UN extends Central African Republic mission for 1 year

By Rodrigue Forku

YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AA) – The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution late Thursday extending the mandate of the UN Stabilization Mission in Central African Republic (MINUSCA) for one year.

The mission’s mandate will run until Nov. 15 next year and its priorities will be protecting civilians, supporting peace efforts, and preparing for upcoming elections, said a UNSC statement.

MINUSCA’s troop levels will remain unchanged at 11,650 military personnel and 2,080 police personnel.

Its strategic objective will be to create “the political, security, and institutional conditions conducive to sustainably reduce presence of armed groups and the threat they pose.”

In view of the presidential, legislative, and local elections in 2020 and 2021, the council decided that the mission “shall prioritize assistance to authorities in the country to encourage inclusive dialogue among all political stakeholders and to mitigate tensions throughout the electoral period.”

The UNSC urged authorities in the Central African Republic (CAR) and all national stakeholders “to ensure the elections are fair, free, transparent and peaceful.”

“Further, it called on all stakeholders to engage urgently and constructively to implement the 2019 Political Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation between the Central African Republic authorities and 14 armed groups, demanding that the latter end violations of the agreement,” the statement said.

In February 2019, the CAR government signed an agreement with several armed groups that control large swathes of the country, committing to integrating some groups’ fighters into new army units and their leaders into the government.

The deal has galvanized international support, but violence continues in the provinces.

The country has been wracked by violence since Seleka rebels ousted then-President Francois Bozize in 2013, who rose to prominence during the rule of former dictator Jean-Bedel Bokassa.

Bozize’s failure to deliver genuine power-sharing, followed by his re-election in disputed 2011 polls, led to the offensive by the rebel groups.

Incumbent President Faustin-Archange Touadera, a former prime minister who has been in office since 2016, has repeatedly reiterated his commitment to preserving peace.

The CAR, which gained independence from France in 1960, has rich untapped deposits of gold, diamonds, and uranium.