Secretary-General Kofi Annan has proposed
establishing a new United Nations office in the Central African Republic
to support the country's peace-building efforts.
In a just-released letter to the President
of the Security Council, Mr. Annan outlines the role of a future UN presence
in the country after the withdrawal of the UN Mission in the Central African
Republic (MINURCA) on 15 February 2000.
The primary mission of the new UN office, the Secretary-General says, would be to support the Government's efforts to "consolidate peace and national reconciliation, strengthen democratic institutions and facilitate the mobilization of international political support and resources for national reconstruction and economic recovery."
To carry out those functions, the UN Peace-Building Support Office in the Central African Republic (BONUCA) would be established initially for one year, the Secretary-General says. The Office would include a small number of military and civilian police advisers to follow-up on security-related reforms and to assist in the implementation of the training programmes for the national police, which were initiated by MINURCA.