At UN, Central African Republic President outlines country’s peace, reconciliation process

At UN, Central African Republic President outlines country’s peace, reconciliation process22 September 2017 – The President of the Central African Republic (CAR), Faustin Archange Touadйra, reaffirmed today at the United Nations General Assembly his determination and that of his Government to make the peace efforts succeed, but stressed that the country suffers from limited capacity as it continues to cope with a raft of post-conflict challenges.
In addition to the weak State response to the violence of armed groups, Mr. Touadйra regretted that even the staff of the UN Multi-Dimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission, known by its’s French acronym, UNMISCA, is not sufficient to cope to the challenges of protecting civilian populations.
“The increase in security threats due to violence imposed by armed groups required that steps be taken to curb the risks of widespread crisis," he told UN Member delegations attending the Assembly’s annual general debate.
With this in mind, he called on the international community to increase the military strength of MINUSCA, particularly in view of the immensity of the territory it must cover. Mr. Touadйra also urged that the operation’s mandate, which is coming to an end very soon, be revised to assist the Government in regaining control over areas with natural resources.
He went on to welcome the unprecedented mobilization of international solidarity in for CAR towards the implementation of the Rehabilitation and Peacebuilding Programme (RCPCA), after the November 2016 Brussels Donor Conference. "To follow up on the implementation of this plan, we have concluded an Agreement serving as a new framework for mutual engagement between the Central African Republic and the international community," said Mr. Touadera.
He outlined his hope that steps would be taken in 2017 to establish dialogue with the armed groups, noting that other major efforts would focus on implementing the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programme. He would also seek greater dialogue with regional actors in hopes they would provide political support for the road map for peace and national reconciliation.
Full statement (in French) available here