Bombande gets top UN post

Conflict resolution and peace-building expert, Emmanuel Bombande, has been appointed as the Special Assistant/Adviser to the UN General Secretary's Special Representative to West Africa.

Per this appointment, Mr.Bombande will be the Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa that has the mandate to, among other things, enhance the contributions of the UN towards the achievement of peace and security in West Africa.

A felicitation statement issued by WANEP on its website quoted its Executive Director, Chukwuemeka Eze, as saying “this is another big one. It is a well-deserved appointment that further adds to the credibility of the WANEP family.”

Its Regional Board Chair, Professor Isaac Albert described the appointment as “a well-deserved appointment," the statement quoted him. "I have always said that Emmanuel is a public property. This appointment testifies to the fact that he is not a local but a global champion!," it added.

Mr. Emmanuel Bombande, Co-founder and immediate past Executive Director of WANEP handed over to Mr. Chukwuemeka Eze in January 2015 after 10 years in that position.

He has been a lead mediator in many community based mediation efforts in West Africa, served as a member of the UN Advisory Team in Ghana and advised the Government of Ghana on various conflict prevention strategies including the development of peace architecture for Ghana.

Mr. Bombande facilitates and teaches various peace building courses in different institutions. They include the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre in Accra-Ghana, the University of Ghana's Legon Centre for International Affairs (LECIA) and the Folke Bernadotte Academy – in Sweden

Mr. Bombande has a Master’s degree in Conflict Transformation from the Eastern Mennonite University-Virginia-USA. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology-Kumasi Ghana and Diploma from Cheik Anta Diop University-Dakar Senegal.