Secretary-General, in Message to Ministerial Meeting, Urges Collective Action on Election-Related Violence, Security Threats in Central, West Africa

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message, delivered by Abdoulaye Bathily, Special Representative for Central Africa and Head of the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA), to the forty-second ministerial meeting of the United Nations Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa (UNSAC), in Bangui today:

I thank the Government and people of the Central African Republic for hosting the forty-second ministerial meeting of the United Nations Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa, and I wish every success to the Central African Presidency.  I would like to thank Gabon for presiding over the previous meeting of UNSAC.

It is fitting that the meeting be held here, in Bangui, following the peaceful conclusion of the political transition.  Allow me to congratulate the Government and people of the Central African Republic on reaching this important milestone.  I would like to pay tribute to the significant role played by the region in support of the restoration of constitutional order in the country.  I encourage all to maintain focus on measures aimed at securing a lasting peace in the Central African Republic, including in the context of UNSAC.

I remain concerned about electoral-related tensions in the Central Africa subregion, which have led, in some instances, to violence.  This undermines ongoing work to consolidate stability, development and democracy and the necessary work of integration across the region.  I call on leaders and all citizens to work in good faith towards the peaceful resolution of these disputes in a manner that promotes dialogue and that is in accordance with legal frameworks, democratic norms and the broader aspirations of the electorate.

The subregion remains beset by a number of security challenges, including the attacks carried out by Boko Haram.  These have led to serious humanitarian, human rights and socioeconomic consequences.  The United Nations therefore supports the development of a holistic approach to the fight against Boko Haram that also addresses root causes.  I urge continued support to the Multinational Joint Task Force.  I welcome the recent holding of the Second Regional Security Summit in Abuja, and I encourage leaders of West and Central African States to maintain a collective focus and a common approach on this issue.

I commend recent progress in the fight against the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).  I urge all stakeholders to remain engaged politically, financially and militarily, including by addressing humanitarian challenges in LRA-affected areas.  It is equally critical that international partners sustain their support to the African Union Regional Task Force.  In this regard, I welcome the recent holding of the meeting of the Joint Coordination Mechanism.

I commend the collective efforts of ECCAS [Economic Community of Central African States] and ECOWAS [Economic Community of West African States] to implement the decisions of the Yaoundé Summit regarding maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea, including the operationalization of the Interregional Coordination Centre and the Regional Coordination Centre for Maritime Security in Central Africa.  I urge Member States to fully operationalize these centres and ensure their effective functioning and the full implementation of the maritime security strategy, in line with the statement by the President of the Security Council, issued on 25 April.

Poaching and illicit wildlife trafficking in Central Africa continue to contribute to the financing and operations of armed groups and other transnational criminal networks.  They rob the subregion of its environmental heritage and a valuable natural resource.  I call on Member States of the subregion, working with ECCAS, to fully implement country-specific programmes in conjunction with a cross-border strategy to address this threat.

In these and other initiatives to promote stability in the subregion, the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa and my Special Representative will continue to support your efforts, in collaboration with the relevant United Nations entities in the area.  I wish you a productive meeting.