Resolution 2659 (2022)
Adopted by the Security Council at its 9190th meeting, on 14 November 2022
The Security Council,
Recalling all of its previous resolutions, statements of its President, and press statements on the situation in the Central African Republic (CAR),
Reaffirming its strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of the CAR, and recalling the importance of the principles of non-interference, good-neighbourliness and regional cooperation,
Reaffirming the basic principles of peacekeeping, such as consent of the parties, impartiality, and non-use of force, except in self-defence and defence of the mandate, recognising that the mandate of each peacekeeping mission is specific to the need and situation of the country concerned, underlining that the mandates that it authorises are consistent with the basic principles, reiterating that the Security Council expects full delivery of the mandates it authorises, and recalling in this regard its resolution 2436 (2018),
Recalling that the CAR authorities have the primary responsibility to protect all populations in the CAR, including from international crimes, recognising the persistent security challenge threatening civilians, also underlining the importance of national efforts to restore State authority in all parts of the country to overcome the threats posed by armed groups,
Emphasising that any sustainable solution to the crisis in the CAR should be CAR-owned, including the political process, and should prioritise reconciliation of the Central African people, through an inclusive process that involves men and women of all social, economic, political, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including those displaced by the crisis,
Recalling the signing of the Political Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation in the CAR by the CAR authorities and 14 armed groups in Bangui on 6 February 2019 (“the APPR”), after the peace talks that took place in Khartoum, Sudan, within the framework of the African Initiative for Peace and Reconciliation in the CAR and under the auspices of the African Union (AU), and stressing its centrality and the need for further progress in its implementation,
Reaffirming that implementation of the APPR remains the only mechanism for achieving lasting peace and stability in the CAR and the only framework for dialogue with armed groups that have renounced violence,
Condemning in the strongest terms violations of the APPR and violence perpetrated by all parties to the conflict, particularly armed groups, throughout the country, including through the increased use of explosive ordnance, violence aiming at obstructing the electoral process, incitement to violence and hatred targeting specifically persons belonging to certain ethnic and religious communities resulting in deaths, injuries and displacements, violations of international humanitarian law and human rights violations and abuses, including those committed against children and those involving conflict-related sexual violence,
Taking note of the joint MINUSCA-OHCHR annual report to the Security Council on violations and abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law committed in the Central African Republic and noting with concern that violations and abuses were committed by all parties to the conflict, including armed groups, welcoming the response submitted by the CAR authorities to address the report’s findings, and expressing support for the implementation of the preventive and corrective measures proposed by the government,
Stressing the urgent and imperative need to end impunity in the CAR, noting the ongoing work of the Special Commission of Enquiry and calling on the CAR authorities to swiftly investigate allegations of crimes and to bring to justice perpetrators of violations of international humanitarian law and of violations and abuses of human rights,
Noting that a sustainable solution to the crisis in the CAR and the elimination of the threat posed by armed groups requires an integrated regional strategy and a strong political commitment from the CAR authorities and regional countries, also noting the importance of addressing the root causes of conflict, including illicit exploitation and trade of natural resources, and to put an end to the recurring cycles of violence, as indicated in the APPR,
Welcoming the strategic review meeting convened on 4 June 2022 by President Faustin-Archange Touadéra with regional and international partners of the peace process, following the roadmap adopted by the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) in Luanda on 16 September 2021 under the leadership of Angola and Rwanda (‘the roadmap’), noting the government’s ongoing efforts and Prime Minister Félix Moloua’s leadership to coordinate the implementation of the APPR through ICGLR road map (“the peace process”), welcoming the national ownership of the peace process, urging all parties to the conflict in the CAR to respect the ceasefire announced on 15 October 2021, expressing concern that some signatories to the APPR continue to disregard their commitments and underscoring the need for neighbouring states, regional organisations and all international partners to support the implementation of the APPR via the roadmap and to continue coordinating their actions with the CAR Government to bring lasting peace and stability to the CAR,
Underlining the continued and crucial need to support national efforts towards the extension of State authority and the reform of the security sector (SSR) and capacity building of security institutions in the CAR to assume full responsibility of its security,
Underlining that lasting peace and security in the CAR will not be achieved without a combination of political, security, peacebuilding and sustainable development efforts benefitting all regions of the CAR, as well as the full, effective and inclusive implementation of the APPR and the full, equal and meaningful participation of women and youth,
Welcoming the work carried out by MINUSCA, the African Union Observer Mission in the CAR (MOUACA), the European Union Training Mission in the CAR (EUTM-RCA) and the European Union Advisory Mission in the CAR (EUAM-RCA), as well as the support of CAR’s other international and regional partners, including France, the Russian Federation, the United States, the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Rwanda, to train and enhance the capacities of the CAR defence and security forces, and encouraging coherence, transparency and effective coordination of international support to the CAR,
Condemning cross-border criminal activities by all parties, including armed groups, such as arms trafficking, illicit trade, illegal exploitation, and trafficking of natural resources, including gold, diamonds, timber, and wildlife, as well as the illicit transfer, destabilising accumulation and misuse of small arms and light weapons, that threaten the peace and stability of the CAR, also condemning the use of mercenaries and violations of international humanitarian law and human rights abuses perpetrated by them, encouraging the Government of CAR to work with neighbouring countries to secure its borders and other entry points to prevent the cross-border flows of armed combatants, arms and conflict minerals, stressing the need for CAR authorities to finalise and implement, in cooperation with relevant partners, a strategy to tackle the illegal exploitation and smuggling of natural resources, and encouraging the government of CAR and neighbouring countries to work together to secure their borders,
Noting the Republican Dialogue held in March 2022 and calling for further steps from the government of the Central African Republic and all political actors to implement the recommendations of this dialogue to resolve any arising issue and conclude the electoral process through the organisation of local elections,
Taking note of the upcoming local elections in 2023 and underlining the primary responsibility of the CAR authorities in organising those elections, recalling the necessity to conduct the electoral process in accordance with the Constitution, stressing that only inclusive, free and fair elections, carried out in a transparent, credible, peaceful and timely manner, undisturbed by disinformation and other forms of manipulation of information, can bring lasting stability to the CAR, including through the full, equal, meaningful and safe participation of women, reaffirming the importance of the participation of the youth, encouraging the CAR authorities, with the support of relevant partners, to promote the participation of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees in accordance with the Constitution of the CAR, acknowledging the challenges faced by the CAR authorities in organising those elections and encouraging international partners to support their efforts, including by providing financial and technical support towards the process,
Recalling its resolutions on the protection of civilians in armed conflict, on Women, Peace and Security, on Youth, Peace and Security, and on Children and Armed Conflict, welcoming the government’s development of interministerial plans to implement the Child Protection Code, taking note of the Report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in the Central African Republic of 15 October 2021 (S/2021/882), remaining concerned by the surge in the number of violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights against children, calling upon all the parties in the CAR to engage with the Special Representative on Children and Armed Conflict and the Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, welcoming the decision by the CAR government to create a strategic committee to prevent and respond to gender-based violence linked to conflict, and urging the government and other signatories of the APPR to work with the United Nations to develop a national strategy to prevent and eliminate the six grave violations against children recognised by the Special Representative on Children and Armed Conflict,
