Mr. President,
Thank you for convening today’s meeting and I’d also like to express my gratitude to the speakers, for their valuable insights. As has been expressed by many today, full implementation of the Political Peace and Reconciliation Agreement is the only path towards lasting peace in the Central African Republic. I’d like to highlight three developments here:
First, it is good to hear that the preparations for the upcoming elections are in full swing. I hope that this work can continue safely in respect of the ongoing health crisis. The CAR government has demonstrated its ability to utilize innovative solutions in difficult circumstances, for example the payment of civil servant salaries using mobile networks.
Second, the law establishing the Commission on Truth, Justice, Reparation and Reconciliation has finally been promulgated. This is great news. I hope that next steps necessary to operationalize the commission will follow swiftly, including the naming of commissioners. This commission will be an invaluable tool in the fight against injustice and impunity, and assist in national reconciliation. I hope that the health crisis will not hinder the continued capacity building of justice and rule of law in the country.
Third, but perhaps most important: Violence and the abuse of human rights in CAR continues, with new hotspots emerging. Though the number of human rights abuses has decreased, it is important to remember that monitoring and reporting of incidents has unfortunately been affected by the pandemic. Attacks on civilians and the abuse of human rights are direct violations of the peace agreement and as such are unacceptable. The most visible of such actions by some armed groups, “spoilers” if you will, has been the group “Retour, Réclamation et Réhabilitation (3R)” by announcing the suspension of the armed group’s participation in the Agreement’s follow-up and monitoring mechanisms, expanding the area if its activities and directly attacking MINUSCA and national forces. 3R, together with 5 other groups have also been listed in the Secretary-General’s report for patterns of conflict related sexual violence. In this light, I fully support the call of the Secretary General “to take a firm, unequivocal stance regarding the application of sanctions under article 35 of the Agreement”.
Mr. President,
I’d like to end my statement by commending the robust cooperated response of MINUSCA, CAR authorities and partners to protect civilians from armed group violence and support the Peace Agreement.
Thank you Mr. President.
