UN PEACEBUILDING COMMISSION TO BEGIN ASSISTING GUINEA-BISSAU

UN PEACEBUILDING COMMISSION TO BEGIN ASSISTING GUINEA-BISSAU
New York, Dec 12 2007 6:00PM
Guinea-Bissau will become the third country on the agenda of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC), the United Nations advisory body set up to help countries emerging from conflict avoid sliding back into war or chaos, after the Security Council backed a request from the Government of the West African country.

Guinea-Bissau is expected to formally join Sierra Leone and Burundi on the Commission's country-specific workload once the PBC holds consultations next Monday on the Security Council's referral of the situation.

The referral comes as the Council heard briefings today from Shola Omoregie, the head of the UN Peacebuilding Support in Guinea-Bissau (UNOGBIS), and from Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (<"http://www.unodc.org/unodc/index.html">UNODC).

Mr. Costa highlighted the threat that cocaine trafficking is posing to the country and its neighbours in the region, and urged the international community to make sure that Guinea-Bissau receives enough short-term assistance so that it does not collapse.

Since 2005, some 33 tons of cocaine have been seized across West Africa, but Mr. Costa said this may be "only the tip of an iceberg," adding that in Guinea-Bissau the value of the drug trade is greater than the entire national income.

"Drug money is perverting the economy and rotting society," he told Council members. "Using threats and bribes, drug traffickers are infiltrating State structures and operating with impunity."

UNODC said the country's authorities, particularly its police and justice system, are overwhelmed by the problem and by the alliance between foreign criminal groups and powerful local figures.
2007-12-12 00:00:00.000

___________________

For more details go to UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news
To listen to news and in-depth programmes from UN Radio go to: http://radio.un.org/

_______________________________

To change your profile or unsubscribe go to:
http://www.un.org/apps/news/email/