pakistan, for his service as President of the Security Council for the month of January 2013. I am sure I speak for all members of the Council in expressing deep appreciation to Ambassador Khan and his team for the great diplomatic skill with which they conducted the Council’s business last month. Adoption of the agenda

Under rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I invite the representatives of Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique to participate in this meeting. Under rule 39 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I invite Mr. Tayé-Brook Zerihoun, Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, to participate in this meeting. Under rule 39 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I invite Ambassador Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, Permanent Representative of Brazil, in her capacity as the Chair of the Guinea-Bissau configuration of the Peacebuilding Commission, to participate in this meeting. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. I wish to draw the attention of Council members to document S/2013/26, which contains the report of the Secretary-General on developments in Guinea-Bissau and on the activities of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in that country. I now give the floor to Mr. Zerihoun. Mr. Zerihoun: I wish to thank you, Mr. President, for this opportunity to introduce the Secretary- General’s report on developments in Guinea-Bissau and on the activities of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in that country (UNIOGBIS) (S/2013/26). The progress report that is before the Security Council provides an update on major developments in the country and on the progress made by UNIOGBIS in the implementation of its mandate. There have been some political developments since the report was issued, on 11 January, and I would like to take this opportunity to update the Council on some of them. Following a meeting of its Central Committee on 13 January, the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) decided to sign the political transition pact and the political agreement signed between the junta and 17 political parties on 16 and 18 May. Subsequently, on 17 January, the PAIGC and four other political parties — the Democratic Alliance, the Democratic Convergence Party, the New Democracy Party and the United Social Democratic Party — also signed those transitional instruments, which, it will be recalled, they had rejected the previous May. Since then, the PAIGC has appealed to the Transitional President, Serifo Nhamadjo, and the international community to rapidly facilitate the formation of an inclusive transitional Government emanating from the Parliament. The signing should facilitate the Parliamentary Commission’s review of the political transition pact and the political agreement, as well as the drafting of a new transitional regime pact. It is also expected to facilitate consensus on a transitional road map that would, inter alia, clarify the revised modalities for the transition, including its duration, as well as the timeline for the presidential and legislative elections and the voter registration system. It is also important for the people of Guinea-Bissau to arrive at a consensus on the remaining national priorities during the transition and to create an environment conducive to peaceful elections and long-term stability after the elections are completed. The Central Committee of the PAIGC, which remains the major political party in Parliament, also agreed on 13 January that the party’s ordinary congress should be convened in May 2013 to elect new leadership. The former Executive Secretary of the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries (CPLP), Mr. Domingos Simões Pereira, and the former Minister of Public Administration and Civil Service in the deposed Government, Mr. Aristides Ocante da Silva, have since officially announced their candidatures. The deposed Prime Minister, Mr. Carlos Gomes Júnior, has also hinted at his intention to run for leadership of the party. Notwithstanding the positive efforts to ensure inclusiveness in the transition process, impunity remains a major problem. There is a general atmosphere of fear within the population arising from the recent cases of beatings, torture and intimidation that continue to restrict freedom of assembly and of information. So far, none of the individuals involved in the killings and beatings that followed the attack on the Bissalanca air force base in Bissau on 21 October have been brought to justice, although investigations into the alleged counter- coup have reportedly been concluded and submitted to the Military Court. Visits by UNIOGBIS to prisons and detention centres have confirmed inadequate detention conditions and detainees’ lack of access to medical care, food and water. The mission has advised the Ministry of Justice of the situation. At the regional level, following their extraordinary summit on 19 January in Abidjan, the Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) expressed their commitment to accompanying Guinea-Bissau in accomplishing the tasks of the transition process, including urgent multisectoral reforms and the holding of inclusive, free, fair and transparent elections in the course of the transition. They directed the President of the ECOWAS Commission to take all the appropriate measures to expedite action to commence the implementation