Panafrican News Agency

UN-AU task force expresses support to Lake Chad Basin Commission in fighting Boko Haram

UN-AU task force expresses support to Lake Chad Basin Commission in fighting Boko Haram

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) – The United Nations (UN) and the African Union (AU) have reaffirmed their commitment to support the efforts of the Lake Chad Basin Commission in the implementation of the Regional Strategy for the Stabilisation, Recovery and Resilience of the Boko Haram-affected areas.

 

In a joint communiqué released on Wednesday, following the 16th consultative meeting of the UN-AU Joint Task Force on Peace and Security, the two organisations  also called on donors to honour the pledges made during the High-Level Conference on the Lake Chad Basin region in Berlin in September 2018.

 

The communiqué adopted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, last week, said that senior officials of the UN and the AU “expressed concern at the persistent attacks by Boko Haram, which continue to exert a heavy impact on civilians.”

 

According to the communiqué, the AU Commission and the UN Secretariat were represented at the meeting respectively by Commissioners Smaïl Chergui (Peace and Security), Minata Samaté-Cessouma (Political Affairs); and the Under-Secretaries-General Rosemary DiCarlo (Political and Peacebuilding Affairs), Jean-Pierre Lacroix (Peace Operations) and Hanna Tetteh (Special Representative of the Secretary General to the AU.

 

Reviewing the status of implementation of the UN-AU Framework for Enhanced Partnership in Peace and Security, the Joint Task Force welcomed the cooperation between the two organisations in Madagascar and Central African Republic (CAR) “as models of cooperation which offer useful lessons to inform future joint endeavours in the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts.”

 

The communiqué noted that the Joint Task Force acknowledged the increased mutual support to peace operations in Africa. In furtherance of this mutual cooperation, they explored the “Action for Peacekeeping” initiative to enable missions to be more effective, better equipped, safer and more robust.

 

It said that the Joint Task Force underlined the need to jointly promote the full participation of women in electoral and peace processes as well as peace operations, including at the leadership level.

 

The meeting explored prospects for cooperation in support of the upcoming electoral processes on the continent and discussed the situation in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), CAR, Burundi, Mali and the Sahel region including the security situation in Burkina Faso and Niger. They also exchanged views on the situations in Libya, South Sudan and the Lake Chad Basin region.

 

On the situation in Mali, the Joint Task Force called upon all stakeholders to sustain their commitment and accelerate the implementation of the measures under the Agreement.

 

The Task Force equally expressed concern about the deteriorating security situation in central Mali and urged the Government to augment its efforts in addressing the increasingly complex situation, with the support of partners.

 

The Joint Task Force noted the need for all international partners to continue to support the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), said the communiqué.

-0- PANA AR 20Feb2019