Statement by Chargé d’Affaires a.i. Anna Evstigneeva at UNSC Briefing on CAR
Madam President,
We thank the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, Valentine Rugwabiza, for her briefing. We wish to thank Omar Hilale, Chair of the UN Peacebuilding Commission and Morocco’s Permanent Representative to the UN, and we are grateful for his assessment of the visit to the Central African Republic. We welcome the participation in today’s meeting of the Permanent Representative of the Central African Republic (CAR).
We would like to once again congratulate our friends in CAR on the successful conduct of general elections. We are convinced that, in the near future, they will finally get through this difficult period of armed confrontation and focus on domestic development.
The recent elections serve as indisputable proof that the efforts of CAR toward stabilization are indeed translating into real gains for the benefit of the Central African people. This incremental progress also confirms the rightness of Bangui’s sovereign decision to engage on an equal footing in cooperation with all its security partners, particularly Russia, regardless of any politicized criticism from external actors.
Tangible results also continue to arise from practical steps taken by the CAR government to implement what was reached in 2025 – that is, Chad-brokered agreements with the most combat-capable illegal armed groups. The number of combatants who have completed the disarmament and demobilization process will soon exceed 1,500. It is largely thanks to these efforts that our colleagues at the UN have noted a gradual decline in the number of human rights violations and breaches of international humanitarian law.
An important contribution to the stabilization of the Central African Republic continues to be made by the UN peacekeeping mission. We support the leadership of MINUSCA and express our gratitude to the military personnel from the troop-contributing countries. For all the necessary measures taken to streamline resource and personnel allocation, peacekeepers are effectively carrying out their mandate. We call on States, including Security Council members, to pay their mandatory financial contributions to the UN peacekeeping budget in a timely and full manner, and to refrain from using the issue of financing as a means of exerting pressure on the Secretariat.
In the coming period, the Mission will have an important role to play in ensuring a consistent, phased, and orderly transfer of security responsibilities to the relevant national bodies. This process must be fully coordinated with Bangui and realistically reflect the situation on the ground. We are confident that, together with our colleagues on the Security Council, we will be able to adopt balanced and well-considered decisions based on the relevant recommendations of the Secretariat.
It is clear that the international community must continue to support Bangui at this critical juncture having to do with consolidating achievements in the sphere of security. Above all, it is essential to pay due regard to the priorities of the Central Africans themselves, without attempting to artificially rush the process. Such an approach will help ensure further progress and make it irreversible, allowing the focus of international assistance to shift toward development in the near future.
Russia will continue to provide comprehensive support for Bangui’s efforts, including on the key issue of enhancing security.
Thank you.
