UNITED NATIONS COMMITTEE ON CENTRAL AFRICAN SECURITY QUESTIONS TO HOLD REVIEW MEETING NEXT WEEK IN EQUATORIAL GUINEA

UNITED NATIONS COMMITTEE ON CENTRAL AFRICAN SECURITY QUESTIONS

TO HOLD REVIEW MEETING NEXT WEEK IN EQUATORIAL GUINEA

NEW YORK, 17 October (Department for Disarmament Affairs) -- The United Nations Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa will hold its twentieth ministerial meeting in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, from 27 to 31 October.  Ministers for Foreign Affairs/Defence/Interior and senior governmental experts will be among those taking part.

The Committee is made up of the 11 member States of the Economic Community of the Central African States (ECCAS) -- Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Rwanda, and Sao Tome and Principe.

During the meeting, the Committee will review: (i) the current geopolitical and security situation in the central African region; (ii) the implementation by member States of previous recommendations and decisions; (iii) the activities of the United Nations Subregional Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Central Africa; and (iv) the activities of the secretariat of ECCAS, including ways and means of strengthening cooperation between the United Nations and ECCAS States. 

The Committee, which is serviced by the United Nations Department for Disarmament Affairs, was established on 28 May 1992 in accordance with General Assembly resolution 46/37 B on regional confidence-building measures.  Its major goals are to develop such measures and to promote arms restraint and development in the central African subregion.  In this connection, it meets at least twice a year at the ministerial level and it also organizes conferences, seminars and workshops on various issues related to peace and security in the central African region.

Since its establishment, the Committee has adopted a number of important 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 central African region, such as the Council for Peace and Security, 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. 

The current composition of the Bureau of the Committee is:  President -- Central African Republic; First Vice-President -- Equatorial Guinea; Second Vice-President – Congo; and Rapporteur -- Sao Tome and Principe.

For more information, please contact:  Sharon O’Brien, Department for Disarmament Affairs, tel.:  (212) 963-1467; e-mail:  sobrien@un.org.

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