Cheikh Niang, the Minister of African Integration and Foreign Affairs, leading a delegation of Senegalese officials, visited Guinea-Bissau on December 21st to meet with the ruling junta. This visit has sparked considerable commentary. His ministry has now issued a statement explaining that "This visit had a strictly humanitarian objective."

"It aimed to convince the military authorities in place to proceed with the release of political prisoners, including Mr. Domingos Simões Pereira, leader of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde (PAIGC), former President of the National People's Assembly, and to allow Mr. Fernando Dias Da Costa, candidate for the 2025 presidential election, as well as his companions, refugees at the Embassy of the Republic of Nigeria in Bissau, to leave this place of protection safely," the ministry reports.

It was in this context, according to the press release, that the delegation met with military leaders to convey, on behalf of Professor Diomaye Faye, an oral message advocating for respect for the human rights of the aforementioned individuals. The delegation also visited Mr. Pereira's place of detention and the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, where Mr. Da Costa had sought refuge, the statement added.

The statement also indicates that the Senegalese delegation drew the attention of the new Guinea-Bissau authorities to the importance, in order to promote an orderly political normalization, of "facilitating the freedom of movement of detainees and refugees, while ensuring the guarantee of their security by ECOMIG".

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasizes, however, that "Senegal aligns itself with the decisions of the last Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Council" regarding the transition in Guinea-Bissau. Senegal states its readiness to fully assume its role within the ECOWAS Mediation and Security Council (CMS) in order to contribute effectively to the implementation of the summit's decisions aimed at restoring constitutional order in Guinea-Bissau.