S/PV.5988
5988th meeting
Tuesday, 7 October 2008, 10.30 a.m.
New York
The situation in Guinea-Bissau
Mr. Ettalhi (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) (spoke in Arabic): Allow me at the outset to join those who spoke before me in congratulating you, Sir, on your assumption of the presidency of the Council for this month. We wish to assure you of our cooperation and support. We are truly confident that you will ably guide our work.
We also wish to express our appreciation to Ambassador Michel Kafando and his delegation for their wise and effective leadership of the Council last month.
We thank Mr. Lynn Pascoe, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, and Ambassador Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti of Brazil, Chairperson of the Guinea-Bissau configuration of the Peacebuilding Commission, for their briefings. We also welcome Ambassador Cabral to this meeting.
In commending the efforts and achievements of the Government of Guinea-Bissau and the international community, we are compelled to acknowledge that the report of the Secretary-General (S/2008/628) highlights many causes for concern. The deepening political crisis; the spectres of military tension and pressure; the coup attempt; the withdrawal from the Government of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde; the spread of organized crime, especially drug trafficking; the rampant impunity that forces people to take the law into their own hands; the modest annual economic growth rate of 3 per cent; increasing prices, especially for staples such as rice; and the ongoing cholera epidemic: all of these are mentioned in the report and in the two briefings we heard this morning, and they are cause for grave concern.
Reason for hope, however, is seen in positive developments and achievements with respect to the role of the Peacebuilding Commission and the endeavours of the Government and the United Nations system to formulate an integrated framework for peacebuilding. In her briefing, Mrs. Viotti spoke of the adoption of the Strategic Framework for Peacebuilding in Guinea-Bissau and of the improved environment for the holding of elections, for voter registration and for the filling of the funding gap. All parties have shown their commitment to that end.
Among the issues that require immediate attention is drug trafficking, which endangers peace, security and reconstruction in Guinea-Bissau, in the subregion and throughout the continent. Regrettably, owing to the difficulties faced by national and international anti-trafficking institutions, the country has become a transit hub. The report of the Secretary-General makes this clear in referring to Operation Bissalanca, and it was underscored by what the Minister of Justice told the International Contact Group on Guinea-Bissau: that there is involvement at the national level. We therefore consider it important to support the Secretary-General’s recommendation that a group of experts be established to investigate the problem — in cooperation with the local authorities, of course — and the activities, role and identity of those involved in drug trafficking and other transnational crime, with a view to taking the necessary punitive measures against them.
We are gratified by the major role that the Peacebuilding Commission is playing in Guinea-Bissau, by the forthcoming establishment of a national peacebuilding fund secretariat office for Guinea-Bissau and by the four quick-impact projects approved by the Commission, which are now under way. Here, we commend the relevant United Nations agencies and other partners and express our deep appreciation to Ambassador Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti for her efforts.
In conclusion, I reaffirm my delegation’s deep appreciation for the efforts of the United Nations, the donor community, the European Union, the Economic Community of West African States, Brazil and other partners. At the same time, we are of the view that they should give priority to security sector and judicial reform and to combating hunger and poverty.
Permit me to make a comment. The elections mean a great deal to those who day after day suffer hunger and who live in an environment marked by a lack of respect and a lack of security, and I am not minimizing the significance of the elections: I believe they are indeed important. At the same time, I believe that where there is hunger and a lack of safety and security, the best option is to give priority to fighting hunger and providing security.
We thank the delegation of Burkina Faso for its initiative in drafting a presidential statement, which we fully endorse.
