UN Security Council commends contributions of UN Office for West Africa

United Nations Security Council welcomed the activities undertaken by the United Nations Office for West Africa(UNOWA) in the areas of good offices, said the council in a press statement on Friday.

The praise came after the members of the Security Council heard a briefing on Thursday by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for West Africa, Mohamed Ibn Chambas.

The council praised UNOWA's activities in the enhancement of sub-regional capacities to address cross-border and cross-cutting threats to peace and security, as well as the promotion of good governance, respect for the rule of law and human rights and gender mainstreaming, the statement said.

The council also welcomed the positive political developments in West Africa, in particular the holding of free and peaceful elections in Nigeria, Togo, Burkina Faso, Guinea and Cote d'Ivoire.

Noting the importance of the upcoming elections in Niger, Benin, Cabo Verde, Ghana and Gambia to be free, fair, peaceful, inclusive and credible, members of the council further stressed they will follow them with great attention, the statement said.

On recent terrorist attacks, the 15-member body strongly condemned the recurrent terrorist attacks carried out in the region, in particular in Mali and the Sahel,as well as in the Lake Chad Basin region, notably by Boko Haram, and underlined the need to combat all forms of terrorism.

The council welcomed, in this regard, regional and international efforts to mitigate the security, humanitarian and development consequences of these attacks, the statement noted. Endi