12 October 2012 - The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Guinea-Bissau, Mr. Joseph Mutaboba, on Friday reiterated the United Nations' commitment to the West African country and its people.

Speaking at a press conference held at the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS), Mr. Mutaboba briefed the media on recent missions to New York and Dakar, highlighting significant developments in efforts to promote dialogue between national actors and between Guinea-Bissau's international partners.

"Even if the UN is obliged to focus on certain crises that attract more attention worldwide, it is no less attentive to the crisis in Guinea-Bissau," he said. "In my various interactions at UN headquarters, I received assurances that the UN will maintain its commitment to Guinea-Bissau so that the people of this country can benefit from the peace and stability they so badly need for their well-being and development".

"Looking at the result of the last weeks, it is evident to me that we are no longer
at the same stage as before," he said. "On one hand, contacts have been initiated between ECOWAS, EU and the CPLP under the auspices of the UN and the African Union on the issue of Guinea-Bissau".

"Moreover, the senior authorities of the Transitional Government and the deposed Government met in New York for the first time," he said.

Announcing another significant development, the head of UNIOGBIS stated that Guinea-Bissau's partners had decided to send a joint assessment mission to the country "to take a look at the situation on the ground, speak with the different actors and pursue the efforts to harmonize the positions of the partners". The mission, whose date has not yet been set, will be made up of the UN, AU, ECOWAS, CPLP and EU, he explained.

In Dakar, the Special Representative participated on Monday in the 24th high-level consultation of the heads of UN missions in West Africa, alongside the representatives of the UN Secretary-General for West Africa, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The aim of the meeting was to review progress in the coordination of the activities of the United Nations in promoting peace and stability in the sub-region.

"At the sub-regional level we discussed the challenges facing West Africa in the area of peace and stability, including the crisis in the Sahel and piracy in the Gulf of Guinea," Mr. Mutaboba stated, adding that the critical role of local, regional and international collaboration in addressing cross-border and global security issues was stressed at the encounter.
On Guinea-Bissau, the Heads of Missions commended the recent advocacy and mediation efforts made by the UN and the AU aimed at re-activating dialogue and harmonizing the positions of the country's international partners, within the framework of Security Council resolution 2048 (2012).

They emphasized the key national leadership role that needs to be played by the various actors in Guinea-Bissau in resolving the political deadlock, Mr. Mutaboba said, stressing that "outsiders will never solve the problems of Guinea Bissau if Guineans themselves do not make efforts to deal with their past and future".

Welcoming the initial contacts between the country's deposed and transitional authorities in New York, the heads of mission encouraged the pursuit of efforts to ensure an inclusive transition process and inclusive national dialogue. They also reiterated that the military should adhere to civilian rule, refrain from interfering with political and judicial affairs, and respect human rights and freedoms, Mr. Mutaboba said.