S/PV.7329 Security Council

In accordance with rule 39 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I invite Mr. Hervé Ladsous, Under- Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, to participate in this meeting. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. I wish to draw the attention of Council members to document S/2014/857, which contains the report of the Secretary-General on the situation in the Central African Republic. I also wish to draw the attention of Council members to document S/2014/870, which contains a letter dated 5 December 2014 from the Secretary-General addressed to the President of the Security Council, as well as to document S/2014/762, which contains a letter dated 28 October 2014 from the Panel of Experts on the Central African Republic established pursuant to Security Council resolution 2127 (2013) addressed to the President of the Security Council. At this meeting, the Security Council will hear briefings by Mr. Hervé Ladsous and Her Excellency Ms. Raimonda Murmokaitė, Permanent Representative of Lithuania, in her capacity as Chair of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 2127 (2013) concerning the Central African Republic. I now give the floor to Mr. Ladsous.

I wish to thank you, Mr. President, for this opportunity to bring the Security Council up to date on recent developments in the Central African Republic following the issuance on 1 December of the report of the Secretary-General. Although the situation in the Central African Republic remains volatile — members will recall the episodes of violence that took place in Bangui in October — we note with satisfaction that the political process is once again moving forward thanks to the notable efforts of the mediator for the Central African Republic, President Sassou Nguesso. An agreement has been reached among stakeholders in the country, the region and international partners to request the mediator to extend the transition period by six months, until August 2015. In that context, preparations are well under way for the Bangui forum on national reconciliation, to be held early next year. In order to lay the groundwork for this important national dialogue, a process of local consultations coordinated by the Ministry of Reconciliation has been initiated with the support of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA). From 29 November to 3 December, transitional Government ministers representing the Central African Republic’s 16 prefectures met with local Government officials and community leaders as a first step towards engagement in the Bangui forum and the country’s longer-term reconciliation process. Further consultations at the prefecture level are also planned, the results of which will feed into the work of a preparatory committee announced by the transitional authorities that will oversee preparations for the forum. As the outline of the Bangui forum begins to take shape, there is incontestably a growing consensus on the need to address the full range of issues that lie at the heart of the crisis in the Central African Republic, including the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of armed groups and preparations for security-sector reform, including the reconstitution of the Forces armées centrafricaines, as well as issues relating to political and economic governance and the fight against impunity, which is a vital issue. Let us not forget the situation of the approximately 1 million refugees and internally displaced persons, many of whom want to return to their homes. In addition, the Bangui forum, which international partners have been requested to support, should aim to be the starting point for a longer-term reconciliation process at all levels of society, with mechanisms put in place to monitor the implementation of the forum’s key recommendations. Various leaders of the increasingly fragmented ex-Séléka and anti-Balaka have held their general assembly meetings and publicly expressed their support for the national dialogue process, which will include participation in the Bangui forum. On 29 November, the national coordinator of the anti-Balaka, Patrice Edouard Ngaissona, announced that his group would transform into a political party named the Central African Party for Unity and Development. Let us be clear: a successful and timely Bangui forum will be crucial in order to prepare the ground for the planned constitutional referendum as well as the legislative and presidential elections. Preparations for the elections had been proceeding quite slowly until agreement was reached to conduct the polls by August 2015. This is clearly an extremely tight time frame for the elections. MINUSCA and its main United Nations electoral partner, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), are reinforcing their support capacities for the elections, with a particular focus on the mobilization of additional logistical assets and the swift recruitment of electoral staff. A UNDP project document on the issue has also been agreed. However, only three partners, namely the European Union, France and UNDP, have pledged funds in support of the electoral process. For their part, the transitional authorities have released a tranche of funds in the amount of 1 billion CFA francs — approximately $2 million — for the elections. The National Electoral Authority, with support from MINUSCA, is finalizing the dispatch of several missions to the region to appoint elections officers in each of the districts. The National Electoral Authority also conducted a mission to Cameroon to assess voter-registration modalities for refugees there. Further missions