UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has recommended that the mandate of the UN political mission in Guinea-Bissau be adjusted to support a two-phase process for the full restoration of constitutional order and medium-term stability in the country.
Ban’s recommendation was contained in a report presented to the UN Security Council on Thursday by Mr. Jose Ramos Horta, Special Representative for the UN Secretary-General and head of the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS).
“It is important that the United Nations system and sub-regional, regional and international partners work together to support a responsible, legitimate and effective State, operating under the rule of law and able to provide security, essential services and economic opportunities to its people,” Ban said.
According to the Secretary-General’s recommendations, the first phase of the restoration of constitutional order and stability would culminate in presidential and legislative elections and focus on creating “a political environment built on confidence and non-interference in the electoral process.”
The second phase proposed by the UN chief, which would conclude at the end of the term of the next elected government, should focus on post-election stability, on strengthening of State and democratic governance institutions.
The institutions include security, justice and defence and on the functioning of both central and local State structures.
The current mandate of UNIOGBIS, which was established in 2010 to replace the previous peacebuilding support office known as UNIOGBIS (set up in 1999 after an 11-month civil war), expires at the end of this month.
PANA reports that on 12 April last year, soldiers in Guinea-Bissau seized power in the West African country with a history of coups, misrule and political instability since it gained independence from Portugal in 1974.
The coup d’etat came ahead of a presidential run-off that was slated for 22 April between Carlos Gomes Júnior and a former president, Kumba Yala.
