Secretary-General, in Message, Pledges Continued Support to Economic Community of West African States in Advancing Peace, Development, Human Rights

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message, as delivered by Mohamed ibn Chambas, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa (UNOWA), to the Forty-Seventh Ordinary Summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in Accra today:

I am pleased to convey my warm greetings to the Forty-Seventh Ordinary Summit of the Economic Community of West African States.  This Summit takes place at a time of trial and opportunity in the region, and indeed, around the world.

Let me begin by commending the role of ECOWAS and its leadership — in close cooperation with the United Nations — towards the peaceful holding of the recent general elections in Nigeria.  As this marks the final Summit for President Goodluck Jonathan, I would like to extend our sincere appreciation for his valuable contribution to regional integration and the maintenance of peace and security in West Africa, most notably in Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau and Mali.

I would also like to take this opportunity to recognize the joint efforts of Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon in the fight against Boko Haram.  We pay tribute to the soldiers who have lost their lives and express our deepest condolences to their families.  I also congratulate ECOWAS and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) for their joint efforts and financial support in this struggle.  Such collaboration is essential to the Lake Chad Basin Commission as it seeks to fully operationalize the Multi-national Joint Task Force.  The United Nations looks forward to participating in the upcoming ECOWAS-ECCAS Summit on Boko Haram.

I welcome the continued partnership between ECOWAS and the United Nations in the joint support mechanism established for Burkina Faso.  We shall continue to work, in collaboration with other partners, to support free, fair and peaceful elections in that country.  I also welcome the engagement of ECOWAS in Guinea, and the urgent call for political dialogue and negotiated solutions.

The United Nations — through the work of the United Nations Office for West Africa — will continue to work with ECOWAS and other partners to defuse tensions and resume dialogue in the lead-up to the upcoming presidential and local elections.

Finally, we must continue our strong efforts in tackling the Ebola virus disease.  Although important progress has been made, we must remain vigilant to reach our goal of zero cases in all affected countries.

Once again, I am deeply grateful for the spirit of solidarity and partnership between the United Nations and ECOWAS.  You can count on our continued commitment to work with you to advance peace, development and human rights throughout West Africa.  Je vous remercie de votre attention.