Expressing serious concern about the dire and deteriorating humanitarian situation in the CAR and the consequences of the security situation on humanitarian access, condemning in the strongest terms increased attacks by armed groups against humanitarian and medical personnel and obstruction to humanitarian access, and emphasising the current humanitarian needs of more than half of the population of the country, including civilians under threat from violence, as well as the alarming situation of IDPs and refugees, recognising the threat resulting from the use of explosive ordnance by armed groups and its impact on civilians, including children, as well as peacekeepers, humanitarian personnel and CAR defence and security forces and welcoming the collaboration between MINUSCA, UN agencies, the African Union, the World Bank, technical and financial partners of the CAR and NGOs to support development and humanitarian efforts in the CAR and their adaptation to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has exacerbated existing vulnerabilities,
Recalling the UN guiding principles of humanitarian emergency assistance,
Recalling resolution 2532 (2020) demanding a general and immediate cessation of hostilities in all situations on the Council’s agenda, as well as calling upon all parties to armed conflicts to engage immediately in a durable humanitarian pause, in order to enable the safe, timely, unhindered and sustained delivery of humanitarian assistance consistent with the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence,
Recognising the adverse effects of climate change, ecological changes and natural disasters, among other factors, on the stability of the Central African region, including through drought, desertification, land degradation, food insecurity, and energy access, and stressing the need for comprehensive risk assessment by the United Nations relating to these factors and for long-term strategies by governments of the Central African region and the United Nations to support stabilisation and build resilience,
Condemning in the strongest terms all attacks, provocations and incitement to hatred and violence against MINUSCA and other international forces by armed groups and other perpetrators, in particular violations of the Status of Forces Agreement, including the ban on night flights, which must be strictly respected by the CAR authorities, as well as disinformation campaigns including through social media, paying tribute to the personnel of MINUSCA who sacrificed their lives in the service of peace, underlining that attacks targeting peacekeepers may constitute war crimes, reminding all parties of their obligations under international humanitarian law and urging the CAR authorities to work with MINUSCA to enhance the safety and security of MINUSCA’s personnel and to take all possible measures to ensure the arrest and prosecution of perpetrators, including in line with resolution 2518 (2020) and 2589 (2021),
Recognising the importance of effective strategic communications to the implementation of MINUSCA’s mandate, particularly the protection of civilians and the support to the peace process, and to the safety and security of its personnel, and emphasising the need to continue to enhance MINUSCA’s capabilities in this regard,
Welcoming the independent strategic review on the responses of United Nations peacekeeping operations to explosive ordnance devices (EOD – S/2021/1042) and noting its recommendations may be useful guidance for troop-and police-contributing countries of MINUSCA,
Recalling peacekeeping performance requirements under resolutions 2378 (2017) and 2436 (2018),
Taking note of the Report of the Secretary-General of 13 October 2022 (S/2022/762),
Determining that the situation in the CAR continues to constitute a threat to international peace and security in the region,
Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations,
Political process, including the implementation of the APPR, and extension of State authority
1. Encourages President Faustin-Archange Touadéra and his government to pursue their efforts to promote lasting peace and stability in the CAR through a comprehensive and reinvigorated political and peace process, which includes respect for the ceasefire, an inclusive Republican Dialogue, and implementation of the APPR;
2. Urges all parties to the conflict in the CAR to respect the ceasefire, and calls on the CAR authorities and the signatory armed groups to fully implement the APPR in good faith and without delay in order to meet the aspirations of the people of the CAR to peace, security, justice, reconciliation, inclusivity and development, and to resolve their disputes peacefully, including through the follow-up and dispute resolution mechanisms of the APPR, and ensure full, equal and meaningful participation of women in such mechanisms and in the mechanisms established by the APPR to support and monitor its implementation, and in the implementation of the recommendations of the Republican dialogue;
3. Demands that all forms of violence against civilians, United Nations peacekeepers and humanitarian personnel, destabilising activities, incitement to hatred and violence, disinformation campaigns including through social media, restrictions on freedom of movement and obstruction of the electoral process cease immediately and that armed groups lay down their arms and permanently disband in line with their commitments under the APPR;
4. Strongly condemns all violations of international humanitarian law committed in the CAR, including attacks on the civilian population, MINUSCA peacekeepers and humanitarian actors, as well as human rights abuses and gender-based violence, recalls that individuals or entities that undermine peace and stability in the CAR could be listed for targeted measures pursuant to resolution 2648 (2022), and expresses its readiness to consider such measures for individuals or entities that violate the ceasefire;
5. Welcomes the continued engagement of the region in support of the peace process, including through the roadmap, calls on neighbouring states, regional organisations and all international partners to support the peace process, including the implementation of the APPR via the roadmap, in a manner that is coherent and coordinated with the good offices of MINUSCA, including through financial support and strengthened partnerships, emphasises the important role of the guarantors and facilitators of the APPR, including the AU, the ECCAS, and neighbouring states, using their influence to enhance adherence by armed groups to their commitments, also calls on neighbouring states to support the CAR authorities in their efforts to enable the participation of refugees in the electoral processes, and further emphasises the importance of establishing and implementing measures, including sanctions, and mechanisms that could be applied against non-compliant parties pursuant to article 35 of the APPR;
6. Calls on the CAR authorities and the authorities of neighbouring countries to cooperate at the regional level to investigate and combat transnational criminal networks and armed groups involved in arms trafficking and in the illegal exploitation of natural resources, calls for the reactivation and regular follow-up of bilateral joint commissions between the CAR and neighbouring countries to address cross-border issues, including issues related to arms trafficking, and take agreed next steps to secure common borders;
7. Encourages the CAR authorities to cement and broaden national awareness and ownership of the peace process, including through sensitisation campaigns, recalls in this regard the crucial role of political parties, including the opposition, civil society and faith-based organisations in the peace and reconciliation process and the need for the CAR authorities to adequately promote its participation in the implementation of the APPR as well as in the comprehensive political process, and further encourages the full, equal and meaningful participation of women and youth in this process;
8. Urges the CAR authorities to urgently implement a genuinely inclusive process to support reconciliation in the CAR by addressing the root causes of the conflict, including the marginalisation of civilians from specific communities, issues of national identity, local grievances of all the components of society over the whole territory of the CAR, and issues related to transhumance and the illegal exploitation of natural resources, including through national and local electoral processes and the implementation of political reforms provided under the APPR, national policies on economic development and civil service recruitment, and support the implementation of the Truth, Justice, Reparation and Reconciliation Commission mandate, and to promote reconciliation initiatives at the regional, national, prefectural and local levels;
