On 17 July 2017, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 2048 (2012) concerning Guinea-Bissau held informal consultations to hear a briefing from the Chair on his visit to Guinea-Bissau between 13 and 15 June, and to consider the proposed actions on the way forward.
Expressing deep concern about the political impasse in Guinea-Bissau, the Security Council today called upon the West African nation’s leaders to engage in genuine dialogue, find common ground and implement the Conakry Agreement of 14 October 2016, including by appointing a consensus Prime Minister, as required by that accord.
The new Permanent Representative of Guinea-Bissau to the United Nations, Fernando Delfim da Silva, presented his credentials to UN Secretary-General António Guterres today.
Irina Bokova, Director-General of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), condemned the killing of Indian journalist Gauri Lankesh, shot outside her home on Tuesday. Ms. Lankesh, editor and publisher of a Kannada-language weekly, was an outspoken critic of right-wing extremism.
The United Nations Human Rights Office confirmed that 33 civilians in Yemen were killed and 25 injured in the 23 August air strike by coalition forces that hit a hotel in Sana’a Governorate, one of several coalition air strikes that day, which resulted in deaths. Witnesses said there had been no warnings of an attack.
Only by fulfilling the minimum conditions of the Conakry Agreement could Guinea-Bissau make progress towards breaking its years-long political crisis, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative told the Security Council today, calling for better coordinated, sustained international involvement.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of David McLachlan-Karr of Australia as his new Deputy Special Representative in Guinea-Bissau. Mr. McLachlan-Karr will also serve as United Nations Resident Coordinator and Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Guinea-Bissau.
The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Elbio Rosselli (Uruguay):
The Security Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS) for one year today, reaffirming its full commitment to the consolidation of peace and stability in that country.
Any breakthrough in the institutional crisis gripping Guinea-Bissau would be short-lived if the structural causes of instability were not addressed, the senior United Nations official in the West African country told the Security Council today, urging national actors to implement the Conakry Agreement signed last year to surmount the political impasse.
