Kuwait expresses deep concern about conflicts in Central Africa
‘Free and credible elections vital for peace, security’
NEW YORK, Dec 15, (KUNA) : Kuwait expressed deep concerns over violence and armed conflicts witnessed in the Central Africa region, stressing the need for a solutions to stop these acts and hold perpetrators accountable.
This came during a speech by the permanent representative of Kuwait to the United Nations Ambassador Mansour Al-Otaibi, during a special UN session to discuss latest developments in Central Africa.
Al-Otaibi strongly condemned “criminal acts, suicide bombings, repeated armed attacks, robberies and kidnappings carried out by the Boko Haram and The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) groups in the region,” adding that such acts “hinder any political, security, developmental or even social and humanitarian progress”.
He stressed the importance of all parties involved in these conflicts to cooperate with the United Nation Security Council, regional organizations, and all Central African states, to counter these attacks and reach solutions to stop them.
United Nations SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres reports in this regard showed a full explanation of the political, economic, social developments in the region and its impacts on the security and peace process in Central Africa and neighboring counties, Amb Al-Otaibi explained.
On political level, despite security instability, many countries in the region had elections without any violence attacks, such as Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Gabon, and Cameroon, he stated.
As for the situation in the Cameroon, Amb Al-Otaibi said he shared with the SecretaryGeneral his deep concern over the deterioration of the security and human rights situation in the north-western and south-western regions of Cameroon, and called on the Cameroonian government to cooperate with regional organizations to reduce human suffering, armed conflict and violence, and to stop the flow of refugees in compliance with the international law.
As for the Congo, Amb Al-Otaibi expressed the hope that upcoming elections in the Democratic Republic, will be held with comprehensive, transparent and safe participation.
“Free and credible elections in any state in Central Africa is importance to maintain peace and security”, he added.
“Through our monitoring of the political and security developments in the countries mentioned in the report, we stress the importance of the continuous efforts by regional organizations and the United Nations peacekeeping missions in the region, to establish inclusive dialogue processes between governments and all community groups especially those who will soon have elections, Al-Otaibi said.
He regretted the bad humanitarian situation in the region, with the increase of people in need for humanitarian relief, refugees, and forced displacement due to violence and the spread of epidemics and diseases such as cholera and Ebola.
In his speech, Ambassador Al-Otaibi praised the Economic Community of Central African States for adopting a strategy to prevent and combat terrorism in the region and their decision to carry out a comprehensive reform presented by the Peace and Security Council in Central Africa.
He also praised the “fruitful cooperation” between the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which he described as “effectively translated” by holding a summit last July in Togo’s capital.