Guinea-Bissau

Guinea-Bissau: ICRC Annual Report 2012

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) 1 July 2013 The capture by a faction of the Mouvement des Forces Démocratiques de Casamance (MFDC) of eight Senegalese nationals, including six soldiers, at the end of 2011 prompted over two months of military operations, during which over 150 people were displaced within the country and more than 650 sought refuge in Gambia. In otherwise abandoned villages, some homes were looted. The fighting subsided in the second half of the year as the newly elected Senegalese government and the MFDC established contact; the captives were released in December. While the calm allowed Read the full article…


Guinea-Bissau: Amnesty International Annual Report 2013

Amnesty International 23 May 2013 The political situation deteriorated sharply following the death in January of President Malam Bacai Sanhá, culminating in a coup in April. It deteriorated further following a reported attack on a military barracks in October, which exacerbated the already fragile human rights and humanitarian situation. The armed forces committed numerous human rights violations with impunity, including arbitrary arrest and detention, beatings and extrajudicial executions. Freedoms of assembly, expression and the press were severely curbed. The killings of political and security figures since 2009 remained unpunished. In January, President Malam Bacai Sanhá died after a long illness. Read the full article…


Guinea-Bissau: Freedom in the World 2013

Freedom House 9 May 2013 Less than one month after the first-round of the March 2012 presidential election, which was deemed free and fair by international observers, a military coup deposed the interim president and suspended the parliament. Freedoms of speech and movement were curtailed, and several political leaders were imprisoned. The Economic Community of West African States brokered a transition pact, and a transitional civilian government was formally established in May. Nevertheless, instability continued in Guinea-Bissau throughout the year, including an alleged coup attempt in October against the interim government. Read the full report here.


Guinea-Bissau: 2012 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

US Department of State 19 April 2013 Less than one month after the first-round of the March 2012 presidential election, which was deemed free and fair by international observers, a military coup deposed the interim president and suspended the parliament. Freedoms of speech and movement were curtailed, and several political leaders were imprisoned. The Economic Community of West African States brokered a transition pact, and a transitional civilian government was formally established in May. Nevertheless, instability continued in Guinea-Bissau throughout the year, including an alleged coup attempt in October against the interim government. Read the full report here.


Guinea-Bissau: Division and stasis, IRIN analysis

IRIN, UN news service, 18 May 2012 On 16 May a transition pact brokered by the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) and signed by all parties except the majority PAIGC [African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde] - officially nominated Manuel Serifo Nhamadjo as Interim President of Guinea-Bissau for one year. The decision was made after weeks of political wrangling following a military coup on 12 April that interrupted presidential elections, in which ex- Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Junior from the PAIGC party was the clear front-runner. While many fear the decision to install Nhamadjo Read the full article…


Guinea-Bissau: Chronology of instability

IRIN, UN news service, 23 April 2012 Rather than shoring up democratic institutions, Guinea-Bissau’s presidential elections in March widened divisions between civilian and military leaders, culminating in a 12 April coup. It was the fifth successful putsch the country has experienced since independence in 1974. Follow the link for a chronology of the decades of political turmoil, from 1956 to April 2012. Guinea-Bissau: Chronology of instability


Guinea-Bissau: Latest coup another setback

IRIN, UN news service, 23 April 2012 Development, democracy and stability gains in Guinea-Bissau have suffered a major setback following the military takeover in Guinea-Bissau on 12 April. The UN Security Council has threatened sanctions; and the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLC) has proposed sending “peacekeepers” to the country. On 12 April military leaders detained Prime Minister and presidential candidate Carols Gomes Jr (known as Cadogo) and interim President Raimundo Pereira, going on to appoint failed presidential candidate Manuel Serifo Nhamajo as president of a proposed two-year transitional government in a move which the Economic Community of West African Read the full article…