Addis Ababa, 27 January 2013: At the initiative of the African Union (AU), a consultative meeting on the situation in the Republic of Guinea-Bissau took place in Addis Ababa, on 26 of January 2013. In addition to the AU, the meeting was attended by the following organizations, which participated in the December 2012 Joint Assessment Mission to Guinea-Bissau: the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP), the European Union (EU), and the United Nations.

The meeting, which was chaired by AU Commissioner for Peace and Security, Ambassador Ramtane Lamamra, was attended by Mr. Désiré Ouedraogo Kadré, President of the ECOWAS Commission, Mr. Issac Murade Murargy, Executive Secretary of the CPLP, Mr. Jeffrey Feltman, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, and Mr. Nick Westcott, Managing Director for Africa of the European External Action Service. The new Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Guinea-Bissau, former President of the Republic of Timor-Leste and Nobel Laureate for Peace, Ramos Horta, and the AU Special Representative in Guinea Bissau, Ambassador Ovidio Manuel Barbosa Pequeno, also participated in the meeting.

 

The participants exchanged views on the evolution of the situation in Guinea-Bissau and the conclusions of the AU-ECOWAS-CPLP-EU-UN Joint Assessment Mission in Guinea-Bissau, undertaken from 16 to 21 December 2012.

 

The participants acknowledged the progress made so far by the Bissau-Guinean actors, while noting at the same time that there are still challenges to be overcome.

 

The participants agreed on the need for the five concerned organizations to enhance coordination to effectively assist Guinea Bissau.  In this regard, they agreed that the report of the Joint Mission should be submitted to the relevant organs of the five organizations, in order to promote convergence in their appreciation of the progress made and enhance prospects for coordinated contributions to the resolution of the crisis in Guinea Bissau.

 

The participants welcomed the launching, by the Bissau-Guinean stakeholders, in the People’s National Assembly, of a process to develop a Transition Roadmap. They underlined that the Roadmap, which should enjoy a national consensus and meet the expectations of the international community, should mark a qualitative step in the way out of the crisis.

 

The participants further agreed, in principle, on the need to undertake a second Joint Assessment Mission once the Roadmap is adopted.

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