Ceasefire Agreement in Guinea-Bissau

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Country/entity: Guinea-Bissau
Region: Africa (excl MENA)
Agreement name: Ceasefire Agreement in Guinea-Bissau
Date: 26 Aug 1998
Agreement status: Multiparty signed/agreed
Interim arrangement: Yes
Agreement/conflict level: Intrastate/intrastate conflict
Guinea-Bissau Civil War (1998 - 1999)
An attempted coup d'etat by Brigadier General Mane against the government of President Vieira in June 1998 led to a conflict that killed thousands as Vieira - backed by neighbouring states - attempted to re-take the country. A national unity government was established in an agreement signed in November 1998, but fighting continued until Vieira was deposed in May 1999. Only months before the coup attempt, Brig. Gen. Mane was suspended on grounds of a dereliction of duty following the discovery of a weapons cache and the arrest of several army officers on charges of arming Casamance insurgents in neighbouring Senegal. Following the deposal of Vieira, it was agreed that he would stand trial on the same charges. His deposal was condemned by ECOMOG, but ECOMOG troops were nonetheless withdrawn from Guinea-Bissau. The constitution was amended to limit presidential terms to a maximum of two and the death penalty was abolished. The opposition party won the parliamentary elections held in November 1999 by a large majority.
Stage: Ceasefire/related
Conflict nature: Government
Peace process: Guinea Bissau peace process
Parties: Unsigned transcript of the agreement but parties are as follows:
For the Government of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau (Signed)
For the self-proclaimed military junta (Signed)
Third parties: Unsigned transcript of the agreement but parties are as follows:
For the ECOWAS Group of Seven: (Signed) [Summary: the ECOWAS Group of Seven is comprised of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs from the following member states: Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria and Senegal.]

For the CPLP Contact Group (Signed) [Summary: the Ministerial Contact Group of the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries is comprised of the following member states: Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, (Guinea-Bissau), Mozambique, Portugal, and São Tomé and Príncipe].
Description: This agreement transforms the truce declared under the memorandum of understanding of 26 July 1998 into a ceasefire. The agreement lists the Annexes to the memorandum of understanding of 26 July 1998 as integral parts of this ceasefire agreement. Coding for these annexes has been done under the Memorandum of Understanding of 26/07/1998 and is not replicated here.

Agreement document: GW_980826_CeasefireAgreementGuineaBissau.pdf (opens in new tab) | Download PDF

Groups

Children/youth: No specific mention.
Disabled persons: No specific mention.
Elderly/age: No specific mention.
Migrant workers: No specific mention.
Racial/ethnic/national group: No specific mention.
Religious groups: No specific mention.
Indigenous people: No specific mention.
Other groups: No specific mention.
Refugees/displaced persons: Groups→Refugees/displaced persons→Substantive
Page 1, Article 1: The Government of Guinea-Bissau and the Self-denominated Military Junta agree to an immediate ceasefire based on the principles indicated below:
...(c) Reopening the Osvaldo Vieira Airport in order to facilitate the viability of humanitarian aid, the logistic support to the ceasefire observation mission and the return of refugees;
...(f) Creation of conditions which may facilitate the return of refugees and resettlement of displaced persons.
Social class: No specific mention.

Gender

Women, girls and gender: No specific mention.
Men and boys: No specific mention.
LGBTI: No specific mention.
Family: No specific mention.

State definition

Nature of state (general): No specific mention.
State configuration: No specific mention.
Self determination: No specific mention.
Referendum: No specific mention.
State symbols: No specific mention.
Independence/secession: No specific mention.
Accession/unification: No specific mention.
Border delimitation: No specific mention.
Cross-border provision: No specific mention.

Governance

Political institutions (new or reformed): Governance→Political institutions (new or reformed)→General references
Page 1, Article 1: The Government of Guinea-Bissau and the Self-denominated Military Junta agree to an immediate ceasefire based on the principles indicated below:
(a) Reaffirmation of the public recognition of democratic institutions and legality;
Elections: No specific mention.
Electoral commission: No specific mention.
Political parties reform: No specific mention.
Civil society: Page 1, Article 1: The Government of Guinea-Bissau and the Self-denominated Military Junta agree to an immediate ceasefire based on the principles indicated below:
...(c) Reopening the Osvaldo Vieira Airport in order to facilitate the viability of humanitarian aid, the logistic support to the ceasefire observation mission and the return of refugees;
...(e) Strengthening of the opening of humanitarian corridors;
Traditional/religious leaders: No specific mention.
Public administration: No specific mention.
Constitution: No specific mention.

Power sharing

Political power sharing: No specific mention.
Territorial power sharing: No specific mention.
Economic power sharing: No specific mention.
Military power sharing: No specific mention.

Human rights and equality

Human rights/RoL general: No specific mention.
Bill of rights/similar: No specific mention.
Treaty incorporation: No specific mention.
Civil and political rights: No specific mention.
Socio-economic rights: No specific mention.