of the defence and security sector reform programme. They also reiterated their call on the African Union to urgently consider the recognition of the ongoing transition and the lifting of sanctions against Guinea- Bissau, and urged the United Nations, the CPLP, the European Union (EU) and other international partners to resume cooperation with Guinea-Bissau and support efforts aimed at ensuring a more inclusive transition in the country. Council members will recall that a joint African Union-CPLP-ECOWAS-EU-United Nations assessment mission visited Bissau between 16 and 21 December. At a consultative meeting on the situation in Guinea- Bissau held in Addis Ababa on 26 January, on the margins of the African Union Summit, senior officials representing the five organizations agreed that the report of the mission should be submitted to the relevant organs of their respective organizations, in order to promote convergence in their appreciation of the progress made, and to enhance prospects for coordinated contributions to the resolution of the crisis in Guinea-Bissau. The Secretary-General looks forward to receiving the mission’s recommendations, and the United Nations stands ready to cooperate with its partners in implementing initiatives conducive to sustainable solutions to the crisis, consistent with international standards and principles. The new Special Representative of the Secretary- General for Guinea-Bissau and Head of UNIOGBIS, Mr. José Ramos-Horta, will arrive in Bissau to assume his duties in the next few days. He has commenced consultations with the relevant international stakeholders, including the CPLP and ECOWAS member States. The conclusions of the review exercise being carried out by the United Nations family to help address the key drivers of instability in Guinea-Bissau will inform the work of the new Special Representative as he continues his consultations with national and international stakeholders. As recommended by the Secretary-General in his report to the Council, Mr. Ramos-Horta will also conduct an assessment of the situation in Guinea-Bissau and, together with the United Nations country team and other relevant actors, will formulate proposals for the mandate of UNIOGBIS. That exercise should be finalized by the completion of the three-month extension of UNIOGBIS’s mandate requested by the Secretary-General. The continued lack of civilian control and oversight over the defence and security forces and the continuing attempts by some politicians to manipulate the military for sectarian benefit remain matters of grave concern. They hamper the effective functioning of State institutions and highlight the urgent need to radically change the way in which politics is conducted in the country, as well as the imperative need for fundamental reform of the defence, security and judicial sectors. Moving forward, stakeholders must make progress, through the Parliamentary Commission, on developing consensus on a national road map for the transition. That should entail the formation of an inclusive transitional Government and the steps necessary to ensure a peaceful transition, fair and transparent presidential and legislative elections and stability during the post- election period. Progress will further depend on the sustained political will of national stakeholders and a spirit of compromise and genuine inclusion. The finalization of such a road map will undoubtedly encourage international partners to support national efforts. While the restoration of constitutional order in Guinea-Bissau through credible elections remains the key priority for the country, it is also essential that the international community support efforts aimed at combating impunity during the transition period and in the medium and longer terms if stability is to be sustainable. UNIOGBIS and its leadership are committed to assisting Guinea-Bissau both in those efforts and in the long-term reconciliation process. In support of national efforts to address the key drivers of instability, the United Nations system has initiated a review of its work in the country with the aim of realigning its interventions in the areas of State-building and peacebuilding. That exercise will be informed by the final recommendations of the joint AU-CPLP-ECOWAS-EU-United Nations assessment mission, especially with respect to the implementation of security sector reform, the fight against drug trafficking and organized crime, and addressing impunity, human rights violations and the deteriorating socioeconomic situation. The joint assessment mission has facilitated the way for Guinea-Bissau’s regional and international partners to enhance mutual cooperation and to work together in support of the country’s stability. It is our hope that that momentum will yield positive results as the international community pursues its efforts to contribute to the restoration of constitutional order in Guinea-Bissau, the promotion of inclusive dialogue and civilian oversight of the security and defence institutions, as well as the functioning of legitimate State institutions and an end to impunity. Only then can Guinea-Bissau have an opportunity to reverse decades of instability, unconstitutional change of Government, gross human rights abuses and impunity — and hopefully usher in a new era where there will be respect for the rule of law and for human and political rights, as well as opportunities for social and economic development.

