BAN CONDEMNS ASSASSINATION OF GUINEA-BISSAU’S PRESIDENT

BAN CONDEMNS ASSASSINATION OF GUINEA-BISSAU'S PRESIDENT
New York, Mar 2 2009 2:00PM
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today strongly condemned the killing of the president of Guinea-Bissau and his chief of staff, calling on the national authorities to maintain the rule of law and bring those responsible to justice.

"The Secretary-General is deeply saddened and dismayed by the assassinations of President João Bernardo Vieira and his Chief of General Staff, General Batista Tagme Na Waie," Mr. Ban said in a statement released by his spokesperson.

"He remains in close contact with his Representative for Guinea Bissau, Joseph Mutaboba, who along with others in the international community is working to promote peace, political stability and development in the country," the statement added.

The Secretary-General's statement noted that the assassinations occurred soon after successful legislative elections which "paved the way for enhanced UN support to the country's peacebuilding efforts."

Guinea-Bissau is one of a handful of States on the agenda of the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission, which aims to help poor countries avoid sliding back into war or chaos.

The West African country has struggled to combat drug trafficking and organized crime, and also to sustain economic growth and political stability amid a series of civil conflicts, coups d'état and uprisings in recent decades.

This past November, renegade military elements attacked the residence of President Vieira but he survived the attack, which occurred just one week after legislative elections were staged in a peaceful and orderly manner.

At that time, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council both condemned the failed assassination attempt and urged all political groups to resolve their differences peacefully.
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NEW HEAD OF KEY REGIONAL SECURITY GROUP AFFIRMS VALUE OF COOPERATION WITH UN

NEW HEAD OF KEY REGIONAL SECURITY GROUP AFFIRMS VALUE OF COOPERATION WITH UN
New York, Feb 27 2009 5:00PM

Given the depth and quantity of challenges on the international community's agenda, the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) will continue to boost its partnership with the United Nation, its new Chairperson said today.

"When times are as challenging as they are, close cooperation between the Security Council and a key regional player such as the OSCE becomes all the more indispensable," Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis, in her capacity of Chairperson-in-Office of the body, told the Council in a briefing.

She said that post-conflict field work, border issues, the fight against terrorism and crime and human rights concerns are among the 2009 Greek Chairmanship's priorities for the OSCE, the world's largest regional security organization under Chapter VIII of the UN Charter with 56 participating States that nearly circle the globe.

Discussions in Geneva, established following the 2008 conflict in Georgia and co-chaired by the OSCE, the UN and the European Union, were a major concern of her presentation. "The Geneva platform demonstrates the importance of cooperation between these three major actors. This is the only framework where all the parties to the conflict meet," she underlined.

In addition, she said the OSCE remains an important presence in Kosovo, where she called the organization's mission a pillar of the UN Mission known as UNMIK.

"My recent visit to Pristina strengthened my conviction that the OSCE Mission remains a stabilizing factor in Kosovo, ensuring continuity of international presence and maintaining good working relationships with all communities," she said.

Border security and policing, and deepening OSCE engagement with Afghanistan are also high on the Chairmanship's agenda, said Ms. Bakoyannis, citing initiatives to train Afghan experts on border management and security, counter-narcotic policing, customs management and travel document security.

"I am convinced that the OSCE, with its inclusive membership, expertise in police training and border management, and long experience in Central Asia, can make a realistic and meaningful contribution to the security of Afghanistan and its neighbourhood," she said.

OSCE work on the ground, reinforced by proposals for a renewed European security dialogue, "confirmed the OSCE as a unique platform," Ms. Bakoyannis stated, adding that its inclusive composition and signature concept of comprehensive security "remain unparalleled across the Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian landscapes."

Given all the challenges present in those landscapes, as well as the global economic crisis, it is vital to further strengthen the partnership between the UN and the OSCE, she concluded, maintaining: "In such circumstances, it is our responsibility to consolidate the pillars of a rules-based international order."
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GUATEMALA: PROGRESS MADE IN BOOSTING JUSTICE SYSTEM, SAYS HEAD OF UN-BACKED PROBE

GUATEMALA: PROGRESS MADE IN BOOSTING JUSTICE SYSTEM, SAYS HEAD OF UN-BACKED PROBE
New York, Feb 24 2009 7:00PM
Despite strides made in dismantling organized criminal networks in Guatemala, substantial work is still necessary to consolidate the rule of law in the Central American nation, the head of a United Nations-backed commission investigating the presence and activities of these groups said today.

Since the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala, known by its Spanish acronym CICIG, officially began its work in January of last year, "we have made significant progress," Commissioner Carlos Castresana told reporters in New York.

The Commission seeks to bolster the rule of law in Guatemala and is permitted by its mandate to conduct independent investigations and help authorities bring representative cases to trial in national courts. It differs in that regard from international tribunals and is thus an "innovative" effort, Castresana said.

After more than three decades of armed conflict came to an end in 1996, illegal security organizations which used to prevent the courts from acting in cases of human rights abuses "have basically been reduced to organized crime" groups, Mr. Castresana said.

Last year saw the expulsion of 1,700 people – including 50 senior officials – from the police force, within which there is "a lot of endemic dysfunction and corruption is rife."

Further, he said the CICIG took their case to the Guatemalan president when the Attorney General refused to cooperate with the Commission, which ultimately resulted in the resignation of the Attorney General and the invitation of 10 of the country's main public prosecutors to leave their positions.

"We've built up a relationship of trust with our Guatemalan peers," he said, noting that plans to step up witness protection programmes and create a maximum security prison to house the most dangerous offenders are also underway.

However, "there is still 98 per cent impunity in Guatemala, unfortunately," said the Commissioner of the CICIG, which was established under an agreement signed between Guatemala and the UN in December 2006.

Dealing with trans-national criminals including drug traffickers will require "high-impact" courts in Guatemala City, he stressed, since it courts in the country's interior lack the legal and security protections necessary to try the most sensitive cases. Trying such offenders will also require physical protection "because the environment is very hostile." The Guatemala City-based CICIG is currently investigating 20 "high impact" cases, and is a complementary prosecutor, along with the Public Prosecutor's Office, in four of them.

Mr. Castresana paid tribute to the governments in the country for their bravery in recognizing the seriousness of the threat to security posed by the presence of regional organized criminal groups

He also thanked the international community for their generosity "which is gradually helping Guatemala clean things up with the contribution of prosecutors in Guatemala who are now able to do their jobs, something they were unable to do alone."

The ultimate goal, the CICIG chief said, is not to replace the nation's democratic institutions, but rather to help build a democracy where the rule of law is entrenched where "citizens have a referee who can resolve their disputes" without resorting to violence.

The CICIG, which has a two-year mandate, is funded entirely by voluntary contributions from the international community, receiving over $20 million in donations or secondments of personnel through the end of last year.

Based in the capital Guatemala City, it currently has approximately 150 international Guatemalan national staff, most of whom are criminal justice experts with experience in organized crime.
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