Guinea Bissau Political Struggle and Early Conflict

By Louis Black

Guinea Bissau Political Struggle and Early Conflict. Guinea-Bissau Environmental Information Book. Political fault lines reopened in Guinea-Bissau after President Jose Mario Vaz sacked the government of the fragile West African country amid a mounting power struggle with the prime minister. But while political rows are nothing new in the narco-state, this latest crisis could finally cost the impoverished country millions of much-needed aid dollars. Still haunted by a past of civil war and coups d’état, Guinea-Bissau seems headed for yet another political struggle with grave repercussions. International donors, including the European Union, pledged $1.1 billion in March for Guinea-Bissau to support a 10-year development plan after years of political instability. If you want to know more about Guinea-Bissau, get a Book specifically designed on Guinea-Bissau

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jan 27, 2017
• ISBN: 9781365712661

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Guinea Bissau Political Struggle and Early Conflict

Guinea Bissau Political Struggle, and Early Conflict

Governance Instability Under Poor Economy, International Mafia linkage

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Author

Louis Black

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First Printing: 2017

ISBN: 978-1-365-71266-1

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Guinea Bissau

Governance and Political Process

The SRSG has been making full use of his good offices to help build confidence among actors and contribute to preventing an escalation of tensions. He continues to engage key national stakeholders, in particular the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister and the Speaker of Parliament.

He also consults regularly with political parties and civil society, including women and youth organizations, as well as religious leaders, trade unions and private sector representatives in close coordination with international and regional actors, notably ECOWAS. In most of those meetings, the political component has been present and produced the related documentation ranging from background, situation analysis to action-oriented follow-up notes.

Depending on the needs at hand, the analysis is deepened to include, for instance, a mapping of actors who can influence different processes, possible conflict triggers, a consideration of deeper underlying issues and interests, as well as scenario-building to help increase the UN’s options to respond to fast-moving situations.

The SRSG has convened formal and informal meetings with international partners and key regional groupings (Heads of State, Prime-Ministers of the region and beyond, AU, CPLP, ECOWAS and EU) to forge a common understanding of the crisis and sustain international support for the country. He chairs monthly meetings of the international partners to coordinate support to Guinea-Bissau. The political component (PAS), in close coordination with the lule of law and security institutions (ROLSI), human rights  (HRS) and public information (PIU) as well as the UNCT, is in charge of preparing such meetings in the form of reports, speeches and press releases on the outcomes of the meetings (such as the joint statement of international partners following the dismissal of the Government on 12 August 2015).

Another stream deals with constitutional reform. The political component is supporting the Ad Hoc Parliamentary Commission set up to review the current constitution, whose gray zones on the respective competences of State Institutions continue to be appropriated and exploites by conflicting parties. With inputs from DPA PMD, the political component is responding to the ANP’s request for the provision of a panel of legal experts to prepare an annotated reading of the current (1996) Constitution, in response to questions posed by the Ad Hoc Commission.

That reading will produce non-binding legal opinions which will feed the work of the Commission and the public debate around it. DPA and PBF extra-budgetary funding may materialize in support of the constitutional reform in 2016. This funding may provide additional strength to the work already undertaken by staff from the rule of law, human rights and public information components, in their respective areas of expertise.

Constitutional review in the area of rule of law would touch civilian oversight of armed forces and security institutions and the harmonization of military and common justice, inter alia. In the human rights domain, many call for greater independence of the judiciary (including a mandate for the Prosecutor-General) and national human rights bodies. Debates on the Constitution will require civic awareness campaigns, in which the public information component will be instrumental.

for peacebuilding by the Chair of the Guinea-Bissau Configuration of the PBC. A significant part of the PPP 2015-2017 and respective outcomes and projects to be financed by the PBF target those issues, which are also prioritized by State Institutions.

Political Dialogue And National Reconciliation

An effective political strategy must include the human rights and security dimensions particular to Guinea-Bissau, and make the best use of public information tools to amplify messages and shape perceptions. Cohesion in the action of all mission components is even more critical to two ongoing areas of intervention: the above mentioned constitutional review process, and the assistance to the Organizing Commission for the National Conference on Reconciliation and Dialogue (Commission). The Commission, re-launched late 2014, is to organize an inclusive political dialogue and national reconciliation process. The national dialogue conference is scheduled for November 2016.

PAS assists in the ground work with government officials, political parties, civil society organizations or State Institutions, in their engagement with this platform to find mechanisms to settle their disputes peacefully. Such assistance includes technical support to formulate the communication strategy for the Commission (message, audience, channels); proposing agenda items that advance the Human Rights Up Front policy, particularly on the issues of impunity and civil-military relations; and ensuring the political involvement of  women and youth at the local and national levels.

Addressing impunity and a dysfunctional civil-military relation in this dialogue brings along the human rights, security and justice dimensions. Absent true reconciliation, amnesty has thus far proved to be counterproductive, removing a deterrent to crime and human rights violations in Guinea-Bissau.

This multi-disciplinary approach is to ensure a highly participatory process, including active agents for positive change with a strong outreach across all the regions of Guinea-Bissau. In this effort, the mission’s Regional Offices play a key role as its antennas outside the capital. Concrete results include organizing a first meeting between the Commission and the directors of national media and, in cooperation with HRS, workshops