9. Urges the CAR authorities and all national stakeholders to ensure the preparation of inclusive, free and fair local elections in 2023, carried out in a transparent, credible, peaceful and timely manner, in accordance with the Constitution of the CAR and the decisions of the Constitutional Court, with the full, equal, meaningful and safe participation of women as voters and candidates, including by meeting the quota of at least 35 percent of women as required by the law of the CAR and by addressing risks of harm, including threats, violence and hate speech, and ensuring necessary protection for women in these roles, encourages the participation of youth, urges CAR authorities to support the appropriate legislative framework to enable durable financing of decentralised government and to ensure adequate infrastructure to support newly elected officials, calls on all parties to refrain from incitement to hatred and violence, including through social media platforms, and to engage in dialogue, including through the Republican Dialogue, in order to solve any outstanding issues regarding the electoral framework, further calls upon CAR authorities to allow political space for the role, rights and responsibilities of legally constituted political parties, including opposition parties, and also ensure secure conditions for the conduct of elections and unrestricted access to the polls, including through cooperation with MINUSCA, consistent with the Mission’s role regarding the protection of civilians, and encourages the international community to provide adequate support, including technical and financial support, to the upcoming elections;
10. Calls upon all parties to respect the civilian and humanitarian character of camps and settlements for IDPs and refugees, as such, also calls upon the CAR authorities to ensure that national policies and legislative frameworks adequately protect the human rights of all displaced persons, including freedom of movement, create conditions conducive to durable solutions for IDPs and refugees on an informed basis, including their voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return, local integration or resettlement, and provide for their participation in the elections;
11. Urges the CAR authorities to address the presence and activity of armed groups in the CAR by implementing a comprehensive strategy that prioritises dialogue, in line with the APPR via the roadmap, and the urgent implementation of an inclusive, gender-sensitive and effective DDR process, as well as repatriation (DDRR) in the case of foreign fighters, including children formerly associated with armed forces and groups, as well as continuing the implementation of community violence reduction projects, also urges the CAR authorities and signatory armed groups to accelerate the implementation of the interim security measures provided for in the APPR, to promote trust and confidence between signatory parties and as a platform for the deployment of State authority, in a manner complementary to DDRR and SSR processes; expresses concern about the parallel recruitment of disarmed fighters by defence and security forces for combat operations against armed groups which undermines the DDRR process; calls upon the CAR authorities to ensure that all demobilised combatants, including women and youth, are provided security, as appropriate, throughout the DDRR process and to regularise the status of those combatants who have disarmed outside of the national programme;
12. Calls on the CAR authorities to implement the National Security Policy, the National Strategy on SSR and the National Defence Plan, including with the support of the international community, in order to put in place professional, ethnically representative, regionally balanced, taking into account the recruitment of women, and appropriately trained and equipped national defence and security forces, including through the adoption and implementation of appropriate vetting procedures of all defence and security personnel, including human rights vetting, as well as measures to absorb disarmed and demobilised elements of armed groups meeting rigorous eligibility and vetting criteria;
13. Calls on the CAR authorities to ensure that redeployments of defence and security forces are sustainable, do not pose a risk to the stabilisation of the country, civilians or the political process, and urges the CAR authorities to accelerate efforts to bring all elements of the CAR armed forces under a single, unified chain of command to ensure effective oversight, command and control, including appropriate national vetting and training systems, and to provide appropriate budgetary support and continue to implement a comprehensive national security strategy that is consistent with the peace process, including the APPR;
14. Expresses serious concerns about repeated allegations of violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law by CAR defence and security forces, takes positive note of the measures announced by the Government of the CAR to hold accountable those responsible, and calls on international partners to insist on respect for international human rights law, international humanitarian and refugee law and accountability as a necessary condition when partnering with the CAR defence and security forces;
15. Calls on the CAR authorities to ensure that all security actors in country at the invitation of the government de-conflict their training and operational activities;
16. Calls on the CAR authorities to pursue their efforts, as a matter of priority, to strengthen justice institutions at national and local levels as part of the extension of State authority in order to fight impunity and to contribute to stabilisation and reconciliation, including through the restoration of the administration of the judiciary, criminal justice and penitentiary systems throughout the country, the demilitarisation of the prisons, the establishment of transitional justice mechanisms, based on a victim-centred approach, including the full operationalisation of the Truth, Justice, Reparation and Reconciliation Commission, which should be able to work in a neutral, impartial, transparent and independent manner, taking into consideration the recommendations of the inclusive commission provided for in the APPR, to ensure accountability for past crimes and reparation for victims, and by ensuring access to fair and equal justice for all in line with the conclusions of the Bangui Forum held in May 2015, takes positive note of the completion of the first trial of the Special Criminal Court (SCC) and encourages the Government of the CAR to ensure the renewal of its mandate;
17. Encourages the CAR authorities to continue their efforts to restore the effective authority of the State over the whole territory of the CAR, including by redeploying and strengthening State administration and providing basic services in the provinces, ensuring the timely payment of salaries to civil servants and defence and security forces, and by swiftly establishing and promulgating the implementing regulations for the law on decentralisation, with the objective of ensuring stable, accountable, inclusive and transparent governance;
18. Stresses in this context the valuable role of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) in offering strategic advice, providing observations for the Security Council’s consideration, and fostering a more coherent, coordinated and integrated approach to international peacebuilding efforts, welcomes the active role of the Kingdom of Morocco, and encourages continued coordination with the PBC and other relevant international organisations and institutions in support of CAR’s long term peace building needs, including for support to the peace process, consistent with the APPR;
Economic recovery and development
19. Encourages the CAR authorities, with the support of the international community, in particular with International Financial Institutions leading international efforts, and based on critical peace and State building goals, to improve public financial management and accountability in a manner that allows it to meet the expenses related to the functioning of the State, implement early recovery plans, and revitalise the economy, and that fosters national ownership, and emphasises the importance of international support – financially, technically and in-kind – to the COVID-19 response in the CAR;
20. Further calls on Member States, international and regional organisations to disburse pledges made at the international conference in Brussels on 17 November 2016 in support of the implementation of the country’s peacebuilding priorities and socioeconomic development and consider providing additional funding, technical expertise and in kind support to the CAR’s National Strategy for Recovery and Peace Consolidation (RCPCA) and within the Framework of Mutual Accountability (CEM-RCA);
21. Encourages the CAR authorities to accelerate the effective implementation of the RCPCA and relevant partners to support the efforts of the CAR authorities through the RCPCA Secretariat to lay the foundation of durable peace in the CAR and sustainable development of all regions of the country, to boost peace dividends for the population and development projects, including critical investments in infrastructure, which would address logistical challenges in the country and strengthen the CAR authorities’ and MINUSCA’s mobility and ability to provide security and protect civilians, to combat poverty and to help the population of the CAR build sustainable livelihoods;
Human rights, including child protection and sexual violence in conflict
