S/PV.7890 Security Council

The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. Members of the Council have before them document S/2017/153, which contains the text of a draft resolution submitted by Senegal. I wish to draw the attention of Council members to document S/2017/111, which contains the report of the Secretary-General on developments in Guinea-Bissau and the activities of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau. I shall now give the floor to those members of the Council who wish to make statements before the voting.

As the penholder for this topic, the delegation of Senegal welcomes this opportunity to introduce the draft resolution before us (S/2017/153) with a view to extending the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS) until 28 February 2018. My delegation takes this opportunity to thank all the members of the Security Council, express its gratitude for their constructive cooperation and contribution to the negotiations on the draft resolution, with special gratitude to the experts of all delegations. In the draft resolution, the Security Council takes note of the Secretary-General’s report on Guinea- Bissau of 7 February (S/2017/111) and expresses its full support to the Special Representative of the Secretary- General, the Head of UNIOGBIS, Mr. Modibo Ibrahim Touré. Through the draft resolution, the Council endorses the recommendations made by the Department of Political Affairs, which carried out a strategic analysis of UNIOGBIS aimed at refocusing its work on its political capacities, including through support for the good offices and mediation role of the Special Representative, thereby streamlining its management structure through the creation of a single post of deputy special representative for rule of law and deputy head of mission, who would also serve as coordinator. The Council also notes with concern the institutional and political tensions that persist between the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, the Speaker of the National Assembly and other leaders of the political parties. In short, the political impasse would appear to be centred on the political class of Guinea-Bissau. In that context, the Council believes that the security and defence forces must continue to refrain from any involvement in the political situation and welcomes the restraint that they have shown in that regard. It also commends the calm shown by the people of Guinea-Bissau. In the draft resolution, the Council commends the work of the Special Representative of the Secretary- General and all other stakeholders seeking to find a way out of the crisis, in particular the current Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS); Mr. Alpha Condé, in his capacity as ECOWAS Mediator for Guinea-Bissau and President of the African Union; the Special Representative and Head of the African Union Liaison Office in Guinea- Bissau, Ovídio Pequeno; and other participants. In that connection, the Council welcomes the adoption by ECOWAS on 10 September 2016 of the six- point road map it brokered for overcoming the crisis in Guinea-Bissau, and the Conakry Agreement on the road map’s implementation. In the draft resolution, the Council urges all political stakeholders to put the country’s interests first and thereby respect the road map and the Conakry Agreement. With today’s draft resolution, the Security Council also welcomes the contribution of the ECOWAS Mission in Guinea-Bissau (ECOMIB) to ensuring stability in Guinea-Bissau and urges ECOWAS to extend the Mission’s mandate. To that end, the Council asks the bilateral, regional and international partners to consider providing major support to ECOWAS in order to enable it to maintain ECOMIB. The Council also commends the European Union for its major financial support to the Mission and welcomes its willingness to consider options for providing further support. In view of all of this, the Senegal delegation urges the Security Council and its bilateral, regional and international partners to remain engaged in helping Guinea-Bissau to overcome its political impasse, whose main victims continue to be the people of Guinea- Bissau.

The Security Council is ready to proceed to the vote on the draft resolution before it. I shall put the draft resolution to the vote now.

The draft resolution received 15 votes in favour. The draft resolution has been adopted unanimously as resolution 2343 (2017).