The
United Nations Peacebuilding Fund has allocated an initial sum of US$3 million
to the Gambia government for sustaining the peace in the country.
United
Nations Assistant Secretary General for Peacebuilding Support, Oscar
Fernandez-Taranco, who is accompanied on a visit to The Gambia by the chair of
the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission, Ambassador Cho Tae-yul, said their
meeting yesterday with President Adama Barrow had provided an opportunity to
assess first-hand the peace-building challenges and discuss concrete ways to
support the country’s ongoing sustaining peace efforts.
Their
mission also served as a follow-up to the recent joint visit of the United
Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Jeffrey Feltman, and
Special Representative of the Secretary-General for West Africa, Mohamed Ibn
Chambas, he told journalists at a press conference held yesterday afternoon at
the UN House in Cape Point, Bakau.
Mr
Fernandez-Taranco also said that prior to their meeting with President Barrow,
they had meetings with some government officials on strategic areas of
peacebuilding efforts.
“We also met the Chief Justice and the
leadership of the Defence and the Security Forces, including the Chief of
Defence Staff and the Deputy Inspector General of the Police, where we
exchanged views with the Independent Electoral Commission and representatives
of Civil Society Organizations, the Diplomatic Community and the United Nations
Country Team.”
The
key focus of the mission, he added, was to discuss the details of the initial
support to be provided by the UN, based on recommendations of previous UN
missions, including the recent mission by Under-Secretary-General Jeffrey
Feltman and Representative of the Secretary-General for West Africa, Mr Mohamed
Ibn Chambas.
In
his remarks at the press conference, the Nations Peacebuilding Commission
chair, Ambassador Cho Tae-yul, said the UN Peacebuilding Commission can
contribute to efforts aimed at sustaining international engagement to
supporting The Gambia’s peace-building priorities.
He
stressed the importance of the peace-building commission’s convening role,
saying it is a platform that can mobilize deeper commitment and partnership
between the national stakeholders, the United Nations System and other regional
and international partners in support of The Gambia’s peace-building
priorities.
“We
agreed that the political, security, development and human rights priorities,
particularly in the new democratic Gambia, would benefit from continued
attention and support from the International Community.”