22. Reiterates the urgent and imperative need to hold accountable all those responsible for violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights irrespective of their status or political affiliation, reiterates that some of those acts may amount to crimes under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), to which the CAR is a State party, and recalls that committing acts of incitement to violence, in particular on an ethnic or religious basis, and then engaging in or providing support for acts that undermine the peace, stability or security of the CAR could be a basis for sanctions designations pursuant to resolution 2648 (2022);
23. Recalls the decision made by the Prosecutor of the ICC on 24 September 2014 to open, following the request of the national authorities, an investigation into alleged crimes committed since 2012 and the ongoing cooperation of the CAR authorities in this regard;
24. Calls on the CAR authorities to follow-up on the recommendations of the report of the Mapping Project describing serious violations and abuses of international human rights and violations of international humanitarian law committed within the territory of CAR between January 2003 and December 2015;
25. Strongly condemns all attacks on and use for military purposes of schools, medical centres, humanitarian premises, and other civilian infrastructure in violation of international law, as well as the commandeering of assets belonging to the UN or humanitarian actors;
26. Urges all parties to armed conflict in the CAR, particularly armed groups, to end all violations and abuses committed against children, in violation of applicable international law, including those involving their recruitment and use, rape and sexual violence, killing and maiming, abductions and attacks on schools and hospitals, further calls upon the CAR authorities to respect their obligations under the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict that they ratified on 21 September 2017, and to consider those children who are associated with or have been released or otherwise separated from armed forces and armed groups primarily as victims as per the Paris Principles endorsed by the CAR, welcomes the adoption of the child protection code, underlining the importance of its full implementation, and calls upon the CAR authorities to swiftly investigate alleged violations and abuses in order to fight against impunity of those responsible, to ensure that those responsible for such violations and abuses are excluded from the security sector and that all victims have access to justice as well as to medical and support services, including mental health and psychosocial services, calls for the full and immediate implementation of action plans signed by some armed groups and for other armed groups to sign such action plans, reiterates its demands that all parties protect and consider as victims those children who have been released or otherwise separated from armed forces and armed groups, in particular by establishing standard operating procedures for the rapid handover of these children to relevant civilian child protection actors, recalls that the APPR contains several child protection provisions and urges the signatories to it to reinforce their efforts to implement those, and emphasises the need to pay particular attention to the protection, release and reintegration of all children associated with armed forces and armed groups, recalling the 2020 Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict Conclusions on children and armed conflict in the Central African Republic (S/AC.51/2020/3) and urging their full and swift implementation;
27. Calls upon all parties to armed conflict in the CAR, including armed groups, to end sexual and gender-based violence, further calls upon the CAR authorities to swiftly investigate alleged abuses and prosecute alleged perpetrators in order to fight against impunity of those responsible for such acts, and to take concrete, specific and time-bound steps towards implementing the UN and government of CAR joint communiqué to prevent and respond to sexual violence in conflict and to ensure that those responsible for such crimes are excluded from the security sector and prosecuted, and to facilitate immediate access for all survivors of sexual violence to available services, including mental health and psychosocial services, calls on the CAR authorities and international partners to sustain adequate support to the Mixed Unit for Rapid Intervention and Suppression of Sexual Violence against Women and Children (UMIRR);
MINUSCA’s mandate
28. Expresses its strong support to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General Valentine Rugwabiza;
29. Decides to extend the mandate of MINUSCA until 15 November 2023;
30. Decides that MINUSCA shall continue to comprise up to 14,400 military personnel, including 580 Military Observers and Military Staff Officers, and 3,020 police personnel, including 600 Individual Police Officers and 2,420 formed police unit personnel, as well as 108 corrections officers, and recalls its intention to keep this number under continuous review;
31. Decides that MINUSCA’s mandate is designed to advance a multiyear strategic vision to create the political, security and institutional conditions conducive to national reconciliation and durable peace through implementation of the APPR and the elimination of the threat posed by armed groups through a comprehensive approach and proactive and robust posture without prejudice to the basic principles of peacekeeping;
32. Requests MINUSCA to improve its communication efforts to support the implementation of its mandate and enhance its protection, and raise awareness on its mandate and its role, as well as to underscore the role and responsibilities of the CAR authorities to protect civilians and implement the APPR;
33. Recalls that MINUSCA’s mandate should be implemented based on a prioritisation of tasks established in paragraphs 34 to 36 of this resolution, and, when relevant, in a sequenced manner, and further requests the Secretary-General to reflect this prioritisation in the deployment of the Mission and to align budgetary resources according to the prioritisation of mandate tasks as set out in this resolution, while ensuring appropriate resources for the implementation of the mandate;
34. Authorises MINUSCA to take all necessary means to carry out its mandate within its capabilities and areas of deployment;
Priority tasks
35. Decides that the mandate of MINUSCA shall include the following priority tasks:
(a) Protection of civilians
(i) To protect, in line with S/PRST/2018/18 of 21 September 2018, without prejudice to the primary responsibility of the CAR authorities and the basic principles of peacekeeping, the civilian population under threat of physical violence;
(ii) To fully implement its protection of civilians strategy in coordination with CAR authorities, the United Nations Country Team (UNCT), humanitarian and human right organisations, and other relevant partners;
(iii) In support of the CAR authorities, to take active steps to anticipate, deter and effectively respond to serious and credible threats to the civilian population through a comprehensive and integrated approach and, in this regard:
– to ensure effective and dynamic protection of civilians under threat of physical violence through a comprehensive and integrated approach, including by anticipating, deterring, and stopping all threats of violence against the populations, in consultation with local communities, and by supporting and undertaking local mediation efforts to prevent escalation of violence, in line with the basic principles of peacekeeping, and outbreaks of violence between ethnic or religious rival groups;
– to enhance its interaction with civilians, to strengthen its early warning mechanism, to increase its efforts to monitor and document violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights and to strengthen local community engagement and empowerment;
– to maintain a proactive deployment and a mobile, flexible and robust posture, including by conducting active patrolling, in particular in high risk areas;
– to mitigate the risk to civilians before, during and after any military or police operation, including by tracking, preventing, minimising, and addressing civilian harm resulting from the Mission’s operations, presence and activities, including in support of national security forces;
– to work with the CAR authorities to identify and report threats to and attacks against civilians and implement existing prevention and response plans and strengthen civil-military cooperation, including joint planning;
– to support the CAR authorities in the prevention, mitigation and response to the threat posed by explosive ordnance;
(iv) To provide specific protection and assistance for women and children affected by armed conflict, including through the deployment of protection advisers, child protection advisers, women protection advisers and civilian and uniformed gender advisers and focal points, as well as consultations with women’s organisations, and by adopting a gender-sensitive, survivor-centred approach in this regard, especially to provide the best assistance to survivors of sexual violence, and to support women’s participation in early warning mechanisms;
(v) To take concrete measures to mitigate and avoid the use of schools by armed forces, as appropriate, and deter the use of schools by parties to the conflict, and to facilitate the continuation of education in situations of armed conflict;
