Security Council calls for commitment to peace pact

The UN Security Council has called on the former warring parties in Guinea Bissau to fully implement a peace agreement they signed in Abuja on 1 November 1998, and whose provisions include the holding of national elections, according to a UN press release. In a resolution passed on Tuesday, the Council called on the two sides to adopt and implement all measures needed to ensure the smooth functioning of the country's national unity government, including confidence-building measures and steps to encourage the early return of refugees and internally displaced persons. The government of national unity is headed by Prime Minister Francisco Fadul. It was sworn in on 24 February under the Abuja agreement, which followed a civil war between supporters of President Joao Bernardo Vieira and a self-proclaimed military junta led by army chief General Ansumane Mane. The Security Council called on the parties to agree promptly on an election date and to hold polls that are all inclusive, free and fair. It invited the United Nations and others to consider providing any needed electoral assistance. The Security Council also asked the UN Secretary-General to consider convening a meeting in New York with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to assess the needs of the ECOWAS Monitoring Observer Group (ECOMOG), with a view to mobilizing and channelling assistance for peacekeeping in Guinea-Bissau. The Council welcomed a planned roundtable of donors on Guinea-Bissau, sponsored by the UNDP. That conference is to be held in Geneva on 4-5 May to mobilize assistance for the country's humanitarian needs, its socio-economic rehabilitation and peace-building.