Ban Ki-moon urges donors to support Central African Republic’s development

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on countries to generously support the Central African Republic (CAR) in its efforts to restore peace and achieve progress, ahead of a donors meeting to be hosted by the European Commission in Brussels tomorrow.

Mr. Ban “welcomes the holding of the Donors’ Round Table on the Central African Republic, to mobilize financial resources for implementation of the country’s development programmes,” his spokesperson said in a statement issued today.

The Secretary-General commended the Government of CAR and its partners for the economic progress made so far and called on the international community “to provide generous support to help the country restore lasting peace through inclusive political dialogue, socio-economic development and strengthened national institutions.”

He also reaffirmed the readiness of the UN to continue to support efforts to stabilize the CAR, where nearly 300,000 people have been uprooted from their homes in the past year and a half due to conflict within the country’s borders.

In September, the Security Council established a UN-mandated, multidimensional presence, which will include European Union military forces, in north-eastern CAR and eastern Chad to help protect civilians and facilitate humanitarian aid to thousands of people uprooted due to insecurity in the two countries and neighbouring Sudan.