Concerned by Fighting, Insecurity in Central Africa, Secretary-General Encourages Collective Approaches to Promote Regional Stability, at Ministerial Meeting

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message, as delivered by Abdoulaye Bathily, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA), to the Thirty-Ninth Ministerial Meeting of the United Nations Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa, held in Bujumbura, on 4 December:

I thank Mr. Pierre Nkurunziza, President of Burundi, as well as the country’s Government and people, for hosting the thirty-ninth ministerial meeting of the United Nations Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa.  This forum offers an important opportunity to confront problems and advance collective approaches for promoting stability.

While I remain concerned about the situation in the Central African Republic and its impact on the subregion, the Brazzaville Agreement on the cessation of hostilities, signed in July, has provided a new impetus for peace.  I urge the transitional authorities to undertake, in an inclusive, consultative and consensual manner, the necessary preparations for the Bangui Forum in January 2015 and for elections to be held no later than August 2015.

Under the leadership of President Sassou Nguesso of the Republic of the Congo, Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga, the African Union Special Envoy for Central African Republic, and Abdoulaye Bathily, my Special Representative for Central Africa, the International Mediation has contributed to increasing dialogue and keeping the political transition on track.

Armed groups in the Central Africa region, including those active in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as the Lord’s Resistance Army, constitute additional threats.  Attacks by Boko Haram have increased in frequency and intensity in northern Cameroon and have expanded into the Lake Chad Basin region.  Scores have been killed along the porous Cameroon-Nigeria border, and tens of thousands of refugees have fled Nigeria for Cameroon.

I am deeply concerned about the growing humanitarian and socio-economic consequences for Central African States.  I encourage the affected countries to rapidly operationalize the Joint Multinational Task Force for the Lake Chad Basin Commission.

I commend the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Commission of the Gulf of Guinea, as well as the Governments of Cameroon and the Republic of Congo, for inaugurating the Inter-regional Coordination Centre for Maritime Safety and Security in the Gulf of Guinea, and the Regional Coordination Centre for Maritime Security in Central Africa.  These institutions contribute to establishing the regional information-sharing architecture for maritime security.  The United Nations will continue to assist the region and mobilize the support required in this regard.

I remain concerned by continuing reports of illicit wildlife trafficking in Central Africa and its links to the financing of armed groups.  I strongly encourage Central African Governments and ECCAS, with United Nations support, to elaborate a subregional strategy to address this deeply troubling and destructive trend.

We have witnessed the terrible impact of the Ebola virus on States in West Africa.  The potential for Ebola to affect populations in Central Africa and overwhelm the capacities of Governments is real.  We must remain vigilant and ensure that the subregion is adequately prepared.  In this context, I applaud the initiative of ECCAS and the relevant United Nations entities in the subregion to jointly organize a workshop for the purpose of developing a harmonized and coherent response.

The majority of countries in Central Africa are scheduled to hold elections in the course of the next two years, affecting the lives of more than 100 million people.  The United Nations will support Central African States to ensure peaceful and democratic electoral processes and enhance the capacities of the subregion to consolidate peace.

I encourage all concerned to manage political differences in a manner that promotes dialogue, protects fundamental rights, fosters consensus and advances the consolidation of democracy in the subregion.  With these goals in mind, I wish you great success.