UN committee on security in Central Africa opens meeting in Bujumbura

A United Nations committee which aims to foster security and development in Central Africa opened a week-long session in Bujumbura, Burundi, today.

The UN Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa is attracting ministers from throughout the region to discuss a range of key issues, including the current political situation as well as inter-State cooperation to promote peace in the region.

According to the UN Department of Disarmament Affairs, which is organizing the event, the meeting will also review the implementation of the 1999 Subregional Conference on the Proliferation of and Illicit Circulation of Small Arms in Central Africa. In addition, participants will examine what has been done to follow-up on the recommendations of last year's Subregional Conference on Refugees and Internally-Displaced Persons in Central Africa.

The Committee was set up by the General Assembly in 1992 to develop confidence-building measures and to promote arms restraint and development in the central African subregion. It meets at least twice a year at the ministerial level and organizes various other events related to peace and security in Central Africa.

The Committee's 11 members are: Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Rwanda, and Sao Tome and Principe.