Central African Republic: Vote on a Draft Resolution Extending the Sanctions Regime*
Tomorrow morning (30 July), the Security Council is expected to vote on a draft resolution extending the sanctions measures imposed on armed groups operating in the Central African Republic (CAR) until 31 July 2025 and the mandate of the Panel of Experts monitoring the implementation of these measures until 31 August 2025.
Background
Last year, the Council renewed the 2127 CAR sanctions regime and the mandate of its Panel of Experts through resolution 2693 of 27 July 2023, which received 13 votes in favour and two abstentions (China and Russia). The Council also lifted the arms embargo imposed on the CAR government, while maintaining all other sanctions measures, including the obligation for bilateral and multilateral partners to notify the 2127 CAR Sanctions Committee of the supply, sale or transfer of arms to the CAR, except for deliveries to the CAR government. (For more information, see our 28 July 2023 What’s in Blue story.)
However, the CAR government has since been calling for the total lifting of the arms embargo established under resolution 2127 of 5 December 2013. Sylvie Baïpo Temon, the CAR’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Francophonie, and Central Africans Abroad, most recently reiterated this request at the Council’s 27 June briefing on the CAR. Russia has also supported the CAR government’s position, arguing that the sanctions regime has had detrimental effects on the country’s socioeconomic development.
On the other hand, other Council members—such as France (the penholder on the CAR) and Slovenia—have expressed serious concerns about the fragile security situation in the CAR, considering the ongoing illicit flow of weapons, explosives, and combatants across the country’s porous borders. On 3 June, the Panel of Experts briefed the 2127 CAR Sanctions Committee on its final report, which, among other issues, described the detrimental spillover effects of the conflict in Sudan and its impact on the activities of armed groups in the CAR.
Negotiations on the Draft Resolution
France circulated an initial draft of the resolution on 12 July and convened two rounds of negotiations, on 16 and 19 July. Subsequently, the penholder circulated a second revised text on 23 July and placed it under silence procedure until the following day (24 July). Russia broke silence over the issue of the disposing of prohibited items by member states. The penholder amended the language to reach a compromise and placed it under a second silence procedure on 25 July, but Algeria broke silence over the same issue. The penholder made further revisions to accommodate Algeria and placed the text in blue today (29 July).
Although this year’s negotiations were expected to be controversial, it seems that the process was not particularly contentious, as the penholder proposed a relatively concise draft text lifting the arms embargo on the CAR. This proposal—which appears to have contributed to defusing tensions—came against the backdrop of the ongoing rapprochement between France and the CAR, with the leadership of the two countries agreeing during the April visit of CAR President Faustin-Archange Touadéra to Paris to work towards a “constructive partnership”. Although Temon’s statement at the 27 June Council meeting appeared to take a critical tone towards the sanctions regime, the CAR government seems to be satisfied with the text and the negotiations went relatively smoothly compared to last year. It also seems that Council members recognise that maintaining the embargo is untenable given the CAR government’s persistent calls for its complete lifting, a stance supported by China and Russia. Additionally, some members were apparently concerned that failing to lift the embargo could provoke a Russian veto, similar to the one that blocked the extension of the Mali sanctions regime in August 2023.
Despite lifting the arms embargo, the penholder maintained the mandate of the Panel of Experts to allow it to continue reporting on the implementation of the sanctions regime. Last year, Russia raised issues about the Panel’s mandate and put a hold on the appointment of its members. The Panel’s 18 May 2023 report noted, among other things, that the CAR authorities did not provide clarity on weapons and aircraft that were transferred from Russia without advance notification to the 2127 CAR Sanctions Committee. Most of the Panel’s members were only appointed in January after Russia lifted its hold by the end of December 2023, creating time constraints in producing the Panel’s final report this year, which focused more on the regional security dynamics. Russia apparently did not raise any issues regarding the Panel’s mandate during this year’s negotiations. The draft text in blue extends the Panel’s mandate until 31 August 2025 and proposes renaming the Panel to reflect the number of this resolution once adopted, while indicating the Council’s intention to review its mandate with a specific focus on analysing the supply networks of armed groups in the CAR.
A relatively contentious issue during the negotiations was an operative paragraph which authorises member states to seize, register, and dispose of prohibited items. It seems that China, Russia and the “A3 plus one” members (Algeria, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, and Guyana) sought to add a requirement for member states to notify the 2127 CAR Sanctions Committee when disposing of such items. This is similar to the proposal made during the negotiations on resolution 2733 of 31 May, which reauthorised the maritime inspection of vessels in the high seas off the coast of Libya. (For more information, see our 30 May What’s In Blue story.) The penholder attempted to accommodate the request, but Russia broke silence, insisting on incorporating agreed language from resolution 2733.
In an apparent compromise, the penholder amended the language in the draft text, using some of the language from resolution 2733, also taking into account the position of other Council members who do not appear to support the introduction of a notification process on the disposal of prohibited items. However, Algeria broke silence again, leading the penholder to make further revisions to accommodate its concerns. The draft resolution in blue decides that member states shall not only notify the Committee of such disposals within 30 days but also provide “details of all items disposed of and the precise manner in which they were disposed of”.
Another issue during the negotiations centred on an operative paragraph that calls on member states to continue to prevent the supply of weapons and ammunition to armed groups and associated individuals operating in the CAR. It seems that the US, supported by other like-minded members, attempted to reintroduce notification or exemption requirements that would be removed together with the lifting of the arms embargo stipulated in the resolution, and to replace “armed groups” with “non-governmental armed actors/groups”. Russia objected to these suggestions, and they were not incorporated in the draft resolution in blue. However, these members’ proposal to strengthen the language in the operative paragraph—to include the prohibition of technical assistance, training, financial or other assistance to armed groups and associated individuals—was apparently accepted with amendments from other Council members.
The “A3 plus one” members also sought to specifically reference the Coalition des patriotes pour le changement (CPC), the main CAR rebel coalition, and Azande Ani Kpi Gbe, a pro-government militia that emerged in 2023, for committing human rights abuses as documented in the Panel of Experts final report. Russia opposed the proposal, however; consequently, the draft text in blue maintains a general condemnation of attacks and human rights abuses committed by armed groups but without naming any specific groups.
The draft resolution in blue includes new language introduced by Malta, Slovenia, and the US welcoming the adoption of resolution 2744 of 19 July, which strengthened the mandate of the Focal Point for Delisting. It also contains Swiss-proposed language underscoring “the need to safeguard due process, and to ensure fair and clear procedures for delisting individuals and entities”, which is based on agreed language from previous resolutions, including resolution 2738 of 27 June, which most recently renewed the 1533 Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) sanctions regime. It seems that Russia proposed language critical of unilateral coercive measures (UCMs), similar to its efforts during the negotiations on the renewal of the 1533 sanctions regime in June, but this suggestion was not accommodated.
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**Post-script: On 30 July, the Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2745, lifting the arms embargo on the Central African Republic (CAR) and renewing until 31 August 2025 the mandate of the Panel of Experts assisting the 2127 CAR Sanctions Committee, which will henceforth be known as the Panel of Experts pursuant to resolution 2745 (2024). The resolution also extended until 31 July 2025 all other targeted sanctions measures against armed groups and associated individuals, while strengthening these measures.
