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At the outset, I would like to thank the Russian presidency for holding this
timely and very opportune public meeting on the eve of the Security Council
mission to the West African subregion, which will have Guinea-Bissau as its
destination. I would like to thank Ambassador Aguilar Zinser for agreeing to
lead the mission to Guinea- Bissau. I would also like to join other speakers in
the pleasant duty of expressing our gratitude to Mr. David Stephens, the
Representative of the Secretary-General, for presenting the Secretary-General’s
report on the situation in Guinea-Bissau. I would also like to thank Ambassador
Kumalo, whom we are pleased to have with us again today for his comments as
Chairman of the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Guinea-Bissau of the Economic and
Social Council as well as Ambassador Johnson for his remarks as Chairman of the
Group of Friends of Guinea-Bissau. We have also heard some very pertinent
comments here from the Permanent Representative of Guinea-Bissau, on which the
Council will need to reflect.
The importance of post-conflict peace-building and social and economic
rehabilitation, reconstruction and development has been recognized as an
essential requirement for durable peace and security. At the United Nations,
Member States are trying to evolve ways and means to respond to the requirements
of countries like Guinea-Bissau. The coordinated efforts of the Economic and
Social Council and the Security Council in the case of Guinea-Bissau have opened
the window for further strengthening and institutionalizing the United Nations
response at the intergovernmental level to complex crises and situations that
are characterized by inter-linkages among the security, political, cultural,
social, economic and developmental dimensions.
One way of developing a comprehensive approach to such complex crises would be
to build on the existing cooperation between the Security Council and the
Economic and Social Council. As my delegation suggested earlier, we could
establish ad hoc composite committees, with membership drawn from the Security
Council, the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council. Such
composite committees could generate a coherent and mutually supportive response
to complex conflicts and crises that involve multifaceted challenges, such as
those in Guinea-Bissau.
If Guinea-Bissau is to be prevented from relapsing into conflict, which is a
real fear at this time, we must act quickly and judiciously. The response of the
international community, spearheaded by the United Nations, to the
peace-building and developmental needs of Guinea-Bissau should constitute a
determined effort, based on principles but displaying operational flexibility.
Of course, the primary responsibility rests with the Government of
Guinea-Bissau. It must take steps to address the multifarious challenges in all
areas — including those in the political, social, economic, governance, human
rights and other fields. The partnership approach recommended by the Economic
and Social Council’s Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Guinea-Bissau constitutes a
well-considered strategy that we fully support. We hope that the Government of
Guinea-Bissau will seize the opportunity that this partnership approach offers.
We also hope that it will take the necessary steps to facilitate a constructive
dialogue with the international community.
In our view, progress could be made if both the Government of Guinea-Bissau, on
the one hand, and the international donor community, on the other — including
the Bretton Woods institutions — were to place the interests of the common
people — the citizens of Guinea-Bissau — above all other considerations. Social
and economic issues need to be addressed simultaneously with political and
security matters. Some way ought to be found to provide assistance to countries
facing special circumstances, such as Guinea-Bissau, despite their structural
and political problems. We must heed the advice coming from sensible quarters
that it is timely for the international community to take the bold step to
invest a little now in the peace-building effort in Guinea-Bissau rather than
facing the prospect of spending much more in peacekeeping and enforcement in
case — God forbid — that country were to relapse into conflict.
The joint mission of the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council to
Guinea-Bissau later this month offers an opportunity to reassess our approach to
the situation. The presidential statement to be adopted today contains a
balanced message addressed simultaneously to the Government of Guinea-Bissau and
to the international community. That message will provide the mission with a
good basis to work to achieve common ground between the concerns of the
Government and the donor community. In that way we hope that the Council will
advance the twin agendas of peacekeeping and development in Guinea-Bissau.