allAfrica.com: Guinea Bissau: Security Council Told Progress Since Civil War of Late 1990s Imperilled By Drug Trafficking, Lack of Stability (Page 1 of 6)

Guinea Bissau: Security Council Told Progress Since Civil War of Late 1990s Imperilled By Drug Trafficking, Lack of Stability

Guinea-Bissau had come a long way since the civil war of the late 1990s, but all those gains would be at risk if stability were not cemented and the menace of the illicit drug trade was not confronted head-on through a regional approach, B. Lynn Pascoe, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, told the Security Council this morning.

"The drug trafficking threat is a major challenge to Guinea-Bissau and to its neighbours, many of which are still recovering from long periods of civil conflicts," he said, in a meeting that also heard a briefing from Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti (Brazil), Chair of the Guinea-Bissau Configuration of the Peacebuilding Commission, as well as interventions from Council members and Guinea-Bissau's representative.

Current international efforts to help strengthen national capacity to fight the traffickers, especially in the enhancement of the judicial sector, were not sufficient, Mr. Pascoe said. He supported the Secretary-General's recommendation for sending an expert panel to study the problem, ahead of the high-level conference on the drug problems of the region to be held by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Cape Verde from 28 to 29 October.

Preparations for elections in Guinea-Bissau on 16 November were on track, he said. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office in Guinea-Bissau were coordinating international donors and electoral observation, respectively. To date, international electoral observers were expected from the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the European Union. He appealed to donors to make up for the funding shortfall of $4 million that the elections required.

As elections approached, there was an uneasy calm in the country, he said. An unsuccessful coup in August was now said to be under investigation. The country's difficulty in paying public sector salaries in a timely manner continued to exacerbated social, political and security tensions, which were also being heightened by the rise of commodity prices.

The Government, he said, had taken concrete measures towards crucial security sector reform, with support of the international community. The Peacebuilding Support Office would make further recommendations on ways and means of supporting those efforts. He outlined other work on a variety of sectors being pursued in ongoing cooperation with the Peacebuilding Commission.

Ms. Ribeiro Viottiinformed the Council that an integrated Strategic Framework for Peacebuilding in the country was formally adopted by her configuration on 1 October, as the result of an extensive consultative process that bound the Government and all relevant stakeholders in a set of commitments. The active engagement of civil society meant that the Framework was owned by Guinea-Bissau as a whole. It dealt with the root causes of conflict and other fundamental issues that would need to be addressed in the coming years.

Because of its evolving nature and the need for international support, the adoption of the Strategic Framework for Guinea-Bissau did not signal the end of international engagement there, she said, but rather the start of taking concrete measures to provide the country with much-needed peace dividends. Elections, the security sector, illicit drugs, the economy and social problems, such as the cholera epidemic, were priority challenges in that regard. The Peacebuilding Commission would proceed to marshal additional resources and to the enhancement of coordination among different partners in the country, to make progress in all those crucial areas.

Following those briefings, Council members took the floor to welcome progress that had been made in Guinea-Bissau, including the adoption of the Peacebuilding Framework and the preparations for the upcoming elections. Most speakers also prioritized the strengthening of the security and justice sectors, and the need for meaningful development.

In regard to the trade in illicit drugs, most speakers supported regional efforts to combat it. Many also supported the Secretary-General's proposal to create an expert panel on the problem. Some speakers, however, urged caution in that regard, saying that it was more important to build the country's capacity to fight it itself. The representative of South Africa said what was needed was a strong Government with strong law enforcement, so that the country could deal with the issues. An expert group would not do more than divert the country from strengthening its institutions of law and order, he said.

Guinea-Bissau's representative, speaking after all Council members had made their statements, affirmed his Government's primary responsibility for its progress and said that it would spare no efforts to ensure that the upcoming elections would be held with the greatest possible transparency, that they would be credible, and that the results would be acceptable to all.

He shared concerns regarding drug trafficking -- in a country, he said, that five years ago had not known about the phenomenon. The situation had arisen because his country was the weakest link in the regional chain. The country had been honest in asking for help, since the problem could threaten all achievements in democracy. Assistance from the international community was needed, as well as police, courts and prisons –- in short, a credible justice sector. He also agreed with the need for a regional approach to the scourge of drug trafficking and welcomed the upcoming ECOWAS conference in Cape Verde.

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