Statement by Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia at UNSC briefing on the situation in the Central African Republic
Mr.President,
We thank Special Representative of the Secretary-General Valentine Rugwabiza, Executive Director of UN Women Sima Sami Bahous, African Union Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security Bankole Adeoye for their briefings. We also followed closely the remarks of Mr. Rhosyns Ngatondang.
We welcome Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Central African Republic Sylvie Baïpo Témon, Deputy Foreign Minister of Angola Esmeralda Mendoza, as well as representatives of Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and the Republic of the Congo to this meeting.
We are closely following the developments in the Central African Republic. We are glad to see that the governmental forces are mostly in control of the situation. With partner support (including by Russia), the authorities of the CAR have overcome the most challenging phase in their fight against those willing to effect an unconstitutional change of power by force.
At the same time, security threats have not been lifted completely. The major irreconcilable militias from the Coalition of Patriots for Change continue an armed confrontation with the government.
Armed militias are most active in areas adjacent to the border with Chad, Sudan, Cameroon, and the DRC. Porousness of the borders, as well as poor border control caused by a lack of financial resources prevent the CAR authorities from opposing the cross-border movement of illegal armed formations and their recharge with weapons and munition. The coordination of Bangui with neighboring states must increase, and we already see some related progress, including in the military area. Targeted donor assistance is also essential.
The arms embargo, though loosened recently, still decreases the effectiveness of the CAR armed forces, and limits the capacity of Bangui in establishing order in the country and curbing threats that are coming from the fighters who refuse to join national reconciliation.
A letter by the Secretary-General, which was circulated in the Security Council in May, speaks of the progress of the CAR government in meeting the benchmarks, which is required so that sanctions regime can be reviewed. Thus, by UN estimates, the CAR authorities have accomplished a great deal of work in the area of arms control, disarmament, and social reintegration of former combatants.
This being said, the current situation requires that CAR’s arms embargo must be fully lifted, which would boost the capacity of national military and law enforcement. This approach meets the interests of a sustainable settlement and reconciliation in the Central African Republic.
African Union and the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), as well as African member states on the Security Council speak out unambiguously in favor of lifting the restrictions. Central Africans themselves keep saying that too. It is clear that a lasting stabilization and progressive advancement of the political process are not possible unless the CAR receives effective support in capacity building of its national military and law enforcement.
We believe the Political Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in the CAR that was signed in Bangui on 6 February 2019 continues to be a valid framework for achieving stability and security in the Republic. We welcome practical steps taken by Bangui in order to maintain the political process with a view to normalizing the situation in the country.
We need to ensure that illegal armed groups that are not signatories to the Luanda Roadmap (which stipulated a ceasefire, as well as disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration) join this process. Militia leaders need to abandon violent methods and embark on a full-fledged dialogue with Bangui, because there is no alternative to a political and diplomatic settlement in the Central African Republic. It is positive that at the end of April this year five armed groups announced that they would self-dissolve. Thus, to date, nine of the fourteen groups that signed the Political Agreement have been dissolved. This is a tangible result in the process of implementing the DDR program. However, Bangui needs continued financial support for its further advancement.
We welcome efforts by the CAR authorities to ensure state presence across the country, strengthen administrative bodies, set forth a security sector reform, develop the judicial system, and prepare for the first since 1988 local elections. We wish Bangui every success in holding a constitutional referendum at the end of July. Internal transformations is a sovereign prerogative of Central Africans who have an inalienable right to determine their path of future development.
The hard socio-economic situation in the CAR threatens to reverse the recent years’ achievements in the area of national reconciliation. The developments in the neighboring Sudan aggravate the humanitarian situation and increase the burden on the state budget of the Central African Republic, where approximately 14,000 refugees have arrived. Therefore, we believe that the CAR should receive all possible assistance via the channels of international financial institutions and the United Nations. Politicizing of donor assistance is unacceptable, because it harms the civilian population in the first place.
Another important aspect for building Bangui’s capacity in the area of humanitarian response and overall improvement of socio-economic situation in the CAR is ensuring full participation of the country in the Kimberley Process. A review mission of the Kimberley Process needs to be dispatched to the CAR so that experts can see with their own eyes that all necessary conditions for change have been created on the ground.
We continue to help the CAR to strengthen its defense capacity. Upon notifying UNSC Sanctions Committee 2127, we have delivered more than one batch of military use products. Russian instructors, who have been deployed in the CAR upon request of the legitimate authorities, are working effectively in the country. The campaign to discredit them and, in general, attempts to blame the CAR armed forces and bilateral partners for human rights violations are clearly made to order and are not supported by reliable facts.
We believe it is essential for MINUSCA to continue to support the authorities effectively. We thank the countries that contribute troops who risk their lives daily while performing their duties. MINUSCA remains an important factor in ensuring security in the country. In general terms, we would like to reiterate that the Mission must first and foremost devote its resources to assisting the authorities in establishing state control, countering armed groups and protecting civilians. We are convinced that full implementation of the mandate of the Mission is possible only given continued constructive cooperation with the authorities of the Central African Republic.
Only a comprehensive normalization of the security situation will allow Bangui to focus on a constructive domestic agenda in the interests of citizens and the state. In July this year, the Security Council needs to do everything possible to facilitate this process, i.a. lift the remaining sanctions against the legitimate government of the Central African Republic.
Thank you.
