The office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Guinea-Bissau launches a Public Report on the Right to Participate in Political and Public Affairs in Guinea-Bissau

The report is timely contribution on the Right to Participate in Political and Public Affairs in Guinea-Bissau. The Report reveals that although challenges remain, various achievements and good practices illustrate the commitment of the State and other stakeholders to ensure that the rights to participate in public and political affairs are enjoyed by all on an equal basis. 

The Report prepared by the Human Rights Section of UNIOGBIS, in collaboration with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), covers the period from January 2018 to July 2019, and aims to assist Guinea-Bissau to uphold its obligations to respect, protect and fulfill human rights, enabling the participation in political and public affairs.

The Report builds on information gathered during nine human rights assessment missions to three regions as well as through a series of consultations. The Report recommends the adoption of additional measures to ensure women’s rights to participate in political and public affairs on an equal basis with men,  the adoption of measures to guarantee the enjoyment of the right to peaceful assembly on an equal basis by all, and the integration of human rights and civic education in all public education curricula and the establishment of a National Human Rights Institution in compliance with the Paris Principles.

“Respect for the rights to participate in political and public affairs is crucial to advance human rights and to ensure an environment where democratic governance, human development, political stability and sustainable peace can flourish” said Rosine H. Sori-Coulibaly, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Guinea-Bissau and Head of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS).  “I welcome the gender balance in the  Government appointed on 3 July 2019”, she highlighted while stressing that “It is essential that the State ensures that the rights related to participation in political and public affairs are duly protected and enjoyed by all Bissau-Guinean citizens”.

15 November 2019