The coronavirus pandemic has compounded increasing economic, social and humanitarian challenges facing States and regional institutions across Central Africa, the regional UN envoy told the Security Council on Friday.

Despite the health crisis, Special Representative François Louncény Fall underscored that the UN Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA) "remains operational".

Noting that the region had recorded its first case of COVID-19 on 6 March 2020, and that to date, all 11 member countries of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) are affected, he maintained that UNOCA continues to support the Community, during this crucial period of its evolution".

And while Mr. Fall commended States for their efforts to limit the impact of the pandemic on economic and social rights, he also reminded governments to ensure that law enforcement agents "abide by human rights principles and standards" as they "carefully and proportionately" apply restrictive measures to stem the virus from spreading.

Mr. Fall reiterated that Central Africa continues to face many challenges that area being amplified by COVID-19 "to an extent that we cannot yet accurately assess".