S/PV.6575 Security Council

I thank Ms. Vogt for her briefing. I now give the floor to Mr. Grauls.

I thank you, Sir, for permitting me to address the Security Council in my capacity as Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission country-specific configuration for the Central African Republic. First, I would like to pay tribute to Ms. Sahle-Work Zewde, the former Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Central African Republic, for her efforts to support the peacebuilding process in the country. I would like also to take this opportunity to wish Ms. Vogt every success as the new Special Representative of the Secretary- General and Head of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in the Central African Republic (BINUCA) in Bangui. I already feel that it will be a privilege to work with her. At the outset, I wish to inform the Council in detail of the main activities of the Peacebuilding Commission over the past six months, and then of the priority actions to be undertaken by the country- specific configuration in the coming months. Let me turn first to the activities of the past six months. Without losing sight of other sectors, our configuration focused mainly on the electoral process and preparations for the partners’ round table that was held in Brussels three weeks ago. With respect to the elections, the Peacebuilding Commission played an important role from the outset in mobilizing donors. As a result of those efforts, it has been possible to overcome the $7.5 million shortfall in the electoral budget. Moreover, the Commission provided advice through BINUCA to some of the actors involved in preparing the elections, including the Independent Electoral Commission, the Government and the opposition. The recommendations also covered measures to be taken with respect to irregularities noted in large part during the first round of parliamentary elections. In the light of that, the boycott of the second round of the parliamentary elections by a coalition of opposition parties was a particularly regrettable incident. I wish to draw the Council’s attention to the policy statement presented by the Government of the Central African Republic to the National Assembly in Bangui on 18 May. This communication should be studied by the Council because it contains extremely important political engagements that should be recalled here. The Government has committed itself, notably, to complete the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of rebels before the end of 2011; to combat corruption; to bolster governance and the rule of law; and to revise the 2009 electoral code and to establish a permanent and independent secretariat responsible for future elections. The Commission trusts that the Central African authorities will not tarry in implementing these political commitments. After the conclusion of the election process, the Government of the Central African Republic and the Peacebuilding Commission organized in Brussels on 16 and 17 June a round table of partners, with the support of the United Nations Development Programme, the World Bank and the African Development Bank. The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Mr. Jean Ping, decided to travel expressly to Brussels to attend the round table. Approximately 160 participants represented some 30 Governments and 35 international, regional and subregional organizations; observers represented Central African civil society, international non-governmental organizations and the private sector. For a forgotten country such as the Central African Republic, this was truly an unprecedented number of participants. The main purpose of the round table was to make partners aware of the priorities of the second- generation Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP). This excellent document was drawn up by the Central African authorities with the technical assistance of the World Bank. Development needs obviously remain vast in the Central African Republic. The message of the participants at the round table was very clear. They all encouraged the national authorities to define priority areas for action in the second PRSP and to focus on measures to restore stability in the country and to target vulnerable populations in particular. It was clear to all that this event was but a first step on a long road intended to strengthen links with existing partners and to develop new ones from a broad spectrum of potential new partners. Naturally, the Commission, cooperating with the Central African authorities, will ensure a targeted follow-up to the work of the round table. I also welcome a number of decisive developments in the weeks and days prior to the round table to which the Special Representative of the Secretary-General has already referred. These include the signing of a ceasefire agreement with the Convention des patriotes pour la justice et la paix, the only remaining rebel group that did not sign the 2008 Libreville peace accords; the signing of a tripartite agreement among the Central African Republic, Chad and the Sudan that should contribute to stabilizing the situation in the north-east of the country; and further progress towards national reconciliation. I would now like to turn towards the future. One of the main priorities for the road ahead will be security sector reform, as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General has also noted. Here I welcome the fact that the new Special Representative of the Secretary-General has made support for the Government in creating a strategy for national security sector reform (SSR) a priority for BINUCA. The list of existing SSR projects, as presented at the round table in Brussels, still needs to be prioritized and guided by a strategy, such as was sketched out during the national seminar on security sector reform in April 2008. In the coming months, the Commission will focus on getting effective SSR under way. The areas of good governance, the rule of law and judicial reform will also be part of our peacebuilding priorities for the coming year. The United Nations Development Programme has already begun implementing a multi-year programme that must be completed and refined. Transparent management of natural resources is an issue that requires urgent attention in order to generate increased State revenue and encourage private investment. For its part, the Commission will pursue its efforts to mobilize the support of existing and potential partners for peacebuilding projects. Before concluding, I would also like to emphasize an issue that is important both to me personally and to the German presidency of the Council — the situation of women and children in areas of conflict in the Central African Republic. That situation is still very serious in some areas. During my last visit to Bangui in April, I had the opportunity to stress the urgency of setting up a reporting and monitoring mechanism for children and armed conflict. On my return to New York, I briefed the Security Council’s Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict, which you chair, Mr. President. I encouraged the Special Representatives of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict and on Sexual Violence in Conflict to again visit the Central African Republic this year in order to assess the situation on the ground, which, I reiterate, remains very worrying and deserves the full attention not only of the Commission but also of the Council.

