Joint Communiqué of the CPLP-Human Rights Network on Guinea Bissau

Following the legislative elections of March 10, 2019, the CPLP-Human Rights Network calls on the leaders of their countries to make efforts to strengthen the Institution of Human Rights of Guinea-Bissau, so that it is effectively independent, in accordance with the principles of Paris.

At its last meeting in Lisbon on 13 December 2018, members of the Network noted with concern the precarious conditions in which the National Human Rights Commission exercises its mandate in Guinea-Bissau.

This is to encourage the creation of conditions for an effective independent institution in the Republic of Guinea-Bissau to defend citizens’ rights, either through the strengthening of the existing Commission on Human Rights or through the creation of an Ombudsman whose functions may be part of the Human Rights component.

Members of the Network express their readiness to support the creation or strengthening of such an institution, through exchange of experience and good practice, as well as in the accreditation process in international fora.

The CPLP-Human Rights Network is made up of the National Human Rights Institutions and the Ombudsman Institutions of Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe, Timor-Leste and Portugal.