Peace and security in Africa - Security Council, 10204th meeting

The 10,204th meeting of the Security Council is called to order. The provisional agenda for this meeting is peace and security in Africa. The agenda is adopted. In accordance with Rule 37 of the Council's Provisional Rules of Procedure, I invite the representative of the Central African Republic to participate in this meeting. It is so decided. The Security Council The Security Council will now begin its consideration of item 2 of the agenda. I wish to draw the attention of Council members to document S/2026/481, a letter dated June 10th, 2026, from the Panel of Experts pursuant to Security Council Resolution 2745 of 2024, addressed to To the President of the Security Council, members of the Council have before them document S 2026-615, the text of a draft resolution submitted by France. The Council is ready to proceed to the vote on the draft resolution before it. I shall now give the floor to the members of the council who would wish to make a statement before the vote. I give the floor to France.

Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, first of all, I welcome the presence here with us of the representative of the Central African Republic, and I would like to thank very warmly the members of the Security Council for the spirit in which this resolution was discussed and can now be presented to us and submitted to our vote. Mr. President, significant progress has been made in the Central African Republic in recent years in democratic governance, peace process, and the restoration of state authority throughout the country, in particular with the holding of presidential, legislative, regional, and municipal elections, which we welcome. Despite this, the security situation remains fragile due to the persistent activity of armed groups, particularly in the border areas in northeast and southeast of the country. The attack in Amdafok on the 30th of June is an illustration of this. In these circumstances, it's the responsibility of the Council to continue to support the Central African Republic in the fight against armed groups and associated individuals who continue to threaten the stability of the country. The resolution proposed today renews the measures taken under the 275 regime of 2024, which are specifically aimed at curbing the illicit cross-border flows of arms and combatants that feed armed groups. It is a question of using all the tools at our disposal in coordination with the Central African Republic to exert sufficient pressure on these armed groups and encourage them to join in good faith the peace process. The long-term stability of the Central African Republic and the region is at stake, and my delegation would like to thank all the delegations around this table for the support to this resolution. I thank you.

I thank the representative of France for this statement. I shall now put the draft resolution to the vote. Will those in favor of the draft resolution contained in document S/2026/615 raise their hand? The result of the voting is as follows. The draft resolution received 15 votes in favor. The draft resolution has been adopted unanimously as Resolution 28-27 of 2026. I now give the floor to members of the Council who wish to make a statement after the vote. I give the floor to the representative of China.

President, China welcomes the Security Council's unanimous adoption of the resolution extending the mandate for sanctions measures concerning the CAR and appreciates the efforts made by France as the penholder to facilitate consensus amongst all parties. In recent years, with the support of the international community, the governments and people of the CAR have overcome difficulties and made significant progress in areas such as political transition, the peace process, and national governance, the domestic security situation is generally stable and a new chapter in national development has begun. At the same time, as some areas continue to face armed attacks and cross-border security challenges, maintaining existing measures such as arms embargoes, asset freeze, and travel bans targeting armed groups and individuals helps The CAR government curb illegal armed activities, advance the process of national reconciliation, and expand and consolidate security gains. China calls on all parties to strictly observe relevant sanctions measures, particularly by preventing the influx of external weapons and ammunition, and to mitigate the spillover effects of conflicts in the surrounding region. As a good friend of the CAR, China firmly supports the country's sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity, and stands ready to continue working with the international community to support its early achievements of enduring peace, stability, and prosperity and development. I thank you.

I thank the representative of China for the statement. I now give the floor to the representative of the Central African Republic.

Mr. President, Excellencies, distinguished members of the Security Council, Please allow me to first of all congratulate the Democratic Republic of the Congo on their presidency of the Council in July. The Central African Republic also welcomes the adoption of this resolution, which renews the sanctions regime against the armed groups and the mandate of the group of experts. We thank the presidency, the penholder, and all of the members of the Council for the constructive dialogue which allowed us to arrive at this text. This adoption also provides us with an opportunity to think about the road we have traveled and the challenges which remain. For several years now, the Security Council, MINUSCA, the partners of the Central African Republic, and the national authorities have worked closely to restore peace and strengthen the state institutions. And progress achieved show that close cooperation at all levels can produce specific results, even in a context as complex as the one in CAR. However, this progress should not lead us to think that all of the instability factors have disappeared. Mr. President, the last report from the Group of Experts shows that several armed groups continue being under the sanctions of the Council. At the same time, it underscores the continued existence of the supply networks of weapons and cross-border networks which allow these groups to continue being able to harm us. The attacks in Amdar Fok on the 30th of June last is an illustration of that. They compel us to start collectively thinking about the following: How can we explain that these armed groups have been able to, submitted to the sanctions, have been able to provide themselves with weapons? What are the networks for this? Who finances these activities and benefits from them? These interrogations are at the heart of the effectiveness of the sanctions regimes. If we do not identify them, if we don't find the mechanisms which feed those groups, we can run the danger of reproducing the cycles where the armed groups are sanctioned, see their capacity temporarily reduced, and then rearm themselves through new supply circuits. The question is not about the armed groups themselves. It is about the ecosystems which allow these groups to continue to recruit, to find themselves, and rearm themselves despite the Council measures. It is in this spirit that the CAR sees the renewed mandate of the Group of Experts, a mandate to continue and deepen the work on the supply chains of the armed groups by strengthening regional cooperation and the exchange of information with the relevant bodies under the UN. This seems to us essential not only to consolidate the accomplishments in CAR, ensure the effectiveness of the sanctions regime, but also to create the conditions for a progressive and lasting transition for MINUSCA, which is based on effective management of threats rather than just simple management. We remain convinced that progress accomplished during these last years shows that collective action of the Council can yield results. Our responsibility is now to ensure that this progress is irreversible. I thank you.

I thank the representative of the Central African Republic for their statement. There are no more names inscribed on the list of speakers. Before joining the meeting, which is the last scheduled meeting of the Council for the month of July, I would like to express a sincere appreciation of the delegation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the members of the Council and to the Secretariat of the Council for all of the support that they have given us. Indeed, it has been a busy month, and we can congratulate ourselves on having rallied a consensus on several important issues within our purview. We could not have done it alone and without the hard work, support, and positive contributions of every delegation and the representatives of the Secretariat, including the technical support team. Conference services officers, interpreters, translators, verbatim reporters, and security staff. As we end our presidency, I know that I speak on behalf of, of the Council in wishing the delegation of Denmark good luck in the month of August. The meeting is adjourned.