UN joins Guinea-Bissau youth and women to celebrate Democracy and Peace Days

To commemorate Democracy Day, September 15, on the theme of "Participation" and Peace Day, September 21, on the theme "Climate Action for Peace", UNIOGBIS and UN agencies held a series of outreach events with young people at universities and political parties in Bissau.

27 Sep 2019

UN joins Guinea-Bissau youth and women to celebrate Democracy and Peace Days

Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Guinea-Bissau, Rosine, Sori-Coulibaly met with women from the country and the region at the III Round Table for Peace.

“I am very happy to see that women are leading in this region, which It is also my region. Not surprisingly, since very early in the history of this territory, West African women have never been passive, but active participants in shaping their own stories. ”

The SRSG commended the organizers - Guinea-Bissau's Women's Political Platform, Casamance-Senegal Women's Political Platform and the Gambia's African Center for Human Rights and Democracy Studies - as a good example of women's dynamism in September 2017, joined forces and created Senegal - Gambia - Women's Forum in Guinea-Bissau.

On the theme of International Peace Day, RESG alerted that in Guinea-Bissau, rising sea levels are already affecting the lives of the communities of Djobel, Wire, Elias, with consequent threats to other villages such as Elabab, Essor and Bulol in the northern region. This is forcing the population to move to other arable land, creating conflicts between communities.

“The problems you face in your countries require cross-border cooperation at all levels of society and state institutions,” said Soru-Coulibaly.

“The UN in Guinea-Bissau recognizes your energy and commitment and that is why we have been able to commit significant funds from the UN Peacebuilding Fund to support women's initiatives and promote their participation in public life. You can count on me and my team with our financial and technical support. And you can count on my solidarity and good offices. ”

The members of the party youths, for their part, were pleased with the discussions and asked the UN to facilitate more meetings between them. "There should be more opportunities like this for young people who want to be more active in politics and for the general population it is very important that they know their rights and duties as it briefly describes the citizen book you have distributed," said one participant of MADEM youth.