The global membership of Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) has recently embraced and supported the political and constitutional developments that led Guinea Bissau to become a multi-party parliamentary democracy under the Rule of Law.
Parliamentarians from Guinea Bissau, in their individual capacity, joined the PGA network and became active in a number of Campaigns aimed at strengthening human rights and arms’ control in their West African nation.
While recognizing that Guinea Bissau is not anymore an authoritarian State, PGA expresses profound concerns for the repeated failures of the Executive power to respect the Constitution and its checks and balances, which rests on the independence of the judiciary and the sovereignty of Parliament on behalf of the people of Guinea Bissau.
Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) calls upon the Government of Guinea Bissau to immediately and unconditionally release from detention any elected Member of Parliament who may have been accused of offenses that relate to his or her freedom of expression, which is a fundamental right not only recognized by the Constitution, but also guaranteed under applicable International Law, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Peoples and Human Rights.
PGA is deeply worried about the reports of security breaches into the premises of the Speaker of Parliament, who is the sole authority that is entrusted with the responsibility to convene the Legislative power under the Constitution.
PGA affirms that threats against the physical integrity of any parliamentary leaders and threats to launch politically motivated charges against parliamentarians of any political parties are unacceptable and shall be closely monitored by the International Community, including the ECOWAS and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
No one is above the law, and the constitutional framework must apply, with equal force, to all political actors and institutions, including the President of the Republic. In a non-presidential constitutional order, the Presidency cannot take upon itself constitutional prerogatives that belong to Parliament, which is the Constitutional body that must confirm and support – though a duly constituted parliamentary majority – the Prime Minister and her/his Executive.
The separation of powers is a sacrosanct principle upon which every modern democracy erects its institutions.
The people of Guinea Bissau deserve to be governed by the force of law, not the law of force.
PGA calls upon all Members of the International Community to ensure that democracy, human rights and the Rule of Law are upheld by all the organs of the Guinea Bissau's State in order to ensure protection for the fundamental rights and best interests of its population.
At Parliamentarians for Global Action, we are committed to protecting the human rights of parliamentarians and we call on the relevant authorities in Guinea Bissau to release any parliamentarian that is detained for political reasons. We invoke the popular representation of which parliamentarians are invested and that cannot suffer any impairment by the action of the other powers of the State.Dip. Margarita Stolbizer (Argentina)
President, PGA