(vi) To support the implementation of the UN and Government of CAR joint communiqué to prevent and respond to sexual violence in conflict and to take into account these specific concerns throughout activities of all Mission components, in line with the UN Field Missions policy on Preventing and Responding to Conflict-Related Sexual Violence, and to ensure, in cooperation with the SRSG for Sexual Violence in Conflict, that risks of sexual violence in conflict are included in the Mission’s data collection, threat analysis and early warning system;
(b) Good offices and support to the peace process, including the implementation of the ceasefire and the APPR
(i) To continue its role in support of the peace process, including through political, technical and operational support to the implementation and monitoring of the ceasefire and the APPR, to take active steps to support the CAR authorities in the creation of conditions conducive to the full implementation of the APPR via the roadmap and its subsequent timeline;
(ii) To continue to coordinate regional and international support and assistance to the peace process, in consultation and coordination with the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA) and regional organisations such as ECCAS and ICGLR, stressing the importance in that regard of the operationalisation of the road map through the implementation of the APPR via the roadmap per the government’s timeline;
(iii) To ensure that the Mission’s political and security strategies promote a coherent peace process, particularly in support of the APPR, that connects local and national peace efforts with the ongoing efforts to monitor the ceasefire, advance the DDRR process, the SSR process, support the fight against impunity, and the restoration of State authority, and promote the participation of women and gender equality;
(iv) To assist the CAR authorities’ efforts, at national and local levels, to increase participation of political parties, civil society, women, survivors of sexual violence, youth, faith-based organisations, and where and when possible, IDPs and refugees to the peace process, including the APPR;
(v) To provide good offices and technical expertise in support of efforts to address the root causes of conflict, including those referred to in paragraph 8 of this resolution, in particular to advance national reconciliation and local conflict resolution, working with relevant regional and local bodies and religious leaders, while ensuring the full, equal and meaningful participation of women, including survivors of sexual violence, in line with the CAR national action plan on Women, Peace and Security, including through the support to local dialogue and community engagement;
(vi) To support efforts of the CAR authorities to address transitional justice as part of the peace and reconciliation process, and marginalisation and local grievances, including through dialogue with the armed groups, civil society leaders including women and youth representatives, including survivors of sexual violence, and by assisting national, prefectoral and local authorities to foster confidence among communities;
(vii) To provide technical expertise to the CAR authorities in its engagement with neighbouring countries, the ECCAS, the ICGLR and the AU, in consultation and coordination with the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA) to resolve issues of common and bilateral interest and to promote their continued and full support for the APPR;
(viii) To make more proactive use of strategic communications to support its protection of civilians’ strategy, in coordination with the CAR authorities, to help the local population better understand the mandate of the Mission, its activities, the APPR and the electoral process, and to build trust with the CAR citizens, parties to the conflict, regional and other international actors and partners on the ground;
(c) Facilitate the immediate, full, safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance
To improve coordination with all humanitarian actors, including United Nations agencies, and to facilitate, in accordance with relevant provisions of international law and consistent with the humanitarian principles, the creation of a secure environment for the immediate, full, safe and unhindered, civilian-led delivery of humanitarian assistance, and for the voluntary safe, dignified and sustainable return or local integration or resettlement of internally displaced persons or refugees in close coordination with humanitarian actors, while contributing to alleviate the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic as requested in resolution 2532 (2020);
(d) Protection of the United Nations
To protect the United Nations personnel, installations, equipment and goods and ensure the security and freedom of movement of United Nations and associated personnel;
Other tasks
36. Further authorises MINUSCA to pursue the following tasks of its mandate, working in close coordination with the United Nations Country Team, bearing in mind that these tasks as well as those in paragraph 34 above are mutually reinforcing:
(a) Support for the extension of State authority, the deployment of security forces, and the preservation of territorial integrity
(i) To continue to support the CAR authorities in safeguarding State institutions and implementing its strategy for the extension of State authority, including through the implementation of relevant provisions of the APPR, for the establishment of interim security and administrative arrangements acceptable to the population and under CAR authorities’ oversight, and through a prioritised division of labour with the UNCT and relevant partners, and address cross-border illicit trade in natural resources;
(ii) To promote and support the rapid extension of State authority over the entire territory of the CAR, including by supporting the deployment of vetted and trained national security forces in priority areas, including through co-location, advising, mentoring and monitoring, in coordination with other partners, as part of the deployment of the territorial administration and other rule of law authorities;
(iii) To provide at the request of the CAR authorities enhanced planning and technical assistance and logistical support for the progressive redeployment of vetted Central African Armed Forces (FACA) or Internal Security Forces (ISF), engaged in joint operations with MINUSCA that include joint planning and tactical cooperation, in order to support the implementation of MINUSCA’s current mandated tasks, including to protect civilians, and to support national authorities in the restoration and maintenance of public safety and the rule of law, in accordance with MINUSCA’s mandate, paragraphs 13 and 14 of this resolution and in strict compliance with the United Nations Human Rights Due Diligence Policy (HRDDP), contingent on a determination by MINUSCA of the recipients’ compliance with MINUSCA’s Status of Forces Agreement, human rights and international humanitarian law, without exacerbating the risks to the stabilization of the country, civilians, the political process, to UN peacekeepers, or the impartiality of the Mission, to ensure such support be subject to appropriate oversight, and to review this logistical support in one year to ensure its compliance with the benchmarks outlined in the Secretary-General’s letter to the President of the Security Council of 15 May 2018 (S/2018/463);
(iv) To support a gradual handover of security of key officials, and static guard duties of national institutions, to the CAR security forces, in coordination with the CAR authorities, based on the risks on the ground and taking into account the electoral context;
(b) Promotion and protection of human rights
(i) To monitor, help investigate, report annually to the Security Council, and follow up on violations of international humanitarian law and on violations and abuses of human rights committed throughout the CAR;
(ii) To monitor, help investigate and ensure reporting on violations and abuses committed against children and women, including rape and other forms of sexual violence in armed conflict, in connection with the UMIRR;
(iii) To assist the CAR authorities in their efforts to protect and promote human rights and prevent violations and abuses and to strengthen the capacity of civil society organizations;
(c) Republican Dialogue and 2023 elections
To assist the CAR authorities in the follow-up of a fully inclusive Republican Dialogue and the preparation and delivery of peaceful local elections of 2023, as outlined in the preamble and in paragraph 9 of this resolution, by providing good offices, including to encourage dialogue among all political stakeholders, in an inclusive manner, to mitigate tensions throughout the electoral period, by also providing security, operational, logistical and, as appropriate, technical support, in particular to facilitate access to remote areas, and by coordinating with the UN Development Programme regarding international electoral assistance;
(d) Security Sector Reform (SSR)
(i) To provide strategic and technical advice to the CAR authorities to implement the National Strategy on SSR and the National Defence Plan, in close coordination with EUTM-RCA, EUAM-RCA, the African Union Observer Mission in the CAR (MOUACA) and CAR’s other international partners, including France, the Russian Federation, the United States, the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Rwanda, with the aim of ensuring coherence of the SSR process, including through a clear delineation of responsibilities between the FACA, the ISF and other uniformed entities, as well as the democratic control of both defence and internal security forces;
