Open Briefing of the Security Council on the Report of the Secretary General on the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA) and on the Lord’s Resistance Army-Affected Areas (29 May 2013)

Thank you Mr. President,

We thank the Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG), Mr. Abu Moussa for his briefing as well as for his valuable work and leadership as the Head of the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA).

  1. The Central African sub-region continues to face numerous interlinked and crosscutting challenges. As evident from the recent crisis in the Central African Republic (CAR), instability in any part of the region has ramifications beyond the borders of the directly affected state. The overall fragile security situation in the Sahel; lack of economic opportunities; the proliferation of weapons; threats posed by terrorism; increasing incidents of piracy and armed robbery in the Gulf of Guinea; cross border criminality including poaching; and the continued threat posed by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) to the civilians impact all countries in the region.
  2. These challenges can only be addressed through a unified, well-coordinated regional and international approach that factors in cross-border nature of these problems as well as national ownership. The overall focus should remain on building the capacities of the national authorities to address these threats in line with their national priorities as well as to increase regional cooperation and collaboration.
  3. In this regard, we support the important role of the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA) towards coordinating the regional efforts and addressing these issues in line with its mandate. The technical support and capacity building initiatives by UNOCA in the areas of preventive diplomacy, conflict prevention and mediation, especially for the regional and sub-regional organizations, remain crucial in addressing the regional challenges and need further to be strengthened.

Mr. President,

  1. The presence and continued activities of Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) remain a major threat to the safety and security of civilians in the entire sub-region. Despite several advances towards countering the scourge of LRA in the recent past, the danger posed by the group still looms large and thousands remain displaced due to LRA attacks. Furthermore, the ongoing crisis in the Central African Republic has the potential to undermine the fragile gains made against the LRA.
  2. The LRA scourge can best be addressed through a comprehensive approach consisting of anti-LRA measures as well as strengthening capacity of relevant states. Political stability and strong national security institutions in the region will prevent the group from taking advantage of the security vacuum and lack of border controls. At the same time, dealing with the plight of the displaced persons due to LRA attacks as well as addressing the long-term developmental needs of the LRA-affected areas should remain an integral part of this comprehensive approach.
  3. The full implementation of the “United Nations regional strategy to address the threat and impact of the activities of LRA” with the help of UNOCA as well as regional peacekeeping missions, is crucial for countering the LRA threat. The successful implementation of the strategy against LRA hinges on timely and adequate availability of resources as well as on building the requisite capacities of the judicial and governance systems and military capabilities of the LRA-affected countries.
  4. The international community should provide necessary political, technical and financial support for the successful implementation of this initiative, in line with the priorities identified by the African Union as well as the principle of national ownership. We welcome the finalization of the concept of operations and other strategic documents for the operationalization of the AU Regional Task Force against the LRA (AU-RTF) and encourage the LRA affected countries to follow-up on their commitments, especially by increasing their troop contribution to the AU-RTF. There is also an urgent need to address the funding gaps to address the humanitarian situation in the LRA-affected areas.
  5. We welcome the important role that UNOCA, BINUCA as well as UN peacekeeping Missions in the region continue to play in the fight against LRA. We commend in particular, the important role of United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) in this regard. The Mission’s role through training and capacity building of FARDC as well as the local authorities; support to the justice and police sectors; implementation of early warning mechanisms and implementation of the disarmament, demobilization, repatriation, resettlement and reintegration (DDRRR) programmes remain integral to the international response against LRA. The mission should remain focused on its core mandate of protection of civilians in Eastern DRC, including in DRC's LRA-affected regions.

Mr. President,

  1. Pakistan remains strongly committed to the peace, prosperity and long-term stability in the Central African sub-region. We hope that the region will continue to receive due attention and full political support of the international community as well as that of the Security Council to help address numerous challenges faced by it.

I thank you Mr. President.