New York, US - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, on Wednesday called on Central African nations to 'urgently' ratify a regional convention curbing light arms and small calibre weapons  to ensure peace and stability in the region. 'I urge you to bring an end to armed violence, to close down the trans-border trade in illicit weapons and to fight against the looting and trafficking of raw materials,” Ban told the 32nd Ministerial Meeting of the UN Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa, taking place in Sao Tome. In a message, read by the acting chief of staff of the UN Office for Central Africa, Bruno Mpondo-Epo, the secretary-general hailed the holding of presidential and legislative elections in the Central African Republic (CAR) in January and legislative elections in Chad in February.

A copy of the message, which was made available to PANA in New York, quoted him as calling on other regional countries where elections were due this year to ensure that they take place in a climate of peace and security.

He, however, regretted that despite progress in recent months, armed violence continued to prolong a climate of insecurity in certain parts of the region.

'In this respect, I condemn once more the rapes and murder of civilians – women, men and children – in particular in the Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the eastern region of CAR,” the UN chief stated.

Ban further expressed concern at acts of piracy off the coasts of Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea and urged the respective governments to take action against the pirates.

Pana 17/03/2011