Annan recommends extension of UNOGBIS

The UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has recommended that the Security Council extend the mandate of the UN Peace-building Support Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNOGBIS) until 31 December 2002, a UN statement said on Monday. In a letter dated 12 October to the President of the Security Council, Richard Ryan, Annan said that the overall situation in Guinea-Bissau remained "dangerously unstable". "The authorities of Guinea-Bissau, in recent discussions with my Representative, have commended the work of UNOGBIS, and have requested the extension of its mandate until the next legislative and presidential elections," the statement quoted Annan as saying. The UN Office, whose current mandate expires on 31 December 2001, has been open since April 1999. The office, which has been active in peace-building efforts since mid-1999, helps promote reconciliation and strengthen democratic institutions, the UN statement said. In May 1999, Guinea-Bissau's president Joao Bernardo Veira was overthrown and replaced by a transitional administration which organised elections which were held in November the same year. Because neither of the main contenders in the election secured the required percentage to be declared winner, a re-run was conducted in January 2000. Current President Kumba Yala won the elections which were considered by international observers to have been free and fair.