Consultative meeting of ECOWAS/AU/UN/CPLP/EU and the OIF on Guinea Bissau

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, October 1, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- 1. The Consultative Meeting of the international partners (ECOWAS/AU/UN/CPLP/EU/OIF) was held in the margins of the 69th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), on 26 September 2014, in New York. The meeting was convened to discuss the Report of the third Joint Assessment Mission, which was led by the African Union (AU), and deployed to Bissau from 15 to 18 September 2014.

2. The Partners heard Statements presented by the Prime Minister of Guinea Bissau, the President of the Economic Commission of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission, the Executive Secretary of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP), the Commissioner for Peace and Security of the AU, the Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs of the United Nations (UN), as well as representatives of the European Union (EU), and the International Organization of la Francophonie (OIF). The Chairman of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers, H.E Hannah Tetteh and the Chairman of the CPLP Council of Ministers, H.E Jose Luis Guteres attended the Opening Session of the Meeting.

The partners:

3. Look forward to the finalization and issuance of the Report of the Third Joint Assessment Mission to Guinea Bissau.

4. Take note of the recommendation to extend the presence of the ECOWAS Security Mission in Guinea Bissau (ECOMIB) beyond 31st December 2014, and urge all partners to provide necessary support.

5. Strongly appeal to all international and bilateral partners to support the Government in the implementation of its Defence and Security Sector Reform (DSSR) Programme, and all other reforms aimed at the sustainable development of Guinea Bissau.

6. Agree to mobilise support for the Donors' Roundtable, particularly with respect to technical and capacity support to the Government of Guinea Bissau in the preparation and holding of this important event scheduled for the beginning of 2015.

7. Encourage the Government of Guinea Bissau to exert every effort to implement reforms, particularly in the areas of DSSR, the fight against impunity, economic development and national reconciliation. Also commend the inclusiveness in the composition of the Government, as well as the unanimous adoption of the Government's Programme by the Popular National Assembly (PNA).

8. Call for the re-vitalization of the International Contact Group on Guinea Bissau (ICG-GB) as an effective and sustainable mechanism for Partners' coordination and follow-up and request ECOWAS, the AU and the CPLP to take immediate and necessary steps towards its operationalization.

9. Take note of the progress recorded so far by the new Bissau-Guinean Government in areas of security, political stability and prioritization of Reforms in a Three-Phased Framework encompassing the Emergency, Contingency and Development Plans.

Done in New York, this 26th Day of September 2014