United Nations Security Council Resolution 2157 – Guinea-Bissau

Resolution 2157 (2014)

The Security Council,

Recalling its previous resolutions, statements of its President and press statements on the situation in Guinea-Bissau, in particular resolutions 1876 (2009), 2030 (2011), 2048 (2012), 2092 (2013) and 2103 (2013),

Taking note of the reports of the Secretary-General on Guinea-Bissau, dated 12 May 2014 (S/2014/332 and S/2014/333) and the recommendations contained therein, and commending the engagement of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and head of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS),

Welcoming the successful holding of presidential and legislative elections in Guinea-Bissau and congratulating the people of Guinea-Bissau who participated in the election in record numbers, which showed their strong commitment to democracy,

Emphasizing the need for respect of democratic principles and stressing the importance of inclusive governance, essential for the attainment of lasting peace in Guinea-Bissau,

Stressing that the consolidation of peace and stability in Guinea-Bissau can only result from a consensual, inclusive and nationally owned transition process, the restoration of and respect for constitutional order, the reforms in the defence, security and justice sectors, the promotion of the rule of law, the protection of human rights, the promotion of socioeconomic development and the fight against impunity and drug trafficking,

Stressing that all stakeholders in Guinea-Bissau should work to ensure short, medium and long-term stability through clear commitment and genuine inclusive political dialogue aimed at creating conditions conducive to finding viable and sustainable solutions to the country’s social, economic, political and military problems, which would facilitate the implementation of key reforms and the strengthening of State institutions,

Expressing concern at the lack of effective civilian control and oversight over the defence and security forces, which hampers the political process and effective functioning of State institutions, as a result of collusion between some political actors and the military leadership,

Commending the efforts of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to create the conditions for free and fair elections and democratic process and to support the security sector reform (SSR) process in Guinea-Bissau namely through the activities of its Mission (ECOMIB),

Reiterating serious concern about reports of continuing serious violations and abuses of human rights, as well as the atmosphere of residual political tension in Guinea-Bissau, and condemning restrictions on freedom of expression and freedom of assembly and of the press,

Reiterating its deep concern at the threat drug trafficking poses to stability, re-emphasizing the need to tackle the problem of drug trafficking in the countries of origin, transit and final destination through an approach of common and shared responsibility,

Underlining that any lasting solution to instability in Guinea-Bissau should include concrete actions to fight impunity and ensure that those responsible for politically motivated assassinations and other serious crimes such as drug trafficking-related activities and breaches of constitutional order are brought to justice, including through transitional justice mechanisms,

Reiterating the importance of the continued support of the United Nations and international, subregional, regional and bilateral partners for the long-term security and development of Guinea-Bissau, particularly towards the implementation of security and justice sectors reforms, the fight against drug trafficking, organized crime and human trafficking, as well as the creation of an enabling environment for good governance and inclusive and sustainable social and economic development,

Commending the important work of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in collaboration with relevant United Nations (UN) entities in the fight against drug trafficking and transnational organized crime in Guinea -Bissau and the subregion, and encouraging enhanced cooperation between UNODC and UNIOGBIS,

Stressing the urgent need to maintain in Guinea-Bissau continuous evaluation capacity and to continue to support national, subregional, regional and international institutions in charge of the fight against drug trafficking,

Stressing the need for increased coherence, coordination and efficiency among relevant partners to enhance their collective efforts towards combating drug trafficking in Guinea-Bissau, in particular through sharing of information,

Emphasizing the important role of women in prevention and resolution of conflicts and in peacebuilding, as recognized in resolutions 1325 (2000), 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009) and 1889 (2009), welcoming the Mission’s work to increase women’s participation in Guinea-Bissau and underlining that a gender perspective must continue to inform the implementation of all relevant aspects of the mandate of UNIOGBIS,

Condemning cases of illegal and unauthorized fishing in Guinea-Bissau’s territorial waters and exclusive economic zone, as well as illegal exploitation of natural resources which undermines prospects for the country’s economic development,

Reaffirming that Guinea-Bissau’s partners should continue to actively and closely coordinate their actions to help bring solutions to the country’s political, security and development challenges; in this regard, welcoming the efforts made by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Guinea-Bissau to convene an international donor conference in close consultation with international, regional, and subregional development partners in order to mobilize resources for the country’s development priorities including the implementation of the Governance Efficacy Amelioration Programme (GEAP),

Taking note of the statement made by the Chair of the Guinea-Bissau Configuration of the Peacebuilding Commission on 19 May 2014, with regard to the Peacebuilding Commission’s determination to re-engage with Guinea-Bissau,

Recognizing the need for UNIOGBIS to support national efforts to fully restore and maintain constitutional order and to promote a multi-layered national dialogue in the post-election period,

Reaffirming its full commitment to the consolidation of peace and stability in Guinea-Bissau:

