Burkina Faso is making a solid comeback, United
Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today in the country's capital,
Ouagadougou, where he praised the Burkinabe Government and people for their
perseverance during a series of tests in recent years, and who with UN support,
are firmly on a path to consolidated democratic gains and ensure sustainable
development.
"I just talked with
President [Roch Marc Christian] Kaboré. I gave him my admiration for the
courage of the people of Burkina Faso, who have gone through very painful
moments - from the insurrection of October 2014, the coup of September 2015 and
the deadly attacks of 15 January," said Mr. Ban at a joint press
conference with the Burkinabe leader.
Assuring the President that
the United Nations remained committed to the country, Mr. Ban said the
Organization is proud of its partnership with Burkina Faso and the United
Nations will support the National Development Plan the Government would present
in a few weeks.
"The stakes are high: the
country is on the path of prosperity and long-term reforms, including that of
the security sector," he stressed.
The
UN chief also welcomed the willingness of Burkina Faso to align its national
actions with the aims of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and,
particularly the landmark Paris Agreement on climate change.
"The World Humanitarian
Summit, to be held in Istanbul in May, will be another opportunity to promote
international solidarity. It will help to mobilize assistance to the most
vulnerable populations of this region and the rest of the world, and can allow
us to move from the era of aid delivery to that of the late needs," Mr.
Ban explained.
He went on to welcome the
active role played by Burkina Faso in the Sahel region, particularly in the
context of the UN Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). The Secretary-general said he was
deeply concerned about the terrorist attacks in the region and noted that the
response to terrorism must be comprehensive and conducted in strict compliance
with human rights and international humanitarian law.
"The President and I both
believe that while addressing security issues, the Sahel countries need to
focus on the root causes of instability: poverty, unemployment, social
exclusion, discrimination and impunity," Mr. Ban underscored, adding that
he would continue to call on the wider international community to keep up its
support to the Sahel region.
During his trip
to Burkina Faso, which began Wednesday, the Secretary General also visited a
paediatric unit of nutritional recovery in Shifra Medical Center.
He welcomed the efforts of the
Burkinabe authorities to reduce malnutrition as part of the 'Scaling Up
Nutrition' initiative.
"The number of children
suffering from acute malnutrition which benefit from treatment has tripled
[rising] from 40,000 in 2011 to 120,000 last year. Thousands of lives are being
saved each year. This avoids the terrible human suffering and ensure the future
of this great country," he noted.
