Statement by Mr.Petr Illiichev, First Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations, at the Security Council on the situation in the Central African Republic
The Russian delegation endorsed the adoption of resolution 2387 (2017) on the extension of the mandate of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic for one year.
We were chiefly guided by the importance of sending the citizens of the Central African Republic a message that the international community will not abandon them during the difficult situation that the country finds itself in at the moment. The security situation is extremely worrying, and the Central African Republic State finds itself besieged as never before. In these circumstances, the Security Council cannot stand idly by.
We concurred with the Secretary-General’s proposal for increasing the Mission’s military component by 900 persons. However, we hope that peacekeepers will not spread their efforts too thin but rather focus on carrying out their primary tasks — protecting civilians and advancing the political process. The fact is the Blue Helmets are not in a position to protect every citizen of a country that is the size of France.
However, if their mobility is increased, as the Secretary-General’s report (S/2017/865) emphasizes, they will be able to contribute significantly to alleviating tensions on the ground, which will enable Bangui to focus on the peace process and on implementing the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programme for former combatants. The Government of the Central African Republic should also continue rebuilding the capacity of its national armed forces.
In deploying additional peacekeepers as part of the Mission, we must not forget the contingents that are already deployed in the Central African Republic. They are carrying out difficult duties and risking their lives in doing so. The Secretary-General did not observe United Nations Day in the Central African Republic, alongside our peacekeepers, in vain.
We call for a balanced approach to assessing the contribution of troop-contributing countries. We cannot have situations created owing to the withdrawal of a whole contingent because of sexual crimes committed by individual peacekeepers when replacements cannot be found quickly, since that seriously interferes with the Mission’s operational capacity.
