The Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) decided this Tuesday, December 16, to officially suspend the Republic of Guinea-Bissau from all of the organization’s activities. The measure was made official during the 1st Extraordinary Conference of Heads of State and Government, held in virtual format.
The final resolution, signed by Portuguese-speaking leaders, bases the decision on article 7 of the CPLP Statutes, which provides for sanctions in cases of “serious violation of the constitutional order in a Member State”. The document emphasizes that the suspension will be in force until there is a “resumption of constitutional order” in the country. The sanction comes following the coup d’état that took place in the country.
The Conference of Heads of State thus accepted the recommendation made by the XVII Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of Ministers of the CPLP, which took place on December 5th. At that meeting, the ministers had already signaled the need for a temporary suspension and the consequent transfer of the organization’s presidency.
Timor-Leste assumes the presidency
As an immediate consequence of the Guinean suspension, the summit decided to elect the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste to hold the presidency for the time of the CPLP, granting him all the prerogatives inherent to the position.
The meeting was attended by senior figures from the Portuguese-speaking world, including the President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and the President of Mozambique, Daniel Francisco Chapo, among other heads of State and Government.