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Amid
Guinea Bissau
Stand-Off,
“Orchestra” in
UNSC with
Nigeria,
Angola
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
August 12 --
The list of
problems the
UN can't solve
or even impact
grows ever
longer, from Syria
down to Burundi.
But what about
Guinea-Bissau,
now that both
Nigeria (that
is, ECOWAS)
and Angola,
key to the
Portuguese-speaking
alliance CPLP,
are on the
Security
Council?
Inner
City Press put
the question
to the
Council's
president for
August,
Nigeria's Joy
Ogwu. She
called it a
good question,
and said that
now it is like
an “orchestra”
in the
Security
Council on
Guinea Bissau.
In the past,
on the Council
was Portugal -
which is now
threatening to
cut aid to
Guinea Bissau;
still in the
mix is Brazil,
as chair of
the UN
Peacebuilding
Configuration
for
Guinea-Bissau.
Previous UN
envoy Jose
Ramos Horta
has moved on,
to head a
panel on increasingly
discredited UN
Peacekeeping
-- he still
says he's
“alarmed” by
development in
Guinea Bissau,
adding there
is no reason
to dissolve
the
government,
threatened by
President José
Mário Vaz over
the objection
of Prime
Minister
Domingos
Simőes Pereira
among others.
From
the orchestra,
that is, from
the Security
Council, here
was the Press
Statement
Ambassador Joy
Ogwu read out
at the Council
stakeout on
August 12:
The members of
the Security
Council were
briefed on 10
August 2015 by
Tayé-Brook
Zerihoun,
Assistant
Secretary-General
for Political
Affairs, on
the situation
in
Guinea-Bissau.
The members of
the Security
Council took
note of the
ongoing
tension
between (the
President and
the Prime
Minister,
which
threatens to
undermine the
progress made
in
Guinea-Bissau
since the
restoration of
constitutional
order
following
elections in
2014. They
further
underscored
that the
Bissau-Guinean
people deserve
stable,
inclusive and
co-operative
institutions
that act in
the best
interests of
all
Bissau-Guineans.
The members of
the Security
Council call
on all of
Guinea-Bissau’s
political
leadership,
including the
President and
Prime
Minister, to
resume
dialogue in
order to work
together in
the governance
of
Guinea-Bissau
as it emerges
from previous
periods of
instability.
The members of
the Security
Council
re-emphasized
the importance
of political
stakeholders
to engage in
continuous and
constructive
dialogue
within the
established
constitutional
parameters.
The members of
the Security
Council
recalled
resolution
2203 (2015),
and stressed
the importance
of national
reconciliation,
inclusive
dialogue and
good
governance,
and continued
civilian
control of
government as
essential for
the attainment
of lasting
peace in
Guinea-Bissau.
They further
stressed that
the
consolidation
of peace and
stability in
Guinea-Bissau
can only
result from a
consensual,
inclusive and
nationally
owned process
and respect
for
constitutional
order that
places the
Bissau-Guinean
people first.
The members of
the Security
Council
welcomed
ongoing
efforts of
regional and
international
actors,
including,
ECOWAS, the
AU, the UN and
its Guinea
Bissau peace
building
Commission,
the CPLP, and
the EU to
encourage
dialogue among
Guinea-Bissau’s
political
leadership.
They
particularly
welcomed the
efforts of
Senegalese
President
Sall, Guinean
President
Conde, and
Special
Representative
of the
Secretary-General
and Head of
UNIOGBIS
Trovoada in
this regard.
The members of
the Security
Council
recalled the
Council’s
commitment to
support the
authorities of
Guinea-Bissau
and noted that
the pledges
made at the
March 2015,
Brussels
International
Donor
Conference
require a
stable
political
environment in
order to most
effectively
materialize.
The members of
the Security
Council
commended the
peaceful way
Guinea
Bissau's
population,
including,
civil society
and the
military, are
following the
political
situation in
the country.
* * *
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