1. Decides to extend the mandate of UNIOGBIS for a period of 6 months beginning on 1 June 2014 until 30 November 2014:

(a) Supporting an inclusive political dialogue and national reconciliation process to facilitate democratic governance;

(b) Assisting in strengthening democratic institutions and enhancing the capacity of State organs to function effectively and constitutionally;

(c) Providing strategic and technical advice and support for the establishment of effective and efficient law enforcement and criminal justice and penitentiary systems, capable of maintaining public security and combating impunity, while respecting human rights and fundamental freedoms;

(d) Providing strategic and technical advice and support to national authorities and relevant stakeholders, including in coordination with ECOWAS/ECOMIB, in implementing the national security sector reform and rule of law strategies, as well as developing civilian and military justice systems that are compliant with international standards;

(e) Assisting national authorities to combat drug trafficking and transnational organized crime, in close cooperation with UNODC;

(f) Assisting national authorities in the promotion and protection of human rights as well as undertaking human rights monitoring and reporting activities;

(g) Mainstreaming a gender perspective into peacebuilding, in line with Security Council resolutions 1325 (2000) and 1820 (2008);

(h) Working with the Peacebuilding Commission in support of Guinea-Bissau’s peacebuilding priorities; and

2. Reiterates its demand to the security and defence services to submit themselves fully to civilian control;

3. Condemns the violations and abuses of human rights, including political and civil rights, urges the authorities of Guinea-Bissau to take all necessary measures to protect human rights, put an end to impunity, initiate investigations to identify the perpetrators of such acts and bring them to justice and take action to protect witnesses in order to ensure due process; also urges them to take steps to mitigate the climate of fear resulting from restrictions on freedom of expression and freedom of assembly;

4. Welcomes the joint efforts by international partners, in particular the United Nations, AU, ECOWAS, EU and CPLP, to enhance cooperation in support of the legitimate democratic government in Guinea-Bissau and encourages them to continue to work together towards the country’s stabilization;

5. Encourages the efforts in support of SSR as a crucial element for long-term stability in Guinea-Bissau and encourages coordinated action by all relevant regional, subregional and international partners of Guinea-Bissau in this field in order to obtain expeditious and positive results;

6. Calls upon the authorities of Guinea-Bissau to review, adopt and implement national legislations and mechanisms to more effectively combat transnational organized crime, in particular drug trafficking and money-laundering, and in this context, to provide additional support to the Transnational Crime Unit (TCU) established under the West Africa Coast Initiative (WACI); and urges both the authorities of Guinea-Bissau and its security and defence services to demonstrate full commitment to combating drug trafficking and calls uponinternational partners to support their efforts;

7. Encourages members of the international community to enhance cooperation with Guinea-Bissau, in order to enable it to ensure control of air traffic and surveillance of maritime security within its jurisdiction, in particular to fight drug trafficking and organized crime, as well as illegal fishing in Guinea-Bissau’s territorial waters and exclusive economic zone and other cases of illegal exploitation of natural resources;

8. Requests the Special Representative of the Secretary-General to increase efforts to achieve greater coherence, coordination and efficiency among relevant United Nations agencies, funds and programmes in Guinea-Bissau to maximize their collective effectiveness towards combating drug trafficking, in particular through provision by these agencies, funds and programmes of relevant information to the Special Representative on individuals, groups, undertakings and entities associated with drug-trafficking that contribute to creating a threat to the peace, stability and security of Guinea-Bissau and the subregion;

9. Invites the Special Representative of the Secretary-General to share all relevant information with the Committee established pursuant to its resolution 2048 (2012), particularly names of individuals who meet the criteria set forth in paragraph 6 and elaborated by paragraph 7 of resolution 2048 (2012);

10. Stresses the challenges posed by the fight against drug trafficking in the search of solutions to the overall political and economic crisis in Guinea -Bissau, and requests the Secretary-General to ensure the relevant capacity within UNIOGBIS, continuing to provide an anti-drug component, including appropriate expertise;

11. Encourages international bilateral and multilateral partners to continue their technical support to Guinea-Bissau in strengthening efforts to tackle transnational organized crime including illicit activities, such as money-laundering and drug trafficking, calls upon them to increase their support to WACI and the TCU to fight transnational organized crime and drug trafficking, which threaten security and stability in Guinea-Bissau and in the subregion and further encourages them to contribute to support the presence of UNODC in Guinea-Bissau and to the UNIOGBIS Trust Fund for immediate, medium and longer-term priorities, including for post-election reforms;

12. Strongly emphasizes the importance of the convening of an international pledging conference on the recovery of Guinea-Bissau;

13. Requests the Secretary-General to conduct a comprehensive review of the mandate of UNIOGBIS, to ensure that it is aligned with the priorities identified by the legitimate democratic government and report the findings of such review by 30 October 2014;

14. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.

Adopted by the Security Council at its 7187th meeting, on 29 May 2014.