The vote goes ahead after disputes over the text and with the abstention of Russia and China
November 15 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The United Nations Security Council has approved a one-year extension of the mandate of the UN One-Dimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), a resolution supported despite differences regarding the wording of the text.
The mission maintains the deployment of 14,400 soldiers and 3,020 police officers, with few changes in their basic tasks, including supporting the peace process and the peace agreement signed in February 2019.
The negotiations have been marked by tensions and differences of opinion between the member countries of the UN Security Council, which has been reflected in the fact that the document has been approved with the abstention of Russia, China and Gabon.
The ‘number two’ of the Russian delegation to the UN, Anna Evstingniva, explained in a statement that Moscow has abstained because “after long negotiations on the text, the draft reflected only one of the many fundamental points presented by RCA on the end of the authorization for French assistance to MINUSCA”.
“Bangui’s proposals on the mandate were not reflected in the document. The draft ignored the justified request to designate assistance in maintaining the presence of MINUSCA’s top priority, which would have helped reflect the changing situation on the terrain and further support the stabilization efforts of the RCA authorities, which have given results, as can be seen,” he argued.
In this sense, he stressed that Russia “cannot accept that the resolution puts the parties in conflict at the same level” and said that “everyone knows that armed groups are responsible for most cross-border crimes , violations of International Law and Human Rights”.
For her part, France’s deputy representative to the UN, Nathalie Broadhurst, has applauded the renewal of MINUSCA’s mandate and argued that it gives “a robust mandate” to the mission, which operates in a “difficult environment.”
“The situation in CAR is fragile and the country still needs MINUSCA,” said Broadhurst, who regretted the abstentions in the vote, because “MINUSCA needs unanimous support.” “France has listened to RCA”, she has defended.
The vote took place just a few days after the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, defended the need to “intensify cooperation” with RCA, amid Western complaints about the deployment of mercenaries from the Wagner Group to support the operations of the Army against the rebels.
The president of RCA, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, has defended on several occasions the deployment of Russian forces in the country to support Army operations against the Patriots for Change Coalition (CPC) and has stressed that they are not members of the Wagner Group , founded by an oligarch close to Putin.
The Wagner Group has sent mercenaries to several African countries in recent years –including Mali, Libya and CAR–, which has caused suspicion among several Western countries, especially the United States and France, due to Moscow’s involvement in several conflicts on the continent.
