A/HRC/45/2
(c)
The summary prepared by OHCHR in accordance with paragraph 15 of the
annex to Council resolution 5/1 and paragraph 5 of the annex to Council resolution 16/21
(A/HRC/WG.6/35/GNB/3).
792. At its 34th meeting, on 5 October 2020, the Human Rights Council considered and
adopted the outcome of the review of Guinea-Bissau (see sect. C below).
793. The outcome of the review of Guinea-Bissau comprises the report of the Working
Group on the Universal Periodic Review (A/HRC/44/11) and the views of Guinea-Bissau
concerning the recommendations and/or conclusions, as well as its voluntary commitments
and its replies to questions or issues that were not sufficiently addressed during the
interactive dialogue in the Working Group, and which were presented before the adoption
of the outcome by the plenary (see also A/HRC/44/11/Add.1).
1.
Views expressed by the State under review on the recommendations and/or
conclusions, its voluntary commitments and the outcome
794. The Vice-President of the Human Rights Council indicated that Guinea-Bissau had
informed the Human Rights Council that unfortunately it could not ensure the presence of a
delegation at the present session of the Human Rights Council. However, aware of the
importance of complying with the established calendar for the adoption the outcome of the
universal periodic review of Guinea-Bissau, it had sent a statement together with its positon
on the recommendations received, which had been shared with the Council. The VicePresident noted that, in accordance with relevant precedents, the presidency could read out
statements of States that were not present at the adoption of the outcome and proceeded to
read the following statement sent on behalf of Mr. Fernando Mendonça, Minister of Justice
of Guinea-Bissau.
795. Guinea-Bissau is a developing country that had always made efforts to honour its
commitments to international forums, in particular to the Human Rights Council.
796. The country presented its National Report on the status of human rights in the third
cycle of the universal periodic review to the 35th Session of the Working Group on the
Universal Periodic Review, held in Geneva on 24 January 2020, in the first phase of its
review under this mechanism of the Human Rights Council.
797. During the interactive dialogue with the Working Group of the Human Rights
Council, Guinea-Bissau received 197 recommendations, to which it had provided its
responses in the table contained in the addendum.
798. As of March 2020, Guinea-Bissau, like other countries in the world, began to suffer
from the first cases of COVID-19, which worsened the situation of the already vulnerable
health system and also caused several insufficiencies in various sectors of the economic and
social life of the country.
799. Nevertheless, to respond to the situation resulting from the pandemic, the
Government of Guinea-Bissau adopted an Emergency Plan and had made available to the
government departments the following financial resources: one hundred million CFA francs
(100,000,000), for the social aid fund to support victims of natural disasters; thirty million
CFA francs (30,000,000), for the monthly medical acquisitions for hospital emergency
services; and sixty millions CFA francs (60,000,000) at the national level to feed patients.
800. In addition, regarding human rights, the country had made some progress concerning
the justice sector, in particular through: the implementation of the Decree-Law on the
creation of the Office for the Recovery of Assets from Crime and the Administration of
Proceeds from Criminal Activities; the implementation of the Decrees on the registry of the
judiciary and the prosecutor’s office, and regulations on the financial management of the
justice system.
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