UNIOGBIS
United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau

Closure of UNIOGBIS

The United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea‑Bissau (UNIOGBIS) was established on 26 June 2009. Its mandate ended on 31 December 2020, subsumed to the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS).

New Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General arrives in Bissau

13 February 2013 - The new Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Guinea-Bissau, José Ramos-Horta, arrived on Wednesday, 13 February 2013, in Bissau. Speaking to journalists at the airport, Ramos-Horta expressed his intention, based on the mandate he received from the Security Council, to work with the authorities of Guinea-Bissau, with civil society, and Guinea-Bissau's regional and international partners with a view to the resolution of the crisis affecting the country.

"We are going to engage in dialogue with all our partners, in particular ECOWAS [the Economic Community of West African States], which is the frontline sub-regional organisation," said the new head of the UN Integrated Peace-Building Office in Guinea-Bissau, UNIOGBIS.
He stated that he would be in permanent consultations with all regional and international partners - the African Union (AU), Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), ECOWAS and European Union (EU) - "so that we can find the best way forward, with our brothers of Guinea-Bissau"

"I was sent here to serve the cause of peace," added Mr. Ramos-Horta (63), a Nobel Peace Prize winner and former president of Timor-Leste.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced the appointment of José Ramos-Horta as his Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS) on 31 December 2012.