in the subregion are also planned for the same purpose. Despite all of these positive steps, we should not forget that the holding of elections by August 2015 will be extremely challenging. The success of the process will hinge on a significantly strengthened commitment on the part of the Central African Republic authorities and, I would reiterate, also require the political, operational and financial support of the international community. There is a critical need for the national authorities to adopt the revised electoral law and to agree on outstanding issues, including on the sequencing of elections and the voter registration methodology. The national electoral authorities must launch a transparent voter registration process that enables the full participation of returning and displaced populations without delay. Increased support of the international community will also need to be strengthened in order to avoid further delays. A conducive security environment will also be required and necessitate progress in the political process and the strongest possible resolve of all actors to ensure the peaceful conduct of the electoral process and a successful conclusion of the Transition. In January 2015, the Departments of Peacekeeping Operations and Field Support will review, with MINUSCA and in consultation with Operation Sangaris and the European Union Force in the Central African Republic (EUFOR), the military and police concepts of operations and make recommendations regarding adjustments that may be required to the agreed troop and police levels and their deployment to achieve mandated tasks, in particular in the run-up to the elections. We remain fully committed to ensuring a phased approached in MINUSCA’s deployment. The security situation in the Central African Republic remains volatile, as I have said, and the presence of the State weak at best, and often essentially absent. Civilians remain under constant threat and impunity is still rampant. Following the violence in October in Bangui, driven by the anti-Balaka and during which civilians as well as MINUSCA, Operation Sangaris and EUFOR personnel were actively targeted, some of the ex-Séléka elements who had been regrouped in three camps in Bangui since December 2013 threatened to explode a significant arms cache in one of the camps unless they were provided with substantial assistance. Approximately 900 ex-Séléka elements have since been relocated from these camps to their communities of origin. There are also ongoing efforts with the transitional authorities and the support of the international community to complete the relocation of the remaining camp residents and remove the arms and munitions from the site. On 24 November, an incident also took place inside the Bangui central prison when inmates seized weapons and shot and threw hand grenades at United Nations peacekeepers who were on guard duty outside the prison. Three United Nations soldiers and one United Nations police officer were injured in the incident. It must be said that all these serious security incidents in the capital could have significantly escalated without the robust efforts by MINUSCA, supported by Sangaris and EUFOR, to restore order. Our national counterparts are also taking measures. On 3 December, MINUSCA, in cooperation with Sangaris and EUFOR, supported by the Chief of Staff of the Forces armées centrafricaines (FACA), took action to verify and clarify the position of selected FACA elements who will constitute the first company of a static protection battalion to be put in place after the Bangui forum. Each of the troops signed a declaration of honour, a commitment of good service, and a pledge to respect human rights and humanitarian law. I believe that this is a symbolic and important step towards the reoperationalization of FACA pending future efforts to complete security sector reform. Outside Bangui, there have also been violent clashes involving factions of the ex-Séléka and anti-Balaka, as well as other armed groups. On 24 November, 15 nationals of Cameroon and one Polish priest held hostage by the Front démocratique du peuple centrafricain (FDPC) were released following negotiations in Cameroon that resulted in the freeing of FDPC leader Abdoulaye Miskine from detention there. The remaining 10 Central African hostages still held by the FDPC were liberated on 29 November. Unfortunately, in the eastern and central parts of the country, intercommunity violence, confrontations between armed groups and violent attacks on the civilian population continue. While the Lord’s Resistance Army remains a threat in the south-east of the country, recently the Zemio area in Haut-Mbomou province was a theatre of ethnic confrontations in which at least 5 people were killed and 13 wounded. In response, MINUSCA expedited the deployment of the first troops of a MINUSCA contingent assigned to the area, and supported the creation of a reconciliation committee composed of leaders from opposing communities. Similarly, in the city of Bambari in Ouaka province, bloody clashes took place once again between different faiths. Several people were killed and houses burned down over the past two weeks. On 5 December, three United Nations peacekeepers were wounded in an attack by anti-Balaka elements following the arrest by MINUSCA of their local leader, John “Américain”. We do not know his real name. In the west, some communities at risk remain confined to areas where, it must be said, living conditions remain extremely precarious. For MINUSCA a critical priority in that context clearly remains the protection of civilians; in that regard, securing the full deployment