I thank Mr. Grauls for his briefing. I now give the floor to the representative of the Central African Republic.

On behalf of the Government of the Central African Republic, I would like to congratulate you, Mr. President, on your assumption of the presidency of the Security Council this month. We are encouraged by your country’s commitment to supporting States weakened by violence of every kind in their quest for peace, stability and development. I also commend you for your commitment to the issue of women and children in conflict. On behalf of the Central African Republic, I again congratulate the Secretary-General on his successful re-election as head of our shared Organization, enabling him to continue, consolidate and complete the many projects begun during his first term. We also take note of his report of 16 May (S/2011/311), which has just been introduced, on the political, security and social and economic situation in the Central African Republic, as well as the activities of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office there. That virtually exhaustive report comes at the right moment, considering what is currently at stake both nationally and internationally. Here I would like to thank and express our deep respect for Ms. Margaret Vogt, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, for the clarity, depth and above all the concision of her briefing. I cannot fail to include in our thanks her predecessor, Ms. Sahle-Work Zewde, who in difficult and unusual circumstances skilfully led her mission before, during and after the elections last January. We have witnessed a series of encouraging events since those elections, as has already been mentioned and which is worth repeating. These range from the Constitutional Court’s partial cancellation of a quarter of the National Assembly seats, to the round table for Central African Republic donors held in Brussels three weeks ago. They also include the formation of the Government and its general policy statement, affirmed by the Parliament; the tripartite Sudan-Chad-Central African Republic summit; the signing of a ceasefire agreement with the Convention des patriotes pour la justice et la paix, the last rebel group remaining outside the Libreville peace accords; the imminent return to its own country of a foreign politico-military movement; and the start of the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) process. We in the Central African Republic are certain that these events, with the agreement, efforts and cooperation of all stakeholders, offer hope of a return to peace. They are visible signs of that return to peace and essential factors in a lasting recovery. The President of the Republic and his Government will do their utmost to maintain dialogue with the political players and civil society, as was recommended in the inclusive political dialogue. They are determined to pursue the DDR process, which from now on should be coupled with the security sector reform programme with the aim of restructuring the defence and security forces effectively. In my fragile nation, peace is priceless, and any consolidation of democratic gains requires it. If these measures are to be achieved, they must of course continue in coordination with our bilateral and multilateral partners, particularly the United Nations through the Peacebuilding Commission in its Central African Republic country-specific configuration, chaired in masterly fashion by Ambassador Grauls, whom we hold in great esteem and whom I would like to commend here. While they are committed, to the extent possible, to carrying out the report’s recommendations, the highest Central African authorities recall nevertheless that, in an accurate assessment of the situation in the Central African Republic — which lies at the very heart of the African continent — requires internal and external factors alike to be taken into account, as, thankfully, has been done here. The situation with regard to the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a cruel, barbarous rebel group from a non-bordering country, is a perfect example. The LRA’s atrocities, destruction, pillaging, forced conscription and deportation of men, women and children have made it deserving of eradication once and for all through the comprehensive mobilization of efforts and shared resources. That is why, while recognizing the full value of the United Nations and African Union initiatives on this issue, the Central African Republic vests great hope in the creation, within the next 48 hours, of a new bordering State that will drastically overturn certain principles and alter the geography of the area, albeit with foreseeable consequences. We remain convinced that that State will join us in our tireless struggle against a cross-border enemy with nebulous ambitions that disturb the tranquillity essential to the development of the subregion. In conclusion, as it has done in the past, my country will continue to cooperate with all States without exception. At times, discerning friends and observers, justifiably weary of the issue of the Central African Republic, question its will and its ability to recover or merely to move forward. The Central African Republic is definitely not a hopeless case; its failure is even less a foregone conclusion. With its limited means and working tirelessly, it is fighting to remain on its feet. It is fighting to build the rule of law. My State is fighting daily to remain a good father to its population, which aspires only to live and prosper in peace. The Central African Republic expresses its undying gratitude to the international community of which it is fortunate to be a part, whose unwavering and many forms of support have never failed it, and on which it hopes to be able to rely throughout this painstaking process.

There are no further speakers on my list. I now invite Council members to informal consultations in order to continue our discussion on this subject.