(ii) To continue to support the CAR authorities in developing an approach to the vetting of defence and security elements which prioritises human rights vetting, in particular to fight impunity for violations of international and domestic law and in the context of any integration of demobilised armed groups elements into security sector institutions;
(iii) To take a leading role in supporting the CAR authorities in enhancing the capacities of the ISF, particularly command and control structures and oversight mechanisms and to coordinate the provision of technical assistance and training between the international partners in the CAR, in particular with EUTM-RCA and EUAM-RCA, in order to ensure a clear distribution of tasks in the field of SSR;
(iv) To continue to support the CAR authorities in the training of police and gendarmerie and in the selection, recruitment, and vetting of police and gendarmerie elements, with the support of donors and the UNCT, taking into account the need to recruit women at all levels, and in full compliance with the United Nations HRDDP;
(e) Disarmament, Demobilisation, Reintegration (DDR) and Repatriation (DDRR)
(i) To support the CAR authorities in implementing an inclusive, gender-sensitive and progressive programme for the DDR and, in case of foreign elements, repatriation, of members of armed groups, and, as appropriate, and in consultation and coordination with international partners, support possible, temporary, voluntary cantonment sites in support of community-based socioeconomic reintegration, including through supporting the government to provide security and appropriate protection to demobilised ex-combatants, based on the Principles of DDRR and Integration into the Uniformed Corps, signed at the Bangui Forum in May 2015 and guided by the revitalised 2019 UN Integrated DDRR Standards, while paying specific attention to the needs of children associated with armed forces and groups and women combatants, the need to ensure the separation of children from these forces and groups, and the need to prevent re-recruitment, and including gender-sensitive programmes;
(ii) To support the CAR authorities and relevant civil society organisations in developing and implementing CVR programmes, including gender-sensitive programmes, for members of armed groups including those not eligible for participation in the national DDRR programme, in cooperation with development partners and together with communities of return in line with the priorities highlighted in the RCPCA;
(iii) To provide technical assistance to the CAR authorities in implementing a national plan for the integration of eligible demobilised members of armed groups into the security and defence forces, in line with the broader SSR process, the need to put in place professional, ethnically representative and regionally balanced national security and defence, and to provide technical advice to the CAR authorities in accelerating the implementation of the interim security arrangements provided for in the APPR, following vetting, disarmament, demobilisation and training;
(iv) To coordinate the support provided by multilateral and bilateral partners, including the World Bank and the Peacebuilding Commission, to the efforts of the CAR authorities on DDRR programs to reintegrate eligible and vetted members of the armed groups into peaceful civilian life and to help ensure that these efforts will lead to sustainable socioeconomic reintegration;
(f) Support for national and international justice, the fight against impunity, and the rule of law
(i) To help reinforce the independence of the judiciary, build the capacities, and enhance the effectiveness of the national judicial system as well as the effectiveness and the accountability of the penitentiary system including through the provision of technical assistance to the CAR authorities to identify, investigate and prosecute those responsible for crimes involving violations of international humanitarian law and of violations and abuses of human rights committed throughout the CAR;
(ii) To help build the capacities of the national human rights institution coordinating with the Independent Expert on human rights in the CAR as appropriate;
Urgent temporary measures:
(iii) To urgently and actively adopt, within the limits of its capacities and areas of deployment, at the formal request of the CAR authorities and in areas where national security forces are not present or operational, urgent temporary measures on an exceptional basis, without creating a precedent and without prejudice to the agreed principles of peacekeeping operations, which are limited in scope, time-bound and consistent with the objectives set out in paragraphs 34 and 35 (f), to arrest and detain in order to maintain basic law and order and fight impunity and to pay particular attention in this regard to those engaging in or providing support for acts that undermine the peace, stability or security of the CAR, including those violating the ceasefire or the APPR;
Special Criminal Court (SCC):
(iv) To provide technical assistance, in partnership with other international partners and the UNCT, and capacity building for the CAR authorities, to facilitate the operationalisation and the functioning of the SCC, pending renewal of its mandate, in particular in the areas of investigations, arrests, detention, criminal and forensic analysis, evidence collection and storage, recruitment and selection of personnel, court management, prosecution strategy and case development and the establishment of a legal aid system, as appropriate, as well as to provide security for magistrates, including at the premises and proceedings of the SCC, and take measures for the protection of victims and witnesses, in line with the CAR’s international humanitarian law and international human rights obligations;
(v) To assist in the coordination and mobilisation of increased bilateral and multilateral support to the functioning of the SCC;
Rule of law:
(vi) To provide support and to coordinate international assistance to build the capacities and enhance the effectiveness of the criminal justice system, within the framework of the United Nations global focal point on rule of law, as well as the effectiveness and the accountability of police and penitentiary system with the support of the UNCT;
(vii) Without prejudice to the primary responsibility of the CAR authorities, to support the restoration and maintenance of public safety and the rule of law, including through apprehending and handing over to the CAR authorities, consistent with international law, those in the country responsible for crimes involving serious human rights violations and abuses and serious violations of international humanitarian law, including sexual violence in conflict, so that they can be brought to justice, and through cooperation with states of the region as well as the ICC in cases of crimes falling within its jurisdiction following the decision made by the Prosecutor of the ICC on 24 September 2014 to open, following the request of national authorities, an investigation into alleged crimes committed since 2012;
Additional tasks
37. Further authorises MINUSCA to carry out the following additional tasks:
(a) To assist the Committee established pursuant to paragraph 57 of resolution 2127 (2013) and the Panel of Experts established by the same resolution;
(b) To monitor the implementation of the measures renewed and modified by paragraph 1 of resolution 2648 (2022), in cooperation with the Panel of Experts established pursuant to resolution 2127 (2013), including by inspecting, as it deems necessary and when appropriate without notice, all arms and related materiel regardless of location, and advise the CAR authorities on efforts to keep armed groups from exploiting natural resources;
(c) To support the Panel of Experts established pursuant to resolution 2127 (2013) in collecting information about acts of incitement to violence, in particular on an ethnic or religious basis, that undermine the peace, stability or security of the CAR in accordance with paragraph 32 (g) of resolution 2399 (2018) extended by paragraph 6 of resolution 2648 (2022);
(d) To ensure, with all relevant United Nations bodies, unhindered access and safety for the Panel of Experts established pursuant to resolution 2127 (2013), in particular to persons, documents and sites within their control in order for the Panel to execute its mandate;
(e) To provide transport for relevant CAR authorities as appropriate and on a case by case basis and when the situation allows, as a means to promote and support the extension of the State authority over the entire territory;
Mission effectiveness
38. Requests the Secretary-General to deploy and allocate personnel and expertise within MINUSCA to reflect the priorities identified by paragraph 34 to paragraph 36 of this resolution, and to continuously adjust this deployment according to the progresses made in the implementation of this mandate;
39. Recalls the decision taken by the Security Council in its resolution 2566 to increase the authorised size of MINUSCA’s military component by 2,750 and to increase the authorised size of MINUSCA’s police component by 940, welcomes the deployment of some of the reinforcement thus decided, stresses the need for the rest of these reinforcements to be deployed as quickly as possible, especially quick reaction forces, and sequenced through a phased approach, and recalls the importance of cooperation between MINUSCA and the CAR authorities in line with its mandate;
