Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau
Under a government that continually fails to enforce gender equality legislation, women in Guinea-Bissau face high levels of poverty, domestic violence and sexual and gender-based violence.
Despite a women’s political platform developed in 2008, women’s participation in parliament remains low. Guinea-Bissau acceded to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1985, and launched a National Action Plan per Resolution 1325 in 2011. In the same year, Guinea-Bissau passed a law aimed at ending female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C). Lack of prosecution for rape, exacerbated by widespread impunity and corruption, eliminates the effectiveness of laws making SGBV illegal.
Based on the work of NGOWG members and their partners, the NGOWG calls for an end to impunity in Guinea-Bissau, and encourages gender mainstreaming as a priority for the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS).
Current and Past Recommendations to the UN Security Council (Monthly Action Points)
Guinea-Bissau (February 2016)
The Security Council is expected to renew the mandate of the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS). The Council should ensure UNIOGBIS, as a priority, addresses concerns surrounding Guinea-Bissau’s judicial system, which, if left unchecked, will allow impunity and corruption to grow. Increased attention on legal reform must coincide with efforts to ensure women’s participation and the protection of women’s rights. The Council should call for consultations with women and women’s civil society organizations (per SCR 2122 (2013), OP 2(c)). Furthermore, women should be included as leaders and stakeholders in ongoing security sector reform, national reconciliation processes, institution building and addressing the root causes of instability. Finally, the Council must acknowledge the role drug trafficking has on undermining rule of law and stabilization reforms, take measures to address the differentiated impact drug trafficking has on women and acknowledge and encourage women’s role in addressing drug trafficking.
Relevant Resources
