Addis Ababa, 1 December 2012: At the initiative of the Commission of the African Union (AU), a consultative meeting on the situation in Guinea-Bissau took place today, 1 December 2012, at the AU Headquarters, in Addis Ababa. In addition to the AU, the meeting brought together the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP), the European Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN).

Chaired by the AU Commissioner for Peace and Security, Ambassador Ramtane Lamamra, the meeting enabled the five organizations to exchange views on the evolution of the situation in Guinea-Bissau and the best way to assist the country address the short, medium and long-term challenges facing it.

In this respect, the participating organizations discussed the Terms of Reference of the joint mission they are planning to field to Guinea-Bissau. The mission is expected to assess the situation on the ground, through extensive interaction with all stakeholders, and to formulate a set of recommendations on how best the organizations concerned can work together towards addressing the multidimensional crisis confronting Guinea-Bissau.

The participants had an interactive exchange with a delegation representing the Government that was in function at the time of the coup d’état of 12 April 2012, in the context of the discussions that the five partner organizations have planned to undertake with all the stakeholders, in Guinea-Bissau and abroad. 

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