40. Reiterates its concern at the continuing lack of key capabilities for MINUSCA and the need to fill gaps, as well as the importance of current and future troop and police contributing countries (T/PCCs) providing troops and police with adequate capabilities, equipment and predeployment training, including with regards to engineering capabilities and explosive ordnance threat mitigation, in order to enhance the mobility capacity of MINUSCA and its ability to operate effectively in an increasingly complex security environment;
41. Recognises that the effective implementation of peacekeeping mandates is the responsibility of all stakeholders and is contingent upon several critical factors, including well-defined, realistic, and achievable mandates, political will, leadership, strategic communications, performance and accountability at all levels, integration across components, adequate resources, policy, planning, and operational guidelines, and training and equipment, urges Member States to provide troops and police that have adequate capabilities and mindset, including regarding language skills, pre-deployment and, where appropriate, in situ training, and equipment, including enablers, specific to the operating environment, requests troop and police contributing countries to implement relevant provisions of resolution 2538 (2020) notes the potential adverse effects on mandate implementation of national caveats which have not been declared and accepted by the Secretary-General prior to deployment, highlights that lack of effective command and control, refusal to obey orders, failure to respond to attacks on civilians, declining to participate in or undertake patrols may adversely affect the shared responsibility for effective mandate implementation, and calls on Members State to declare all national caveats, prior to the contingent deployment, provide troops and police with the minimum of declared caveats, and to fully and effectively implement the provisions of the Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) signed with the United Nations;
42. Requests the Secretary-General, Member States, and the CAR authorities to continue to take all appropriate measures to ensure the safety, security and freedom of movement of MINUSCA’s personnel with unhindered and immediate access throughout the CAR, in line with resolution 2518 (2020), including by authorising night flights, notes with concern the grave risks violations of the Status of Force Agreement can present to the safety and security of United Nations personnel serving in peacekeeping operations, and requests the Secretary-General to implement the provisions of resolution 2589 (2021) for establishing accountability for crimes against peacekeepers;
43. Requests the Secretary-General fully implement the following capacities and existing obligations in the planning and conduct of MINUSCA’s operations:
– strengthening the implementation of a mission-wide early warning and response strategy, as part of a coordinated approach to information gathering, incident tracking and analysis, monitoring, verification, early warning and dissemination, and response mechanisms, including response mechanisms to threats and attacks against civilians that may involve violations and abuses of human rights or violations of international humanitarian law, as well as to prepare for further potential attacks on United Nations personnel and facilities, and ensure gender-sensitive conflict analysis is mainstreamed across all early warning and conflict prevention efforts;
– encouraging the use of confidence-building, facilitation, mediation, community engagement, and strategic communications to support the mission’s protection, information gathering, and situational awareness activities;
– prioritising enhanced mission mobility and active patrolling, including through generating required assets and encourages Member states to contribute necessary capabilities, particularly air assets to better execute MINUSCA’s mandate in areas of emerging protection risks and emerging threats, including in remote locations, and prioritises deployment of forces with appropriate air, land, and water assets, to support the mission’s protection, information gathering, and situational awareness activities;
– improving MINUSCA’s intelligence and analysis capacities, including surveillance and monitoring capacities EOD specific intelligence processes and strengthened EOD forensics exploitation capacity, within the limits of its mandate;
– to verify that contingents are trained and equipped to counter explosive devices as per UN standards, which are current and mission specific, to ensure remedial action as appropriate, including appropriate training, capturing lessons learned, and requiring contingents deploy equipment as needed under the current Force requirements;
– implementing more effective casualty and medical evacuation procedures, including the Standard Operating Procedure on Decentralised Casualty Evacuation, including by revisiting the existing one, as well as deploying enhanced medical evacuation capacities;
– taking active and effective measures to improve the planning and functioning of MINUSCA’s safety and security facilities and arrangements;
– securing long-term rotation schemes for critical capabilities as well as exploring innovative options to promote partnerships between equipment, troop- and police-contributing countries;
– ensuring that any support provided to non-United Nations security forces is provided in strict compliance with the HRDDP, including the monitoring and reporting on how support is used and on the implementation of mitigating measures;
– prioritising mandated protection activities in decisions about the use of available capacity and resources within the mission, according to resolution 1894 (2009);
– strengthening its sexual and gender-based violence prevention and response activities in line with resolution 2467 (2019), including by assisting the parties with activities consistent with resolution 2467 (2019), and by ensuring that risks of sexual and gender-based violence are included in the Mission’s data collection and threat analysis and early warning systems by engaging in an ethical manner with survivors and victims of sexual and gender-based violence, and women’s organisations;
– implementing resolution 1325 (2000) and all resolutions addressing women, peace, and security, including by seeking to increase the number of women in MINUSCA in line with resolution 2538 (2020), as well as to ensure the full, equal, and meaningful participation of women in all aspects of operations, including by ensuring safe, enabling and gender-sensitive working environments for women in peacekeeping operations, taking fully into account gender considerations as a crosscutting issue throughout its mandate, and reaffirming the importance of uniformed and civilian gender advisors, gender focal points in all mission components, gender expertise and capacity strengthening in executing the mission mandate in a gender-responsive manner;
– taking fully into account child protection as a cross-cutting issue;
– implementing youth, peace and security under resolution 2250 (2015), 2419 (2018) and 2535 (2020);
– implementing peacekeeping performance requirements under resolutions 2378 (2017) and 2436 (2018);
– implementing the United Nations zero-tolerance policy on serious misconduct, sexual exploitation and abuse, and sexual harassment, and all actions under resolution 2272 (2016), and to report to the Security Council if such cases of misconduct occur;
44. Urges troop- and police-contributing countries to continue taking appropriate action to prevent sexual exploitation and abuse, including vetting of all personnel, predeployment and in-mission awareness training, to ensure full accountability in cases of such conduct involving their personnel, including through timely investigations of all allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse by troop- and police-contributing countries to hold perpetrators accountable, to repatriate units when there is credible evidence of widespread or systemic sexual exploitation and abuse by those units, and to report to the United Nations fully and promptly on actions undertaken;
45. Requests MINUSCA to consider the environmental impacts of its operations when fulfilling its mandated tasks and, in this context, to manage them as appropriate and in accordance with applicable and relevant General Assembly resolutions and United Nations rules and regulations;
46. Notes the United Nations Department of Operational Support’s Environment Strategy (phase II), which emphasises good stewardship of resources and a positive legacy of the mission, and identifies the goal of expanded renewable energy use in missions to enhance safety and security, save costs, offer efficiencies and benefit the mission;
