S/2021/258 Security Council

In accordance with the procedure agreed upon by the members of the Security Council in the light of the extraordinary circumstances caused by the coronavirus disease pandemic, as set out in the letter dated 27 March 2020 from the President of the Security Council addressed to the Permanent Representatives of the members of the Security Council (S/2020/253), I would like to draw your attention to the following. The members of the Council have discussed a draft resolution, submitted by France, in connection with the agenda item “The situation in the Central African Republic”. That draft resolution, contained in document S/2021/242 and enclosed herein, has been put into blue. In my capacity as President of the Security Council, I hereby put the above- mentioned draft resolution to a vote. The non-extendable 24-hour voting period for this draft resolution will begin at 1 p.m. on Thursday, 11 March 2021. The non-extendable 24-hour voting period will expire at 1 p.m. on Friday, 12 March 2021. Please submit your vote (in favour, against, or abstain) on the draft resolution, as well as your possible explanation of vote, by sending a letter signed by the Permanent Representative or Chargé d’affaires a.i. within the non-extendable 24-hour voting period set out above to the Officer-in-Charge of the Security Council Affairs Division of the Secretariat (sutterlin@un.org). It is my intention to circulate a letter listing the outcome of the vote within three hours of the conclusion of the 24-hour voting period. I also intend to convene a video-teleconference of the Security Council to announce the outcome of the vote shortly after the conclusion of the voting period, in the afternoon of Friday, 12 March 2021.

The Russian delegation abstained in the voting on resolution 2566 (2021), on the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA). We would like to stress in particular that we have always supported the activities of the Blue Helmets, who play a prominent role in the country’s security. That is particularly vital now, as the current electoral period in the Central African Republic is marked by attempts by a number of illegal armed groups to disrupt the holding of elections. At the same time, Moscow was disappointed that the authors of the resolution decided not to mention in the text the United Nations guiding principles for emergency humanitarian assistance, as they should have done, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 46/182. Ensuring conditions for the delivery of humanitarian assistance is not an insignificant part of MINUSCA’s mandate. We cannot accept the policy, adopted by our Western colleagues, of removing all references to the guiding principles from United Nations documents and blurring the strict parameters of humanitarian assistance. That could undermine the principle of respect for the national sovereignty of Member States. Russia is committed to the existing humanitarian rules. We continue to be guided by the need for close coordination with the Governments of recipient countries with regard to the delivery and distribution of humanitarian aid on their soil. Our principled position should come as no surprise to anyone. Last December when the Security Council adopted the resolution on the renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the co-penholders sacrificed consensus because of their own intransigence on the issue. It is also our firm belief that, in the selection of contingents to be part of MINUSCA’s peacekeeping force, the Secretariat must coordinate closely with Bangui and listen to the views of the people of the Central African Republic, including on the national composition of the troops and police officers to be deployed. Only in that way will it be possible to truly increase the impact of the Mission’s activities and improve the quality of interaction between the United Nations and the authorities of the Central African Republic.