I thank Mr. Zerihoun for his briefing. I now give the floor to Mrs. Ribeiro Viotti. Mrs. Ribeiro Viotti: I thank you, Mr. President, for convening this briefing and for inviting me to brief the Security Council in my capacity as Chair of the Guinea-Bissau configuration of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC). I should like to welcome the Permanent Representative of Mozambique, in his capacity as Chair of the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries (CPLP); the Permanent Representative of Côte d’Ivoire, in his capacity as Chair of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS); and the Permanent Representative of Guinea-Bissau, Ambassador João Soares Da Gama. I also thank Assistant Secretary-General Tayé- Brook Zerihoun for his briefing today. I take this opportunity to convey, through him, our appreciation for the excellent work carried out by the outgoing Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Guinea- Bissau, Mr. Joseph Mutaboba. I wish also to express our satisfaction at the nomination of Mr. José Ramos-Horta as Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Guinea-Bissau. His wisdom, experience and political stature are invaluable assets for the work of the United Nations on the ground at this critical juncture. We look forward to close cooperation with Mr. José Ramos- Horta. Almost 10 months on from the coup d’état of 12 April, Guinea-Bissau continues to face significant challenges, which need to be addressed in 2013. Although it is the primary responsibility of Guinea-Bissau’s political leaders and people to demonstrate the will to overcome the current situation and to move towards a rapid and sustainable return to constitutional order, the country will continue to need the assistance of the United Nations, including the Peacebuilding Commission, in close coordination with Guinea-Bissau’s international partners, to further those goals. Holding free, fair and transparent presidential and legislative elections in a timely manner and promoting the necessary reforms to sustain stability and spur development are urgent tasks that will require international support. National ownership and mutual accountability are key principles for any country’s engagement with the Peacebuilding Commission. Unfortunately, the 12 April coup d’état in Bissau has affected the work that the PBC was carrying out. The progress that had been made on several fronts was interrupted. The absence of consensual national counterparts with whom the configuration could interact on a regular basis has limited the Commission’s work. Those difficulties notwithstanding, the Guinea- Bissau configuration continues to follow closely the situation in the country. I have striven to facilitate dialogue among the main international partners, in particular ECOWAS and the CPLP, to enable concerted action in addressing the challenges in Guinea-Bissau. At the request of the Permanent Mission of Guinea- Bissau, a meeting of the configuration took place on the margins of the General Assembly on 27 September 2012, during which Interim President Raimundo Pereira and Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Júnior briefed the configuration on developments in Guinea-Bissau. A further meeting of the configuration is being planned for the second half of February in order to receive briefings on the African Union-CPLP- ECOWAS-European Union-United Nations joint assessment mission to Bissau in December 2012. The continued lack of civilian control over the military, drug trafficking, impunity, economic deterioration and human rights violations are daunting challenges that Guinea-Bissau currently faces. In the past few weeks, steps have been taken by the political parties to revise the political transition pact and the political agreement signed last May, and draft a new transitional regime pact that would serve as the new framework for the return to constitutional order. Those are developments that may signal movement in a positive direction. The African Union-CPLP-ECOWAS-European Union-United Nations joint assessment mission to Bissau last December was a welcome initiative. Those five partners also met on 26 January in Addis Ababa on the margins of the African Union Summit to discuss the situation in Guinea-Bissau and the way forward. We hope that such meetings will enable Guinea-Bissau’s main international partners to get together on a common platform in order to help Guinea-Bissau move swiftly towards the restoration of constitutional order. We sincerely hope that the recent dialogue among national stakeholders will lead to a more inclusive transitional arrangement. As it has been said before, that arrangement should be inclusive and acceptable to all parties concerned in order to lead the country back to constitutional order, thus enabling the re-engagement of international partners with Guinea-Bissau. Finally, the appointment of Mr. José Ramos-Horta as Special Representative of the Secretary-General augurs well and brings new impetus to our common efforts to help Guinea-Bissau overcome the current crisis. I had the chance to exchange views with Mr. Ramos-Horta on the situation in Guinea-Bissau a few weeks ago. The configuration looks forward to productive cooperation and close interaction with him in the weeks and months to come. Finding a path out of the crisis in Guinea-Bissau requires that all national stakeholders solve their disputes through dialogue. National reconciliation has to take root domestically. Only then can the international community fully and effectively re-engage, confident that it is supporting a nationally owned and inclusive process. The United Nations, the PBC and the wider international community can only play a supporting role. The lead must come from legitimate authorities that represent the people of Guinea-Bissau as a whole. But even then, huge challenges will remain and the road to sustainable peace and development will be arduous. The Guinea-Bissau configuration remains committed to help the country on that path, with a view to achieving political stability, consolidating peace and furthering its social and economic development.

I thank Mrs. Ribeiro Viotti for her briefing. I now give the floor to the representative of Côte D’Ivoire.

