ReliefWeb

Summary

During the reporting period, the United Nations Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa held two ministerial meetings. The forty-third meeting was held in Sao Tome from 28 November to 1 December 2016 and the forty-fourth meeting was held in Yaoundé from 29 May to 2 June 2017. Both meetings were organized by the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA), in its capacity as secretariat of the Committee.

During the two meetings, the Committee reviewed the political and security situation in Central Africa and made specific recommendations on actions to be taken to address the prevailing security challenges, which were considered under the agenda of the Committee. During its forty-fourth meeting, the Committee dedicated a session to the regional dimension of the situation in the Central African Republic and adopted a declaration on the issue (see annex I).

The Committee examined the status of the signature and ratification of legal instruments on disarmament and the non-proliferation of arms in the subregion, in particular the Central African Convention for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons, Their Ammunition and All Parts and Components That Can Be Used for Their Manufacture, Repair and Assembly (Kinshasa Convention) and the Arms Trade Treaty. It welcomed the entry into force of the Kinshasa Convention on 8 March 2017 and urged those Member States that had not yet done so to ratify or accede to both instruments.

The Committee assessed progress achieved in the implementation of the regional strategy and plan of action for combating terrorism and the trafficking in small arms and light weapons in Central Africa, which had been adopted at its forty-first meeting. The Committee recommended that the relevant peace and security organs of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) endorse the strategy to enable its secretariat to follow up on implementation, which remained the responsibility of member States.

The threat posed by Boko Haram, as well as the measures being taken at the regional level to counter the group, in particular the operationalization of the Multinational Joint Task Force and the long-planned joint summit of ECCAS and the Economic Community of West African States, remained high on the agenda of the Committee. In this regard, the Bureau of the Committee undertook a field visit to Cameroon and Chad from 31 October to 3 November 2016.

The Committee paid increased attention to the issue of women and peace and security, in particular in relation to the implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) and the participation of women in decision-making. At its forty-third meeting, the Committee adopted a declaration calling upon its member States to increase the representation of women in delegations attending its biannual meetings (see annex II).

At the same meeting, the Committee decided to commission an evaluation of its work after 25 years of existence. An independent evaluation was carried out in close consultation with the States members of the Committee and with all relevant partners. The findings of the evaluation were presented at the forty-fourth meeting and, as a result, a declaration was adopted on the revitalization of the work of the Committee, in particular its working methods and relations with the relevant peace and security organs of ECCAS (see annex III).

The forty-fifth meeting is scheduled to be held in Kigali before the end of 2017.