Rights related issues

Citizenship: No specific mention.
Democracy: Page 1, Article 1: The Government of Guinea-Bissau and the Self-denominated Military Junta agree to an immediate ceasefire based on the principles indicated below:
(a) Reaffirmation of the public recognition of democratic institutions and legality;
Detention procedures: No specific mention.
Media and communication: No specific mention.
Mobility/access: Page 1, Article 1: The Government of Guinea-Bissau and the Self-denominated Military Junta agree to an immediate ceasefire based on the principles indicated below:
...(c) Reopening the Osvaldo Vieira Airport in order to facilitate the viability of humanitarian aid, the logistic support to the ceasefire observation mission and the return of refugees;
...(e) Strengthening of the opening of humanitarian corridors;
Protection measures: No specific mention.
Other: No specific mention.

Rights institutions

NHRI: No specific mention.
Regional or international human rights institutions: No specific mention.

Justice sector reform

Criminal justice and emergency law: No specific mention.
State of emergency provisions: No specific mention.
Judiciary and courts: No specific mention.
Prisons and detention: No specific mention.
Traditional Laws: No specific mention.

Socio-economic reconstruction

Development or socio-economic reconstruction: No specific mention.
National economic plan: No specific mention.
Natural resources: No specific mention.
International funds: No specific mention.
Business: No specific mention.
Taxation: No specific mention.
Banks: No specific mention.

Land, property and environment

Land reform/rights: No specific mention.
Pastoralist/nomadism rights: No specific mention.
Cultural heritage: No specific mention.
Environment: No specific mention.
Water or riparian rights or access: No specific mention.

Security sector

Security Guarantees: No specific mention.
Ceasefire: Security sector→Ceasefire→Ceasefire provision
[Summary: Ceasefire commences on 26/08/1998. It's expected duration is unclear]

Page 1, Article 1: The Government of Guinea-Bissau and the Self-denominated Military Junta agree to an immediate ceasefire based on the principles indicated below:
(a) Reaffirmation of the public recognition of democratic institutions and legality;
(b) Freezing of their respective military positions held at the time of the entry into force of the Memorandum of Understanding of 26 July 1998;
(c) Reopening the Osvaldo Vieira Airport in order to facilitate the viability of humanitarian aid, the logistic support to the ceasefire observation mission and the return of refugees;
(d) Deployment of observation and interposition forces, to be defined through negotiations;
(e) Strengthening of the opening of humanitarian corridors;
(f) Creation of conditions which may facilitate the return of refugees and resettlement of displaced persons.

Page 1, Article 3: This Agreement will enter into force on 26 August 1998, at 2 a.m.
Police: No specific mention.
Armed forces: No specific mention.
DDR: No specific mention.
Intelligence services: No specific mention.
Parastatal/rebel and opposition group forces: No specific mention.
Withdrawal of foreign forces: No specific mention.
Corruption: No specific mention.
Crime/organised crime: No specific mention.
Drugs: No specific mention.
Terrorism: No specific mention.

Transitional justice

Transitional justice general: No specific mention.
Amnesty/pardon: No specific mention.
Courts: No specific mention.
Mechanism: No specific mention.
Prisoner release: No specific mention.
Vetting: No specific mention.
Victims: No specific mention.
Missing persons: No specific mention.
Reparations: No specific mention.
Reconciliation: No specific mention.

Implementation

UN signatory: No specific mention.
Other international signatory: For the ECOWAS Group of Seven: (Signed)

For the CPLP Contact Group (Signed)
Referendum for agreement: No specific mention.
International mission/force/similar: Page 1, Article 1: The Government of Guinea-Bissau and the Self-denominated Military Junta agree to an immediate ceasefire based on the principles indicated below:
...(c) Reopening the Osvaldo Vieira Airport in order to facilitate the viability of humanitarian aid, the logistic support to the ceasefire observation mission and the return of refugees;
(d) Deployment of observation and interposition forces, to be defined through negotiations;
Enforcement mechanism: No specific mention.
Related cases: No specific mention.
Source: UN Peacemaker: http://peacemaker.un.org/

Ceasefire agreement in Guinea-Bissau

Under the joint chairmanship of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP), the Government of Guinea-Bissau and the Self-denominated Military Junta met in Praia on 25 August 1998 and decided to transform the truce agreed upon in the Memorandum of Understanding signed at Bissau on 26 July 1998 into a ceasefire based on the following principles:

Article 1

The Government of Guinea-Bissau and the Self-denominated Military Junta agree to an immediate ceasefire based on the principles indicated below:

Reaffirmation of the public recognition of democratic institutions and legality;

Freezing of their respective military positions held at the time of the entry into force of the Memorandum of Understanding of 26 July 1998;

Reopening the Osvaldo Vieira Airport in order to facilitate the viability of humanitarian aid, the logistic support to the ceasefire observation mission and the return of refugees;

Deployment of observation and interposition forces, to be defined through negotiations;

Strengthening of the opening of humanitarian corridors;

Creation of conditions which may facilitate the return of refugees and resettlement of displaced persons.

Article 2

Annexes I and II to the Memorandum of Understanding dated 26 July 1998 are an integral part of this Agreement.

Article 3

This Agreement will enter into force on 26 August 1998, at 2 a.m.

DONE at Praia, 26 August 1998.

For the Government of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau:

(Signed)

For the Self-denominated Military Junta:

(Signed)

For the ECOWAS Group of Seven:

(Signed)

For the CPLP Contact Group:

(Signed)