I have the honour to take the floor on behalf of the 15 States members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). We would like to extend our congratuations to you, Mr. President, on the Republic of Korea’s assumption of the presidency of the Security Council for this month. ECOWAS welcomes the excellent report of the Secretary-General (S/2013/26) on the situation in Guinea-Bissau. There have been numerous developments in the situation in Guinea-Bissau since the adoption of resolution 2048 (2012). On 21 October 2012 there was a major incident at the Bissalanca air force base in Bissau, which appeared to be a forcible coup. The Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS firmly condemned that attempt to destabilize the Transitional Government. On 7 November 2012, we attended the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Guinea-Bissau and ECOWAS with a view to implementing the reform of the defence and security sectors. Furthermore, we would note that on 29 November 2012, the ECOWAS Mission in Guinea-Bissau reached its full strength of 677 personnel, comprising troops, police and civilians. At the economic level, in 2012 the falling price of cashew nuts, Guinea-Bissau’s main export, caused a drop in the economic growth rate to less than 1 per cent, contrary to the initial forecast of 4.5 per cent. Given the resulting budget deficit, the Transitional Government therefore received various budget assistance, in particular $5.5 million from the West African Economic and Monetary Union, $10.6 million from the Federal Republic of Nigeria and $2 million from the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire. I would now like to recall the historic meeting between the President of the Transitional Government, Serifo Nhamadjo, and the former President of Guinea- Bissau, Mr. Raimundo Pereira, both representing Guinea-Bissau parties at the highest level, which took place here in New York and inspired great hope. That meeting, it should be recalled, was convened at the initiative of the African Union, in close cooperation with ECOWAS and the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries (CPLP), on Saturday, 29 September 2012 at the headquarters of the African Union Mission in New York. At the end of that critical meeting the two parties approved an initiative to send a joint mission to Guinea-Bissau, comprising officials of the African Union, ECOWAS, the CPLP, the United Nations and the European Union. The Peace and Security Council of the African Union supported that initiative at its meeting of 2 November 2012, as did ECOWAS at its extraordinary session in Abuja on 11 November 2012. In that context, the joint mission visited Guinea-Bissau from 16 to 21 November 2012. Specifically, the mission had the following objectives: first, to assess the political and security situation on the ground; secondly, to examine the underlying causes of the recurring crises in Guinea- Bissau; thirdly, to study the possibilities for a consensus among the partner organizations on Guinea-Bissau on the way forward; fourthly, to facilitate the establishment of a series of recommendations on the best ways and means for the organizations concerned to work together in order to assist Guinea-Bissau in overcoming the challenges facing it in the short, medium and long term; and fifthly, to make recommendations on the establishment of an appropriate follow-up mechanism. As the Assistant Secretary-General said, in Guinea-Bissau, the mission met the authorities, in particular the interim President, the Prime Minister and the Ministers for Foreign Affairs, Defence, the Interior and Justice, as well as other officials of the Transitional Government. The mission also met the Bureau of the People’s National Assembly and the Parliamentary Commission, tasked with amending the transitional pact and the political agreement recently concluded by ECOWAS. The joint mission then met with the Office of the National Electoral Commission. It met with the various political parties, both those supporting the current transition and those not participating in it, members of civil society, including women’s groups, traditional and religious leaders, socio-professional bodies, businessmen, lawyers and journalists. Finally, the joint mission met members of the Guinea-Bissau diplomatic community. As the Assistant Secretary-General said, the report of the joint mission has not yet been endorsed by the appropriate bodies. However, now we have some information that I would like to share with the Council. First, a direct dialogue among the parties, including the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), has been established with a view to concluding a transitional pact. That means that the political process is acceptable to all parties and is therefore irreversible. The Parliamentary Commission, under the chairmanship of the PAIGC, has been established to review the transitional road map and, in particular, to propose new realistic dates for the holding of general elections. ECOWAS welcomes the appointment of Mr. José Ramos-Hortas, former Head of State of Timor-Leste and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. That appointment is very timely given the important coordinating role that the United Nations must play in the concerted pursuit of solutions to the crisis. I would like to take this opportunity to pay the greatest tribute to him and his predecessor, Mr. Joseph Mutaboba, whom we commend. ECOWAS looks forward to the new Special Representative, who is due to assume his duties in February, coordinating and invigorating the new momentum of the international community’s concerted action, established by the joint mission. We therefore welcome the recommendation of the Secretary-General in paragraph 53 of his report (S/2013/26), which provides for the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS) to be extended for three months, until 31 May. ECOWAS hopes that the new Special Representative will be able to visit West Africa and Guinea-Bissau in order to make all necessary contacts in the subregion and to collect the views of the main stakeholders. On the basis of the conclusions of that trip to the subregion, of course, the Special Representative may propose an adjustment of the United Nations mandate in Guinea-Bissau to the Secretary-General. That new mandate, we believe, should encourage the option of establishing a common strategy of the United Nations, the African Union, the European Union, ECOWAS and the CPLP in order to resolve the crisis in Guinea-Bissau. In that regard, I would like to underscore that the new Special Representative has already begun to make contact with people at all levels so as to successfully discharge his duties. Such steps are of course supported and agreed to by ECOWAS. ECOWAS maintains that it is high time to work together to strengthen coordination among all stakeholders and to climb down from extreme positions, which to date have not allowed the international community to speak with one voice on the situation in Guinea-Bissau. In that regard, ECOWAS is of the view that it would be in the interests of peace for the Transitional Government in Guinea-Bissau to be recognized and for development partners to be able to resume their cooperation with that country. I would like to conclude by affirming loud and clear that West Africa greatly needs peace and stability in order to develop the subregion’s economic potential. That can happen only if the situation in Guinea-Bissau is resolved once and for all in a sustainable way, all the more since the subregion is suffering from the situation in Mali, which threatens not only West Africa but also international peace and security.

