The Main Committee of the Austrian National Council today approved the extension for the mission of an Austrian military advisor to the United Nations Office for West Africa (UNOWA) for a further year, State Secretary Wolfgang Waldner said.

The headquarters of UNOWA are in Dakar, Senegal; the Office deals with cross-border effects of regional conflicts.

The State Secretary explained that the situation in Mali and Guinea Bissau and the humanitarian conditions in the Sahel Region are especially alarming. Security and stability in West Africa are of particular relevance for the European Union and Austria because the threat to security does not stop at borders and involves organized crime, drug and human trafficking. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) located here in Vienna also contributes its share to combating these crimes.

The State Secretary concluded: Our involvement in UNOWA is part of Austrias contribution to mastering the new, security-related challenges in the West-African region and Sahel. The invitation of the UN to send a military advisor to the UNOWA also reflects recognition by the United Nations of Austrian professionalism and expertise and Austrian involvement in the region.