UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on Thursday said more than anything, Central Africans urgently need concrete reassurance that peace and stability in their country remained high on the international community’s agenda.

Ban made the remark in New York at a High-Level Meeting on the Central African Republic.

He said “today, I am calling on the international community to mobilise the necessary support for speedy implementation of the outcomes of the Bangui Forum.

“We must ensure the successful conclusion of the transition and the building blocks for long-term peace and development that the people of the Central African Republic demand and deserve.’’He called for international support and the need to bridge religious and communal divisions and find common ground.

The UN chief said the major challenges remained beyond the immediate security concerns, adding that “rebuilding, reconciling and reforming a country that has been exposed to years of violent crises takes time.

“The humanitarian needs remain significant.

“Today, we are here to express our firm support to peaceful end of the Transition but also look beyond, and focus on priority actions identified during the Bangui Forum that can be achieved within 18 months or less.

“At the same time, we are mindful of the most pressing priority to fill the funding gap in support of the election process.’’

Ban thanked the European Union, African Union and the Economic Community of Central African States, and key member states, for their contributions.

However, he said, many programmes remained underfunded, stressing that without the resources to help address security and stabilisation needs and ensure human rights for all, the country risked sliding back into protracted conflict and suffering.

It would be recalled that CAR Foreign Minster, Mr Samuel Rangba, in his address to the General Assembly annual debate on Wednesday, warned that his country was currently seeing an upsurge in deadly violence in and around its capital, Bangui.

 He warned that CAR was susceptible to a raft of challenges and every effort must be made to ensure that government institutions could exercise control over the entire country, especially in the North, which could be a breeding ground for terrorism.

Rangba urged the United Nations to step up its support for the war-weary country, including strengthening its peacekeeping mission there and lifting sanctions impacting training of military forces. (NAN)