New York, June 11th, 2018

Since 2015, the global membership of Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) has fully embraced and supported the constitutional and political developments that led Guinea Bissau to become a multi-party parliamentary democracy under the Rule of Law.

Parliamentarians from Guinea Bissau, in their individual capacity, joined the PGA network and became active in a number of Campaigns aimed at strengthening human rights and arms’ control in their West African nation.

While recognizing that Guinea Bissau is no longer ruled by an authoritarian regime, PGA expresses profound concerns at recent reported failures of the Executive power to fully respect the Constitution and its checks and balances, which require the independence of the judiciary and autonomy of legislative branch of Parliament on behalf of the people of Guinea Bissau.

PGA calls upon the Government of Guinea Bissau to unconditionally refrain from any calls for the arrest of any elected Member of Parliament who may have been accused of offenses that relate to freedom of expression, which is a fundamental right not only recognized by the Constitution, but also guaranteed under applicable International Law, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Peoples and Human Rights.

PGA underscores that it is essential for the Guinean Bissau authorities to ensure the respect of the due process of law and the human rights of Mr. Simoes Pereira, MP, Leader of the PAIGV (Party with largest representation in the current Legislature), including the application of the proper parliamentary procedures to his case. Moreover, PGA firmly calls upon the Government to respect the constitutional rights and prerogatives of all Parliamentarians.

PGA expresses its concern that the prerogatives of a sitting Parliamentarian may have been violated while he was exercising his right to express opinions and dissent. All the Organs of the State must protect the fundamental rights and prerogatives of sitting MPs, elected by the people, including those who freely decided to become an opponent to the Executive.

PGA affirms that threats against the physical integrity of any parliamentary leaders and threats to launch politically motivated charges against parliamentarians of any political parties are unacceptable and shall be closely monitored by the International Community, including the ECOWAS and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. It is essential that the Electoral Process in Guinea Bissau takes place in the most transparent and fair environment.

“At Parliamentarians for Global Action, we are committed to protecting the human rights of parliamentarians and we call on the relevant authorities in Guinea Bissau to release any parliamentarian that is detained for political reasons. We invoke the popular representation of which parliamentarians are invested and that cannot suffer any impairment by the action of the other powers of the State.”

-Ms. Margareta Cederfelt, MP (Sweden)
President, PGA