of MINUSCA’s troop and police contingents remains a top priority. This month, MINUSCA will achieve 80 per cent of its full troop deployment, and in January 2015, 9 out of the 10 of the formed police units will be deployed, with the tenth to arrive very soon thereafter. In the framework of MINUSCA’s mandate of urgent temporary measures agreed by the Government of the Central African Republic, 217 people have been arrested by MINUSCA and handed over to the local judicial authorities. On 24 November near Bouar, MINUSCA arrested the well-known anti-Balaka leader “Chocolat”  — his real name, too, is unknown to us — who was transferred to Bangui. “Chocolat” is accused of a series of very serious human rights violations. We will need to follow up on his case. MINUSCA has also continued to broaden and improve its capacity to monitor and address threats to civilians and human rights violations through enhanced training for MINUSCA troops and the establishment of field offices outside Bangui. In areas where there is no MINUSCA presence, close coordination and communication with humanitarian agencies has resulted in the dispatch of integrated MINUSCA and United Nations agency teams to threatened areas, for instance to Zemio and Yaloke. It must be said that the Central African Republic is entering a critical phase at a time when international attention to the crisis is starting to wane. Still, the risks remain high that additional disruptions to the political process and to the security situation could put the transitional process in jeopardy. The transitional authorities, for their part, have reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring that the Central African Republic’s transition is managed in an inclusive and consensual manner. The Head of State of the Transition herself has stated repeatedly her intention not to run for the elections, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitutional Charter for the Transition. However, it must be clear that any further delays beyond August 2015 could undermine the transition itself. It is therefore very important for the Central African authorities to stay the course and for the country’s regional and international partners to remain engaged in a sustained and coordinated manner in order to provide the Central African Republic with the assistance necessary to ensure the effectiveness and sustainability of its actions and decisions.

I thank Mr. Ladsous for his briefing. I now give the floor to Ambassador Murmokaitė.

I have the honour to brief the members of the Security Council in my capacity as Chair of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 2127 (2013), concerning the Central African Republic. In my statement I intend to highlight the work of the Committee and the Panel of Experts since my last briefing in the Chamber on 11 July (see S/PV.7215). On 22 July, following the Committee’s consideration of the Panel’s interim report (see S/2014/452) and recommendations, the Chair sent letters to the Permanent Representatives to the United Nations of Cameroon, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, South Sudan and the Sudan, as well as INTERPOL, the Economic Community of Central African States and the African Union, drawing attention to the Panel’s recommendation for the enhancement of information-sharing and joint action to investigate and combat regional criminal networks involved in the illegal exploitation and trade in natural resources, including wildlife and wildlife products. On 22 July, the Committee also issued a press release highlighting that recommendation. During the Committee’s informal consultations on 1 August, the Panel coordinator provided further information concerning individuals and entities that, in the Panel’s view, met the designation criteria in accordance with paragraph 41 of resolution 2134 (2014), namely, five individuals and two entities. The Panel recommended that the Committee might wish to postpone its consideration of the possible designation of one individual and two entities until after 1 September. On 19 September, the Panel conveyed the view that the one individual and two entities met the designation criteria. On 20 October, the Panel presented eight additional statements of case for seven individuals and one entity that in its view met the designation criteria, as well as several updates to the sanctions list. In that connection, I would like to reiterate my willingness to convene informal consultations of the Committee or any other meetings that would facilitate the Committee’s consideration of future designations. On 24 October, the Committee met with the Panel of Experts to consider its final report (see S/2014/762) and recommendations. According to the report, armed groups remain in control of, or still exert influence over, almost all inhabited areas of the Central African Republic despite the signing of the cessation of hostilities agreement in July 2014. The increasing fragmentation of the main armed groups active in the country also poses significant challenges to the stabilization of the political landscape, while the competition among political representatives of armed groups for ministerial positions, as well as among military commanders for control of resources, accounts for the recent infighting among the key armed groups of the country. In that context, the Panel noted little progress in terms of voluntary or forced disarmament since March 2014. Providing an update to the final report since its submission to the Committee, on 17 September, the Panel mentioned that, as of 20 October, it had compiled reports indicating that a total number of 3,232 