Dakar, July 09, 2023 - The Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), Leonardo Santos Simão, today took part in the 63^rd Ordinary Summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), held in Bissau.

In his address, the Special Representative reaffirmed the UN's support to ECOWAS, and called for concerted efforts at national, regional, and international levels to address the many challenges facing West Africa.

"Insecurity remains a major concern to the stability of our subregion. Terrorist attacks, intercommunal violence and organized crime continue to have disastrous security and humanitarian consequences across the sub-region" he declared.

While commending the particular attention which ECOWAS pays to the countries under transition, Burkina Faso, Guinea and Mali, Mr. Léonardo Santos Simão noted that "the situation in these countries is illustrative of the delicate nexus between good governance, security, and development", and stressed the importance of considering the particularly difficult situations they are faced with.

Mr. Simão also noted the need to "continue to work to improve the overall human rights situation in the subregion, through equitable access to justice for all, the protection of human rights defenders and the adoption of legislative frameworks to combat sexual and gender-based violence.”

"I welcome the excellent relations between ECOWAS and the United Nations, and UNOWAS in particular, and pledge to work to strengthen this partnership towards the realization of our common aspirations and goals," concluded Mr. Simão.