Members of Parliament commit to institutionalize guarantees of non-repetition

Bissau/The Hague/New York:

On 1 February 2022, the mounting wave of violent attacks against democratic institutions and the Rule of Law in Western and Central Africa reached the capital of Guinea Bissau. Armed groups attacked and isolated for a few hours the palace of the Government where the President of the Republic was meeting with his Cabinet. Following armed resistance by forces that remained loyal to the Republic, President Embalo communicated that the attempted coup d’etat had failed and announced that it “may have been linked to the drug trade”, as reported by Reuters. Foreign Minister Dr. Suzi Barbosa, MP (PGA Member) and the Chair of the PGA Guinea Bissau Group, Hon. Vieira, communicated to PGA that they were safe and secure after a critical day for their young democracy.  

This attempt to subvert a constitutional legal order took place during an extraordinary meeting held by the Bissauan Council of Ministers to condemn the violent coup d’etat in Burkina Faso last week. The Cabinet was preparing for a discussion of the coup d’etat for a forthcoming summit of ECOWAS, the dynamic sub-regional Organization of West Africa that has successfully championed the cause of multi-party democracies since the end of the Cold War era in 1989. PGA is engaged with all the democracies in the region and calls all the States within ECOWAS, the AU and the UN to not recognize the new Governments that may result from unconstitutional subversions of the Rule of Law and to continue to support the role and standing of democratically-elected authorities, including Parliamentarians, who are to be recognized as if they were still serving their constitutional mandate.  

Hon. Joao Bernardo Vieira, Member of Parliament from the opposition and Chair of the PGA Guinea Bissau multi-party group, stated:

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The tragic events of yesterday demonstrate that our democracy is at risk, and our Parliament and Government must spare no effort to reinforce the Rule of Law and better guarantee the respect of human rights of all in our country. I, therefore, call upon the Government to transmit to Parliament without undue delay the Bill for the ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), so that we may ensure that any individual who commits abuses of power amounting to crimes against humanity will be punishable both before Bissauan Courts or, should they fall under the control of an oppressive regime, before the ICC in The Hague.

Foreign Minister Dr. Suzi Barbosa MP, former Board Member of PGA, stated:

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It is unacceptable that while our Cabinet was meeting to discuss measures against the unconstitutional changes of the Government in Burkina Faso and the sub-region, a group of armed individuals attempted to subvert our legitimate institutions, causing the tragic death of several servants of the State. We are grateful for the support and solidarity that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and many leaders and representatives of law-abiding nations and International Organizations have expressed for the people and Government of Guinea Bissau. We are more committed than ever to the principles of democracy and human rights and we will ensure that the perpetrators of yesterday’s violent attacks will be brought to justice. To deter the commission of new atrocities, we are determined to work with the International Community to prevent impunity also through the new system created by the Rome Statute of the ICC.

The Convenor of PGA’s Democratic Renewal and Human Rights Campaign, Hon. Rozaina Adam MP (Maldives) warmly welcomed the strong positions expressed by PGA Members from majority and opposition in Guinea Bissau, and affirmed that

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Parliamentarians for Global Action firmly condemns the failed coup d’état in Bissau and expresses its heartfelt condolences to the families of the defenders of democracy who gave their lives in resisting to the violent attackers. Our global membership is deeply concerned by the increasing number of African States that are affected by unconstitutional changes of regime that often entail the perpetration of atrocities against the civilian population and gross human rights abuses against Government officials.

At the world summit in 2005, the Members States of the United Nations recommitted themselves to protecting and promoting human rights, the Rule of Law, and Democracy as inextricably linked and mutually reinforcing core principles of the UN. Therefore, we call upon States to continue respecting these indivisible values and adopt proactive approaches to threats to democracy. We also urge the United Nations and relevant stakeholders to create a task force that should be able to urgently intervene – following the principle of “do no harm” - in support of countries in which violent coup d’états are threatening international peace and security and destroying democratic institutions, without which fundamental human rights cannot be exercised, protected and enforced.

The global PGA network, in particular through its Campaigns for Democratic Renewal and Human Rights and for the Universality and Effectiveness of the system of the Rome Statute of the ICC, will continue its work with Members of Parliament from Guinea Bissau as well as with the Members of Parliaments from Burkina Faso and other countries affected by unconstitutional changes of regime in order to promote and advance the protection of fundamental rights and the fight against impunity for serious violations as guarantees of non-repetition.