S/PV.7872 Security Council

In accordance with rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I invite the representative of the Central African Republic to participate in this meeting. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. Members of the Council have before them document S/2017/77, which contains the text of a draft resolution submitted by France. I should like to draw the attention of Council members to document S/2016/1032, which contains the text of a letter dated 5 December 2016 from the Panel of Experts on the Central African Republic extended pursuant to Security Council resolution 2262 (2016) addressed to the President of the Security Council. The Council is ready to proceed to the vote on the draft resolution before it. I shall put the draft resolution to the vote now.

The draft resolution received 15 votes in favour. The draft resolution has been adopted unanimously as resolution 2339 (2017). I shall now give the floor to those members of the Council who wish to make statements following the voting.

France welcomes the unanimous adoption of resolution 2339 (2017), which renews the sanctions regime, or rather the restrictive measures, against the Central African Republic and in support of the political process in that country. This renewal was justified even though the situation in the Central African Republic is stabilizing progressively, even though the capital, Bangui, is today in general peaceful and even though the President- elect — supported by his Government — is at work. We know that the overall situation remains precarious. That is why there is a need for the renewed, unanimous support of the international community through the Security Council. Armed groups are fighting one another and maintaining a high level of violence. Many of them take advantage of the weaknesses in the justice system to continue their criminal activities, and some have not given up the hope of spoiling the political and reconciliation processes in an attempt to drive the Central African Republic back into crisis. The resolution renews the same sanctions measures, which include an arms embargo, a travel ban and an assets freeze. However, it changes the designation criteria. Sexual violence is now fully recognized, which makes it possible to increase the visibility of such crimes and to send a strong message. The resolution also seeks to strengthen the application of the travel ban, as Member States are encouraged to step up collaboration with airlines in order to identify individuals subject to travel ban. It also requests Central African Republic authorities to strengthen oversight over Central African Republic passports to ensure that expired or outdated passports are not used for prohibited travel. And, finally, the resolution paves the way for the development of criteria aimed at adjusting the arms embargo at the appropriate time, based on the developments on the ground. However, given the current situation and the flow of weapons in the country, such changes must be considered carefully. The position of France is that the restrictive measures should support a political process and change in accordance with the situation on the ground. We are also sending the message to the Central African Republic authorities that the arms embargo could be modified in due course, in particular in accordance with progress made in the area of security sector reform. This message is important to our follow-up action in the Central African Republic. I would once again like to welcome the unanimous adoption of the resolution, which bears witness to the firm and unanimous commitment of the Security Council to support the political and reconciliation processes in that country, and in support as well as of the progress made daily thanks to the efforts of the people and the Government of the Central African Republic. This is a very clear signal to those who would undermine the ongoing political process, which the entire international community is watching.

I now give the floor to the represenative of the Central African Republic.

At the outset, I wish to congratulate you, Mr. President, as well as your entire team for the excellent manner in which the Swedish presidency is conducting the work of the Security Council in the first month of its mandate. I should also like to express by best wishes for success to the other new members of the Council. The renewal of sanctions is entire justified by the ongoing pressing threat posed by armed groups and those who continue to attempt to do everything they can to derail the stabilization and reconciliation process. Resolution 2339 (2017) includes new provisions, especially with regard to the implementation of the travel ban and the identification of sexual violence as a separate criterion. Other provisions pertain to the Government of the Central African Republic, specifically with regard to the arms embargo and exemption requests. The Security Council has a crucial role in preventing conflict, as was forcefully underscored during the open debate held on 10 January (see S/PV.7857). We believe that the adoption of sanctions regimes is part of that role. The proliferation of armed groups — I might even say “well armed groups” — is an ongoing cause of serious concern, for we know that the Central African Republic is prone to relapse into conflict. Clearly, it is difficult to get people to understand that sanctions are not punishment, but instead a necessary evil. Reactions calling for the lifting of the embargo reflect a lack of understanding when it comes to the uncontrolled circulation of weapons in the Central African Republic. I welcome the outstanding work done by the Panel of Experts on the Central African Republic, whose mandate was renewed under resolution 2262 (2016) with a view to the drafting of the Panel’s final report (see S/2016/1032), which includes important, relevant and very useful information in support of the renewal of the sanctions. I would like to thank the Chair of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 2127 (2013), concerning the Central African Republic, for organizing the meeting held on 25 January, which allowed for representatives of neighbouring and other countries to pronounce themselves on the measures taken by their respective Governments to better ensure the implementation of the sanctions. The conclusion that emerged from that exchange of views was that it is difficult to achieve the expected results so long as there continues to be a lack of cooperation in this area. Lastly, I would like to thank all the delegations that contributed to the drafting of resolution 2339 (2017), which the members of the Council just adopted unanimously. On behalf of the delegation of the Central African Republic, I express my deepest gratitude.