2 July 2009: In his report on the work of the UN Office for West Africa (UNOWA), UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon writes that, while West Africa has recently witnessed some positive trends, progress in the sub-region remains fragile and faces a number of threats, including emerging and growing security threats such as organized crime, illicit and terrorist activities, and climate change.

Secretary-General Ban highlighted that West Africa is witnessing the emergence of positive trends towards peace, post-conflict recovery and stability, even in the face of adverse internal and external factors such as food insecurity and the current global financial crisis. He indicated that some of this progress, including in the areas of governance and the rule of law, though significant, remains fragile. Ban notes that, in the coming six months, UNOWA will continue to focus on priority areas such as advocacy for conflict prevention and peace consolidation, and will also continue to play a significant role in efforts to address some of the other issues, such as drug trafficking, organized crime, as well as security and elections. [UN press release]