UNITED NATIONS, March 22 (Xinhua) -- UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed on Thursday called for efforts to stabilize the Lake Chad Basin through development as considerable progress has been made in the fight against the Boko Haram terrorist group.
The Multinational Joint Task Force's operations have contributed to the liberation of hostages and led to territorial gains, she told the UN Security Council. "Now it is crucial to stabilize the areas that have been reclaimed, and seize the opportunity to promote development."
Security measures and military operations have proven their limits. There will be no sustaining peace without sustainable development and development gains will always be at risk without lasting peace, she said via video teleconference in Monrovia, Liberia.
She noted that Boko Haram continues to carry out raids, abductions and suicide bombings, as demonstrated last month by the horrific abduction of more than 100 schoolgirls in northeastern Nigeria who were recently released.
The United Nations is supporting the African Union and the Lake Chad Basin Commission in developing a stabilization, recovery and resilience strategy for the region. The strategy will be launched next month, she said.
Mohammed warned that violations of human rights continue to fuel insecurity in the Lake Chad Basin, which spans seven countries, including most of Chad and a large part of Niger as well as parts of Algeria, the Central African Republic and Nigeria.
Investments in strengthening community justice mechanisms will be essential. It is also critical for counter-terrorism activities to integrate human rights and gender dimensions, she said.
The humanitarian situation in the Lake Chad Basin remains complex and dire, with 10.7 million people in need of life-saving assistance and 2.3 million people -- including 1.5 million children -- forcibly displaced from their homes, she said.
She called on member states to ensure that the 1.6 billion-U.S. dollar humanitarian appeal is well-funded.
Mohammed was in Liberia to witness the completion of the mandate of the UN mission in Liberia (UNMIL).
Speaking to the press, she said UNMIL is yet another successful peacekeeping mission in West Africa. It was deployed in 2003 to a failed state with state institutions in ruins, non-existent economy and a disintegrated national police and army.
Since then, the state has been rebuilt and more than 100,000 former combatants participated in disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programs. Justice and security institutions were restored.
She said that today Liberians enjoy peace and UNMIL leaves behind a country that has great potential to achieve lasting stability, democracy and prosperity.
