Guinea-Bissau: Annan calls for peaceful resolution of remaining tensions

After the recent swearing-in of an elected President in Guinea-Bissau following three decades of coups and counter-coups, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called on all political actors and the society at large there to address their remaining differences peacefully through the rule of law.

“The lingering political instability not only hampers further democratic progress, but also drives donors to withhold the assistance the country urgently needs to meet its massive reconstruction and development challenges,” he says in his latest report to the Security Council on developments in the West African country, including the work of the UN Peacebuilding Support Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNOGBIS).

In particular, Mr. Annan calls for all stakeholders to respect the ruling of the Supreme Court, once it is rendered, on the case filed over the constitutionality of the recent governmental changes made by President João Bernardo “Nino” Vieira.

President Vieira issued one decree dismissing the Government and another appointing a new Prime Minister on 2 November saying that tensions within the Government had hampered the functioning of State institutions and weakened their capacity to pay salaries or survive in Parliament.

In his report, Mr. Annan also reiterates the importance of more assistance from the international community for Guinea-Bissau. “Continued support, especially economic and financial assistance, is particularly important if the ongoing stabilization effort to consolidate peace and prevent violence is to succeed,” he says.

The focus of UNOGBIS’s activities since September has been support to national initiatives for security sector reform, according to the report. To that end, an advisory team from the United Kingdom visited the country between 10 and 13 October. In addition, efforts for small arms control and demining are continuing.

The report adds that police operations continue to be hampered by inadequate resources, however, with rising concern over the country’s use as a transit point for drug traffic between South America and Europe. In response, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime plans to conduct an assessment mission in the country.