PBC remains concerned about situation in Guinea Bissau

New York/Bissau, 26 August 2016 (PBC/UNIOGBIS) - The Guinea-Bissau Configuration of the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) remains concerned about the lack of progress in finding a lasting solution to the political and institutional deadlock in Guinea-Bissau.

26 Aug 2016

PBC remains concerned about situation in Guinea Bissau

The PBC believes that this stalemate severely hampers the country’s ability to sustain stability and provide satisfying services to its population, reads a Note to Correspondents issued today.

The PBC says it supports the various efforts made by international and regional stakeholders, towards assisting the Bissau-Guinean parties to improved governance, including high-level visits by the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Mr. Jeffrey Feltman and the President of the Commission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Mr. Marcel de Souza. The PBC will continue to support international and regional initiatives to promote dialogue in Guinea Bissau, including through the International Contact Group (ICG) for Guinea-Bissau.

The PBC encourages further progress regarding the dispatch of a high level delegation of Heads of State from Senegal, Liberia and Sierra Leone, as agreed during the 49th ordinary meeting of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS held in June 2016.  The PBC also acknowledges and commends the leadership of ECOWAS, including through its direct support through the ECOWAS Mission in Bissau (ECOMIB), which continues to play a critical role in helping maintain security and stability in the country. In this light, the PBC underscores the importance of its continued presence in the country. The PBC welcomes the interest of the EU to continue supporting this mission.

The PBC once again calls upon the political leaders of Guinea-Bissau to redouble efforts and act more constructively towards an inclusive and fruitful dialogue to address the institutional challenges which the country faces, towards yielding the greater peace dividend for the people of Guinea-Bissau. The PBC urges in particular the political parties in Guinea-Bissau to reconvene their parliamentary discussions with a view to approving the Government programme and a budget.

The PBC calls upon all national and international stakeholders to honour their commitments made at the donor round table in Brussels in March 2015.   Long term development can only be achieved with political stability, being both interlinked conditions to overcome the ongoing crisis (and the political paralysis) inflicting continuous suffering on the people of Guinea-Bissau.