Central African Republic, 2014

It is

an honour and a legitimate source of pride for me to

speak from this rostrum on behalf of my country, the

Central African Republic, on the occasion of the sixty-

ninth session of the General Assembly of our shared

Organization.

I would like first to address, on behalf of the

delegation that is accompanying me and in my own

name, my warm congratulations to Mr. Sam Kutesa,

Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uganda,

for his election as President of the General Assembly

at its sixty-ninth session. My congratulations also go

to Mr. John Ashe, who successfully presided over the

Assembly at its sixty-eighth session, during which the

situation in my country was widely debated and was

subject to numerous resolutions of the Security Council.

I would especially like to express all my gratitude

and that of the people of the Central African Republic

to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his dynamism

and commitment to my country, a commitment that was

embodied in his April visit to Bangui.

It is also especially important for me to solemnly

address members in this Hall to express the profound

gratitude of the Central African people for the

international community’s unwavering and tireless

commitment to my country in distress. That recognition

goes especially to the Heads of State of the Economic

and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC),

the Economic Community of Central African States

(ECCAS), the African Union, European Union, and

the countries of the International Mediation under

the leadership of President Denis Sassou Nguesso of

the Republic of the Congo. It also extends to France

and its President for their dogged determination, and

to the United States of America and members of the

International Contact Group on the Central African

Republic for their renewed and unflagging support for

the transition authorities in my country.

The sixty-ninth session is being held at a time

when my country is still experiencing a worrying

humanitarian, security and economic situation that

challenges all of us as members of the international

community. The political instability and internal

conflicts that have been recurring for more than two

decades have plunged the Central African Republic into

a situation of extreme vulnerability. Since December

2012, the Central African Republic has been shaken by

one of the worst crises in its history, which has left the

Central African people in a dramatic situation.

Following the resignation of my predecessor on

10 January, I responded to the distressed calls of the

people of the Central African Republic. My election has

raised great hopes among the people of my country, who

welcomed the election of the first woman President of

the Central African Republic as a sign of a break with

the past and the start of a new future. Since then I have

felt the weight of the responsibility that has befallen me

and taken stock of the situation that I had inherited.

With determination, I immediately embarked

upon dealing with the situation, with the support

of the international community, in accordance with

the road map for the transition, whose main axes are

the restoration of security and peace, the resolution

of the serious humanitarian crisis, the recovery of

State authority throughout the national territory, the

relaunching of economic activities, and, of course, the

holding of free, transparent and democratic elections.

Today, I rejoice that my calls to the international

community to support the efforts of the transition

have not remained unanswered; we have been offered

multifaceted support, thanks to which the worst was

avoided in my country.

Those combined efforts have resulted in noticeable

progress on security issues and humanitarian,

economic and political matters. In terms of security, I

welcome the Security Council’s adoption of resolution

2149 (2014) on 10 April, authorizing the deployment

of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated

Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic

(MINUSCA), which was a strong response on the part

of the international community to the Central African

crisis and which led, on 15 September, to the final

transfer of authority from the African-led International

Support Mission in the Central African Republic to

MINUSCA. I want to thank all States that have made

their troops, materiel and financial contributions

available to the Mission.

We have placed high hopes in the deployment of

the Mission, which should contribute effectively and

efficiently to securing the country’s path to peace and

sustainable development. The fact remains, however,

that the success of the Mission will also depend on the

close involvement of the national security and defence

forces, which can provide support to the Mission based

on their knowledge of the terrain.

I would ask the Sanctions Committee to show

great understanding and to reconsider the arms

embargo imposed on the Central African Republic.

At the same time, it is also urgent to go beyond the

Brazzaville forum, which resulted in the signing of

an agreement to cease hostilities and opened the way

for the disarmament of all armed groups, the reform

of the defence and security sectors, and especially the

implementation of the disarmament, demobilization

and reintegration programme. In those areas, too, we

will need substantial backing from the international

community.

In the humanitarian field, efforts have been

ongoing since January. To date, the number of internally

displaced persons has dropped from 900,000 to 175,000

people, which means that 81 per cent of the internally

displaced persons have left makeshift sites to return

to their communities. Despite the improvements, the

humanitarian situation remains worrying in general,

since it is dependent on the fragile security situation,

particularly in the countryside.

Efforts should be focused on the return of 400,000

refugees now in neighbouring countries. Similarly, the

resources mobilized so far cover only 48 per cent of

the expressed humanitarian need. In that respect, we

expect other disbursements to support the return of

displaced and exiled persons to their homes.

