S/PV.8736 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/2020/155, which contains the text of a draft resolution submitted by the Niger. I wish to draw the attention of Council members to document S/2020/105, 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. The 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 2512 (2020). I shall now give the floor to those members of the Council who wish to make statements after the voting.

The political situation in Guinea-Bissau is concerning, to say the least. That is why the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which the Niger currently has the honour of chairing, is fully mobilized towards a successful resolution to the crisis. In fact, the latest elections and all the ensuing events have led the international community to take note of the swearing in of President Sissoco Embaló. The Niger invites the entire political class to promote the spirit of fair play and to prioritize efforts towards national reconciliation as the best way to ensure a solution to the protracted political crisis, which has had a devastating effect on the country’s socioeconomic situation. My country therefore welcomes the unanimous adoption of resolution 2512 (2020), which we believe to be a balanced text. Through that adoption, the Council is sending a positive signal to the political actors of Guinea-Bissau and expressing its support for ECOWAS and the Group of Five in their tireless efforts to restore stability to the country. Guinea-Bissau’s bilateral and multilateral partners must persevere in their determination to implement the Conakry Agreement and the ECOWAS road map. They must also work to preserve the sanctions regime, in accordance with the spirit of the debate of the Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS, held on 9 February, in order to encourage spoilers to place the best interests of the country’s people above everything else because that is, ultimately, the only goal of the sanctions. With the extension of the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea- Bissau to 31 December and the extension of the mandate of the ECOWAS Mission in Guinea-Bissau, the political actors have an opportunity to resolve their differences through dialogue. To that end, the Niger reiterates the African Union’s call for the joint mobilization of the international community, particularly the United Nations and the European Union, so as to provide further financial support to the mission in order to enable it to continue its operations until the Guinea- Bissau national defence and security forces are able to ensure the country’s security.

The Russian Federation voted in favour of resolution 2512 (2020), which extends the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS). We expect, in line with that document, the restructuring and withdrawal of the mission by 31 December to be carried out gradually and in a responsible manner. The resolution envisages that the United Nations country team, which will take over from UNIOGBIS in 2021, will have all the necessary tools to facilitate the socioeconomic development and normalization of political life in Guinea-Bissau, including the implementation of the relevant Government reforms provided for in the Conakry Agreement and the road map of the Economic Community of West African States. In view of the developments in Guinea-Bissau since the presidential elections, we call on all social and political forces to act responsibly in order to overcome their differences as soon as possible and create conditions conducive to easing the political tensions. The resolution stipulates that in six months, the Council will take concrete steps to review the Security Council sanctions against Guinea-Bissau. In that regard, we would like to emphasize that the restrictive measures imposed in 2012 have nothing to do with the current situation in the country. As was again demonstrated by the recent elections, the armed forces remain out of politics. Constitutional order was restored back in 2015. We can therefore state that the sanctions achieved their objective long ago. Maintaining the sanctions, in the light of the withdrawal of the United Nations presence in the country, is perplexing and could undermine the credibility of the Security Council.

There are no more names inscribed on the list of speakers.