Discurso do Coordenador Político, Ministro Gustavo Sénéchal, em reunião do Conselho de Segurança sobre a Situação na República da África Central (MINUSCA) - 20 de junho de 2023 (texto em inglês)
Statement by Political Coordinator, Minister Gustavo Sénéchal de Goffredo Junior, on the situation in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA)
June 20th, 2023
Mister President,
My delegation would like to thank the briefers for their insights and welcome the Foreign Minister of the Central African Republic to today’s meeting.
With regard to the most recent developments on the ground, my delegation wishes to highlight the following points.
Mister President,
First, Brazil remains worried about the humanitarian situation in the Central African Republic. We note with concern the security vacuum created by the withdrawal of the Central African Republic-Chad-Sudan tripartite joint force from the border area and its potential implications, particularly in relation to the protection of civilians and the already dire humanitarian situation. The influx of Sudanese refugees and returnees since April has also had a serious impact on the humanitarian situation, adding an extra challenge to the provision of humanitarian assistance. Furthermore, we find alarming the recurrent use of explosive devices, which hampers humanitarian access. Their impact on civilians, humanitarian actors and peacekeepers is a distressing trend. We salute the work done by the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) to mitigate that threat.
Secondly, we wish to underscore the key role played by the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) programmes in the implementation of the 2019 Political Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in the Central African Republic and commend the Central African authorities for the progress in dissolving armed groups. In order to complement those DDR activities, the Government has also been working with MINUSCA to put in place violence reduction programmes in local communities. We want to encourage the Government to persevere not just in that partnership but also in its ongoing work to reintegrate ex-combatants into the national defence and internal security forces. Nevertheless, we remain concerned about reports of continued violence, as well as by the emergence of armed self-defence groups.
Thirdly, we believe it it is crucial to strengthen the presence of State authority across the country and thereby enforce the rule of law, especially in the light of the reports of human rights and international humanitarian law violations. In this vein, we would like to reiterate our support for the efforts of the local authorities to deliver justice, in particular through the Special Criminal Court, and to the work of MINUSCA to assist in the operationalization of the Truth, Justice, Reparation and Reconciliation Commission. We would like to congratulate the Government of the Central African Republic on its efforts to decentralize the peace process.
My fourth and last point relates to the contribution of regional organizations to the peace process in the Central African Republic. In this regard, it is particularly encouraging to see the renewed engagement of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region in favour of the implementation of the September 2021 road map. We thank Special Representative of the Secretary-General Rugwabiza for her active participation in the process and hope that the technical support and leadership provided by Angola, as well as the monitoring mechanisms agreed, will continue to bear fruit.
Before I conclude, let me welcome the final report (see S/2023/360) of the Panel of Experts on the Central African Republic and express our sincere appreciation for its efforts to provide input to enable us to have a broader, clearer picture of the situation and its respective challenges.
Finally, I wish to reiterate Brazil’s commitment to collaborating with other Council members to support the fulfilment of MINUSCA’s mandate.
And I thank you.