With regard to the economy, the Central African

Republic’s economy has been hit hard by the deep

crisis. As a result, the growth rate of the country fell

to minus 36 per cent in 2013, placing the country in

sudden deep recession. Thanks to active diplomacy, the

Central African Republic has benefited from emergency

budgetary support for CEMAC and ECCAS countries,

an agreement signed with the International Monetary

Fund for the conclusion of a programme for the rapid

disbursement of credits and budgetary support from

the World Bank, the African Development Bank and

the European Union, as well as agreements signed with

France for budget support. Beyond the announcements

that have been made, the effective disbursement

of those funds will boost our country’s economic

activities and set it on a path of growth. The emergency

plan for sustainable reconstruction was designed to

effectively respond to the economic crisis, and one of

our expectations vis-à-vis the international community

is that we should be given all the necessary support for

the effective implementation of that plan.

In order to promote political dialogue and national

reconciliation and help Central Africans to live better

with one another, I have always focused on pacifying

hearts and minds so as to achieve genuine national

reconciliation. The first step was taken in Brazzaville

on 23 July. It is now time to continue the process in

the Central African Republic itself, by providing our

people with an opportunity to assess the situation of the

country themselves and share their vision for the future

of the country, and by bringing together all the parties

to the crisis around a table to consider a new republican

pact to recast the Central African State. The Central

African Republic cherishes the ardent wish that special

attention will be given to the political process, whose

success will depend on the resources available for its

implementation.

I would like to commend the relevance of the

theme that was chosen for this session of the General

Assembly. That theme should lead us to take stock

of the achievements of the Millennium Development

Goals and of emerging challenges. It comes at the right

time, because our world continues to be shaken by

crises of all types in Africa, the Middle and Near East,

Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. The Ebola

virus disease, which is raging throughout the West

African region with the risk of expanding beyond the

region, is another current challenge that has large-scale,

adverse economic and humanitarian consequences in

many countries. I would like to take this opportunity

to extend, from this high rostrum, my most heartfelt

condolences and those of the people of the Central

African Republic to our brotherly countries in Africa

affected by that scourge, which has claimed so many

lives.

I also extend my condolences and those of the

Central African people to French President François

Hollande and the French people for the dastardly

murder of Hervé Gourdel, which has upset us all. That

cowardly murder is a timely reminder of the need to

step up our fight against terrorism, which remains a

major threat to our planet and a real obstacle to the

promotion of international peace and security. The

Central African Republic calls for greater mobilization

by the international community against terrorism, and

in particular against the Boko Haram sect operating

in Nigeria and Cameroon, not far from the borders of

my country and against the Lord’s Resistance Army,

which continues to rage throughout the territory of

the Democratic Republic of the Congo and some

neighbouring countries.

Similarly, the Central African Republic opposes the

proliferation of small arms and light weapons, which

continue to be traded illicitly and continue to fuel the

worst conflicts throughout the world, particularly in

Africa. The Central African Republic welcomes the

efforts undertaken to achieve the signing of the Arms

Trade Treaty and the adoption of Security Council

resolution 2117 (2013) on the non-proliferation of

small arms and light weapons, and we are awaiting the

effective implementation of that resolution.

Related to situations of war is the issue of justice

and human rights. I am strongly committed to fighting

impunity. The Central African Republic, as a party to

the Rome Statute, will continue to support the actions

of the International Criminal Court in its fight against

impunity for the most serious crimes, which affect the

entire international community, and especially my

country. In that context, the Central African Republic

supports the initiative taken by France and Mexico

to cut back on the abusive use of the right of veto in

the Security Council in cases involving massacres of

civilian populations, war crimes and genocide.

My country had been committed to achieving the

Millennium Development Goals, and to that end has

developed a poverty-reduction strategy paper that has

been implemented with tangible results, including in

the areas of water, sanitation and education. That was

the case until the most recent crisis unfortunately came

about, which called everything into question. I should

also like to draw the attention of the international

community to landlocked States like mine and to call

for international solidarity to ensure that substantial

assistance be granted to them in order to ease the

burden associated with our economic vulnerability and

facilitate the implementation of the Almaty Programme

of Action.

I commend the efforts undertaken by the

international community to stem climate change and its

negative impact on the world. I strongly encourage all

countries to ratify the Doha Amendment to the Kyoto

Protocol and to incorporate the principles of the United

Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

into the new agreement to be adopted at Paris in 2015.

The Central African Republic is against any and

all attempts in favour of partition and threats against

the territorial integrity of nations. As such, it supports

the position of the Kingdom of Morocco on the Sahara

issue, which is in accordance with Security Council

resolutions 1754 (2007) and 2152 (2014).

I cannot conclude without paying a heartfelt tribute

to the work of the United Nations to promote peace

throughout the world. In conclusion, I would like to

express, above all, my pride at the courage and great

resilience of the Central African people and their

determination to rise up from the recurrent crises that

have inflicted untold suffering on them. Long live the

United Nations! Long live international solidarity to

ensure that peace and security prevails throughout the

world!