I now give the floor to the representative of Mozambique.

First of all, I would like to congratulate you, Sir, on assuming the presidency of the Security Council for the month of February. I also thank you for the opportunity given to Mozambique to deliver a statement before this important organ in its capacity as Chair of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP) and as my own country at this briefing on the situation in Guinea-Bissau. The Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries welcomes the report of the Secretary-General, which covers the latest developments in Guinea-Bissau and the activities of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in that country (S/2013/26). In that regard, we greatly appreciate the efforts of the United Nations and the wider international community to secure a sustainable and durable solution to the crises that the country has long faced. We recognize and encourage the role of the Peacebuilding Commission and the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau in that process. We remain particularly concerned about the internal situation in Guinea-Bissau since the coup d’état of 12 April 2012, which interrupted the country’s path towards the consolidation of peace, democracy and stability. Bearing that in mind, the Community of Portuguese-speaking countries has placed the search for a credible, inclusive and durable solution to the crisis in Guinea-Bissau high on its agenda. The situation in Guinea-Bissau represents a major issue in the cooperation between the CPLP and the United Nations. The full implementation of resolution 2048 (2012) will be decisive in promoting the restoration of constitutional order in Guinea-Bissau. We advocate for the implementation of the resolution, as it provides the legal framework for international partners of Guinea- Bissau — in particular the United Nations, the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the CPLP and European Union — to strengthen cooperation towards a consensual, inclusive and nationally owned transition process. It is in that context that we commend the work done by the joint assessment mission under the auspices of the African Union, which brought together ECOWAS, the European Union, the United Nations and the CPLP and was conducted in December 2012. We look forward to the validation of the recommendations contained in the report of the joint assessment mission as guiding principles that will inform the positive role of the international community in assisting the people of Guinea-Bissau as they chart a new course to take their country out of its deplorable current situation. We also support the development of a comprehensive and integrated strategy to deal with the critical and immediate challenges facing Guinea-Bissau, namely, by implementing defence and security sector reform and political and economic reforms, combating drug trafficking and fighting impunity. We believe that the right and the main responsibility to overcome its challenges and achieve sustainable solutions lie with the people of Guinea-Bissau themselves. The international community can only play a complementary role in assisting the people of Guinea-Bissau in that effort, to which the CPLP will continue to contribute constructively. In that regard, we welcome the recent parliamentary agreement between the two main parties, the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde and the Party for Social Renewal, aimed at setting up a truly inclusive and consensus-based transition. That is a welcome and important preliminary step towards the establishment of an inclusive framework that will be crucial for the preparation for elections and a return to constitutional order. We commend the people of that sister country for their endeavours to consolidate the foundations for internal dialogue, notwithstanding the prevailing situation in Guinea-Bissau. We hope that the dialogue will pave the way for national reconciliation, which is so essential to attaining long-lasting peace, stability and development. We take this opportunity to congratulate Mr. José Ramos Horta, former President of Timor-Leste, on his appointment to the post of Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Guinea-Bissau, and we assure him of our full support. We are confident that he will contribute to creating positive momentum among both internal and international stakeholders, thus fulfilling the role that the United Nations wants to play in that country. We also support the extension of the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau for a period of three months and are confident that President Ramos Horta will provide the Secretary-General with a thorough assessment of the situation, leading to a new mandate for the Office in May. In conclusion, I reaffirm the full commitment of the CPLP member States to work closely with all the relevant partners and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Guinea-Bissau to find a sustainable solution for the crisis in that 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.