SUBREGIONAL CONFERENCE ON REFUGEES AND INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS IN CENTRAL AFRICA TO BE HELD IN BURUNDI, 14-16 AUGUST

Press Release
AFR/260
DC/2720

SUBREGIONAL CONFERENCE ON REFUGEES AND INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS IN CENTRAL AFRICA TO BE HELD IN BURUNDI, 14-16 AUGUST

Conference to be Followed by Fourteenth Ministerial Meeting of Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa, 16-19 August

New York, 3 August 2000 (Department for Disarmament Affairs) -- At its twelfth Ministerial Meeting held in N’Djamena, Chad, from 27 to 30 October 1999, the United Nations Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa decided to convene, in August 2000, a Subregional Conference on Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons in the Central African Region. The conference will be held in Bujumbura, Burundi, from 14 to 16 August 2000. It will be followed by the Committee’s fourteenth Ministerial Meeting which will also be held in Burundi, from 17 to 19 August.

The decision to hold such a conference derives from the Committee’s frustration with the persistence and escalation of the problem in the Central African region, despite previous efforts by the Organization of African Unity and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to address this problem in Africa and, in particular, the Great Lakes region. The objective of this Conference therefore is, once again, to sensitize the international community to the ever-growing problem of refugees and internally displaced persons faced by this subregion; and to seek international assistance in addressing it.

The Conference will cover the following issues: the causes and consequences of massive displacement of persons in the Central African region; the magnitude of the phenomenon, difficulties, constraints and the problems of recognition, integration and repatriation; problems specific to women and children refugees and internally displaced persons; a legal and institutional framework for the protection of refugees and internally displaced persons; as well as measures that can be taken at national, regional and international levels to address the problem. It is hoped that the Conference will culminate with the adoption of a plan of action and programme of assistance for the subregion.

The agenda of the fourteenth Ministerial Meeting will include the current geopolitical and security situation in Central Africa; inter-State cooperation in the area of peace and security; evaluation of the implementation of previous decisions and recommendations of the Committee; examination of the implementation of the recommendations of the Subregional Conference on the Proliferation of and Illicit Circulation of Small Arms in Central Africa, held in N’Djamena, Chad from

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25 to 27 October 1999; and the recommendations emanating from that Subregional Conference.

Background

The Standing Advisory Committee was established on 28 May 1992, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 46/37 B on regional confidence- building measures. It is composed of the 11 member States of the Economic Community of the Central African States (ECCAS), namely, Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Rwanda and Sao Tome and Principe. Its major goals are to develop confidence-building measures and to promote arms restraint and development in the Central African subregion. To that end, it meets at least twice a year at ministerial level and organizes conferences, seminars and workshops on various issues related to peace and security in the subregion.

Since its establishment, the Committee has adopted a number of key decisions such as the Non-Aggression Pact of 1996 and the Pact for Mutual Assistance of February 2000. In addition, it has created a number of structures aimed at promoting peace and security in the subregion, such as the Council for Peace and Security (COPAX), the Early-Warning Mechanism, headquartered in Libreville, Gabon, the Subregional Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, headquartered in Yaounde, Cameroon, and the Subregional Parliament, headquartered in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.

Currently the Bureau of the Committee is constituted as follows: President, Chad; First Vice-President, Burundi; Second Vice-President, Democratic Republic of the Congo; Rapporteur, Central African Republic.

Contact: Ms. Pamela Maponga, Chief, Regional Branch Department for Disarmament Affairs, tel.: 3-5521, Room DC2-560.

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