47. Encourages the Secretary-General to implement and keep under continuous update the integrated strategic framework setting the United Nations’ overall vision, joint priorities and internal division of labour to sustain peace in CAR, including enhanced coordination with donors, requests the Secretary-General to ensure an efficient division of tasks and complementarity of efforts between MINUSCA and the entities comprising the UNCT based on their mandates and comparative advantages as well as to continuously adjust their deployment according to the progress made in the implementation of MINUSCA’s mandate, while stressing the importance of adequate resources and capacity for the UNCT, underscores the critical nature of enhanced UNCT presence and activity in CAR to facilitate integration across the UN system and longer term peacebuilding, requests the framework to also include early, inclusive and integrated planning on transitions in line with resolution 2594 (2021) and calls on Member States and relevant organisations to consider providing the necessary voluntary funding to this end;
Child protection
48. Requests MINUSCA to take fully into account child protection as a cross-cutting issue throughout its mandate and to assist the CAR authorities in ensuring that the protection of children’s rights is taken into account, inter alia, in the DDRR and SSR processes, including through quality education provided in a safe environment in conflict areas, in order to end and prevent violations and abuses against children;
Gender
49. Requests MINUSCA to take fully into account gender mainstreaming as a cross-cutting issue throughout its mandate and to assist the CAR authorities in ensuring the full, equal and meaningful participation, involvement and representation of women, including survivors of sexual violence, in all spheres and at all levels, including in the political and reconciliation process and the mechanisms established for the implementation of the APPR, stabilisation activities, transitional justice, the work of the SCC and of the Truth, Justice, Reparation and Reconciliation Commission, SSR and DDRR processes, the preparation and holding of the local elections through, inter alia, the provision of gender advisers, and requests troop- and police-contributing countries to implement relevant provisions of resolution 2538 (2020) and all other relevant resolutions on reducing barriers to and increasing women’s participation at all levels and in all positions in peacekeeping, including by ensuring safe, enabling and gender-sensitive working environments for women in peacekeeping operations;
Weapon and ammunition management
50. Requests MINUSCA to actively seize, record, dispose of, and destroy, as appropriate, weapons and ammunitions of disarmed combatants and armed groups who refuse or fail to lay down their arms and present an imminent threat to civilians or the stability of the State, in keeping with its efforts to seize and collect arms and any related material the supply, sale or transfer of which violate the measures imposed by paragraph 1 of resolution 2648 (2022);
51. Requests MINUSCA to provide support to the CAR authorities in their efforts to achieve progress on the key benchmarks for the review of the arms embargo measures, established in the statement of its President of 9 April 2019 (S/PRST/2019/3) (“the key benchmarks”), and calls on other regional and international partners to provide coordinated support to the CAR authorities in these efforts, in line with resolutions 2616 (2021) and 2648 (2022);
MINUSCA Freedom of movement
52. Urges all parties in the CAR to cooperate fully with the deployment and activities of MINUSCA, in particular by ensuring its safety, security and freedom of movement with unhindered and immediate access throughout the territory of the CAR, including by air and at night, as per MINUSCA’s Status of Forces Agreement, to enable MINUSCA to carry out fully its mandate in a complex environment;
53. Calls upon Member States, especially those in the region, to ensure the free, unhindered and expeditious movement to and from the CAR of all personnel, as well as equipment, provisions, supplies and other goods, including vehicles and spare parts, which are for the exclusive and official use of MINUSCA;
Humanitarian access and humanitarian appeal
54. Demands that all parties, in accordance with relevant provisions of international law and consistent with the humanitarian principles, allow and facilitate the full, safe, immediate and unhindered access for the timely delivery of humanitarian assistance to populations in need, in particular to internally displaced persons;
S/RES/2659 (2022)
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55. Further demands that all parties ensure respect and protection of all medical personnel and humanitarian personnel exclusively engaged in medical duties, their means of transport and equipment, as well as hospitals and other medical facilities;
56. Strongly condemns the continued attacks as well as threats of attacks that are in contravention of international humanitarian law against schools and civilians connected with schools, including children and teachers, and urges all parties to armed conflict to immediately cease such attacks and threats of attacks and to refrain from actions that impede access to education;
57. Calls on Member States and international and regional organisations to respond swiftly to the humanitarian needs identified in the humanitarian response plan through increased contributions and to ensure that all pledges are honoured in full and in a timely manner;
Reports by the Secretary-General
58. Requests the Secretary-General to provide integrated, evidence-based and data-driven analysis, strategic assessments and frank advice to the Security Council, using the data collected and analysed through the Comprehensive Planning and Performance Assessment System (CPAS) and other strategic planning and performance measurement tools to describe the mission’s impact, to facilitate as necessary a re-evaluation of the mission composition and mandate based on realities on the ground, and further, requests the Secretary-General to review and report on a regular basis the conditions required for the transition, drawdown and withdrawal of the United Nations operation, in a manner which does not prejudice overall efforts to support long term objectives for peace and stability;
(a) Requests the Secretary-General to report to the Council on 15 February 2023, 15 June 2023 and 13 October 2023, including on:
– the situation in the CAR, including the security situation, the respect by all parties of the ceasefire, the political process, the implementation of the APPR, including efforts made by MINUSCA to support the ceasefire and DDRR process, progress on mechanisms and capacity to advance governance and fiscal management, and relevant information on the progress, promotion and protection of human rights and international humanitarian law and on the protection of civilians;
– violations of the Status of Forces Agreement and follow up on efforts to hold perpetrators accountable, including through joint investigations, as well as attacks, provocations and incitement to hatred and violence and disinformation campaigns against MINUSCA;
– the status of the implementation of MINUSCA’s mandated tasks, including instances in which MINUSCA was unable to reach civilians in response to POC alerts;
– force and police generation and deployment of all MINUSCA’s constituent elements, and information on the progress in the implementation of the measures taken to improve MINUSCA’s performance, including measures to ensure force effectiveness as outlined in paragraphs 37 to 45, as well as information on the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and abuse as outlined in paragraphs 42 and 43;
– overall Mission performance, the Mission’s implementation of the Integrated Peacekeeping Performance and Accountability Framework (IPPAF) and Comprehensive Planning and Performance Assessment System (CPAS); including information on the casualty evacuation system undeclared caveats, declining to participate in or undertake patrols and their impact on the mission, and how the reported cases of under-performance are addressed;
– implementation, performance and necessity ahead of each phase of the reinforcements decided in resolution 2566 (2021) and recalled in this resolution;
– measures to improve strategic communication of the mission and to counter disinformation and misinformation directed against MINUSCA;
(b) Further requests the Secretary-General to provide the Council with:
– an evaluation, no later than May 2023, of the logistical support provided to CAR defence and security forces in line with paragraph 35 of this resolution, including by providing appropriate financial information;
– a mid-report by June 2023 on MINUSCA’s overall effectiveness and configuration, based on qualitative performance metrics, to identify gaps in objectives, means, and outcomes, in order to better achieve its mandate;
(c) Expresses its intention to request an independent strategic review of MINUSCA, in accordance with best practices, assessing the challenges to peace and security in the Central African Republic, including constraints on mission operations, and providing detailed recommendations on the continued relevance of all mandate tasks, priorities and related resources, realistic, relevant and clearly measurable benchmarks and indicators to assess progress toward MINUSCA’s multiyear strategic vision, and options for adapting MINUSCA’s configuration of its civilian, police and military components, based on broad consultations, including, but not limited to, relevant government bodies, civil society representatives, and humanitarian, development actors and international partners once the increase in the size of MINUSCA’s military and police components authorised in paragraph 1 of resolution 2566 (2021) has come into effect;
59. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.
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