UNSC Briefing on MINUSCA (Central African Republic)

[Tuesday, 22 February; 1000 hrs EST/ 2030hrs IST]

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Madame President, at the outset, let me thank SRSG Mankeur Ndiaye for his briefing on the progress made on the mandate implementation of MINUSCA and updating the Council on the recent political developments in the Central African Republic. I also thank ICGLR (International Conference on Great Lakes Region) Executive Secretary João Samuel Caholo and AU Special Representative & Head of the AU Office in the Central African Republic H.E. Mr. Bertino Matias Matondo for their respective briefings.

2. I welcome the presence of Foreign Minister of Central African Republic Her Excellency Ms. Sylvie Valerie Baipo in today’s meeting. The challenges faced by the Central African Republic remain significant. While the overall political situation is stable, a new Prime Minister has been appointed. We hope this development will facilitate the reform process and national dialogue. The government is planning to hold local elections in September 2022. These would be crucial in deepening the democratic process across the country. We hope necessary legislation will soon pave way for this process to begin.

3. The holding of the national dialogue scheduled next month, will be important to capitalize on the gains of the unilateral ceasefire, which was announced by President Toudera in October 2021. We hope that the withdrawal of prosecutions against the opposition members on January 31 should help to fast track the process of national dialogue. The implementation of 2019 Political Agreement will only be possible when the six signatory groups, including factions of CPC (Coalition of Patriots for Change) who are based out of Central African Republic, engage in good faith. In this context, we welcome the holding of the Executive and Follow-up Committee meeting of the Political Agreement on 14 February. We look forward to the early commencement of the work of the Commission on Truth, Justice, Reparation and Reconciliation. We also commend the regional efforts in the peace process through the ICGLR initiative.

4. The security situation has remained volatile, particularly in the north-western regions of the country, with continuing fighting between the opposition groups and National Defence Forces. The lives of ordinary civilians, particularly women and children continue to be at risk with increased displacement and abuses. We hope that with progress in the national dialogue, the security situation will improve in the coming days. There is also a need to expedite the process of disarmament, demobilization, reintegration, and repatriation (DDRR) and Security Sector Reform.

5. The implementation of ‘status-of-force agreement’ has improved in the last four months. This is a clear indication of enhanced cooperation between MINUSCA and CAR authorities. Unfortunately, the peacekeepers have remained a victim of targeted attacks during the reporting period. We strongly condemn attack on peacekeepers and hope that the Mission leadership takes required measures to ensure safety and security of peacekeepers. The resolution 2589 adopted by the Council in August 2021, had requested the Secretary General to report on certain key tasks reflected in OP 4 (i) and (ii) concerning crimes against peacekeepers. We look forward to such reporting in the upcoming MINUSCA reports.

6. The Central African Republic is at an important juncture in its tenuous journey towards peace. The continuing support of the international community including the UN, AU, ECCAS (Economic Community of Central African States) and ICGLR is crucial.

7. Madam President, India has been assisting CAR through development partnership, including lines of credit for industrial and mining projects, supply of buses and hydroelectric projects, as well as through capacity building programmes. We will continue to support the people of CAR in these challenging times.

I thank you.

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