civilians had been killed since the imposition of the arms embargo on 5 December 2013, including the killings of 23 humanitarian aid workers. On 14 November, in connection with the Committee’s consideration of the final report and recommendations, the Chair sent letters to the Permanent Missions of Belgium, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, India, Israel, Lebanon, the Republic of the Congo, Senegal, the Sudan and the United Arab Emirates in connection with particular recommendations. Letters from the Chair were also sent to the Chair of the Kimberly Process, the President of the World Diamond Council and the Executive Secretary of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region. In the United Nations system, the Chair transmitted the letters to the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), the Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. On 14 November, a Security Council press release (SC/11647) was also published, in English and French, in connection with the Panel’s recommendation that the Committee urge exporters,importers, processors and consumers of Central African gold to mitigate the risk of further exacerbating the conflict in the Central African Republic by following due diligence guidance as it is being implemented through the Regional Certification Mechanism of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region. There was no consensus in the Committee to take similar action on a recommendation by the Panel concerning diamonds, nor was consensus reached on a recommendation that a Committee request the neighbouring States to convey, on a confidential and annual basis, complete statistics on the import and export of natural resources. On 2 December, following the receipt of information from the Panel of Experts concerning the reported death, on 15 November, of one of the three sanctioned individuals, Mr. Levi Yakété, the Committee agreed to update the sanctions list to reflect the reported death and to contact the designating States for official confirmation and, in that connection, sent letters to the concerned States seeking additional information. On 3 December, the Committee convened its second formal meeting with the Permanent Missions to the United Nations of the Central African Republic and its neighbouring States, which were invited to provide their views on the final report of the Panel of Experts. During the discussion, the Chair welcomed the views of Committee member Chad, as well as the representatives of the Central African Republic, Cameroon, the Republic of the Congo and South Sudan. In their remarks, participating Member States highlighted a number of challenges in implementing the sanctions measures, such as porous borders and the absence of border monitoring. One of the invited States expressed concerns with the Panel’s recommendation that the Committee request neighbouring States to convey, on a confidential and annual basis, complete statistics on the import and export of natural resources. I would now like to update the Council on the implementation reports the Committee has received from Member States to date. To date, the Committee has received reports from 31 Member States, as well as five addendums from three States. Only two African States have submitted implementation reports, with none from the immediate region. All the reports received have been posted on the Committee’s website. Of the 15 Committee members, 11 have submitted reports to date. I have encouraged the members to lead by example and to submit their implementation reports in a timely manner. Along those lines, I would also like to encourage those recipients of the Chair’s letters, in connection with the Panel’s interim and final reports, to kindly provide the Committee with timely responses. I intend to continue my outreach activities to the Central African Republic and its neighbours, some of which highlighted during the 3 December meeting the need for implementation assistance, as well as further clarification concerning the exemption procedures. In that regard, the Chair plans to invite the regional States and the Secretariat to the third informal informal meeting at the Permanent Mission of Lithuania during the second half of December to review the exemptions procedures and to discuss ways in which States may possibly seek donor assistance to help them implement the sanctions regime. It is also my intention to visit the Central African Republic early next year with a view to engaging the transitional authorities, MINUSCA, civil society, religious leaders and others to echo the message that resonated in the Committee meeting on 3 December, namely, that a sanctions regime should be seen not as a punitive measure but as a collaborative tool of engagement. As one delegation best phrased it, this engagement is an expression of the Committee’s solidarity with the Central African Republic, through which the authorities in Bangui can strengthen State authority and target spoilers. I intend to inform members of the Committee of the details of my planned visit in due course. In concluding, I would like to assure Council members that as Chair of the Committee I will do my utmost to ensure that the Committee makes a significant contribution to the efforts of the Council, MINUSCA and other international partners to bring an end to the ongoing violence that threatens the Central African Republic and to set the country on a path to reconciliation, durable peace and sustainable development.

I thank Ambassador Murmokaitė for her briefing. I now invite Council members to informal consultations to continue our discussion on the subject.