Peacebuilding Commission

Central African Republic configuration

2^nd Meeting (AM)

INCLUSIVE POLITICAL DIALOGUE FIRST AIM IN PEACEBUILDING PROCESS FOR GOVERNMENT

OF CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC, PEACEBUILDING COMMISSION TOLD

Economic Minister Addresses Country-Specific Configuration;

Chair Says Team Will Visit Country from 28 October to 6 November

The first aim of the Government of the Central African Republic in the peacebuilding process was to hold an inclusive political dialogue to establish common understanding on steps for the country’s renewal, the Peacebuilding Commission was told today.

Sylvain Maliko, the country’s Minister of the Economy, Planning and International Cooperation, addressing the second meeting of the Commission’s Central African Republic country-specific configuration, said successful political dialogue in the Central African Republic depended heavily on the Government’s ability to foster acceptance of a new amnesty law currently opposed by two major opposition groups, l’Union des forces vives de la Nation (UFVN) and the Popular Army for the Restoration of Republic and Democracy (APRD).

Mr. Maliko, who spoke alongside François Lonseny Fall, Special Representative of the Secretary-General to the Central African Republic, Jane Holl Lute, head of the Peacebuilding Support Office, and Jan Grauls of Belgium, Chair of the Central African Republic country-specific configuration, said the Government had agreed with its international partners to focus on four priority areas: conflict resolution through dialogue, security sector reform, restoring good governance and combating poverty.

He said a comprehensive peace agreement, signed by previously warring parties, in Libreville in June, had seemed to pave the way for the dialogue, with the President of Gabon acting as mediator.  But, since UFVN and APRD had withdrawn from the process in August, following controversy over the issue of amnesty, a follow-up committee -- or Comité de Suivi -- had had to intervene to manage those conflicts of interest.

Addressing that topic, the representative of Gabon expressed his country’s willingness to convene a special meeting of the follow-up committee to break the current impasse, without which the journey of national reconstruction stood in jeopardy.

In a question-and-answer session with members of the Commission, Mr. Maliko continuously repeated the view that the four components of the peace strategy were interdependent and could not be attained separately.  He said, for instance, that a pervading sense of lawlessness in the country -- illustrated by large-scale looting and “cattle-rustling” -- meant that some measure of security sector reform was needed in order for economic development to take place.  In turn, good governance was needed to boost investor confidence, which was essential to assure the country’s energy supply in the long run and to help it overcome what he termed an “electricity crisis”.

The Secretary-General’s Special Representative, Mr. Fall, said he would soon produce a detailed report on how $10 million from the Peacebuilding Fund, approved for the Central African Republic in June, would be allocated.  The steering committee he co-chaired with Mr. Maliko had approved 11 projects so far, in the areas of revitalization of conflict-affected zones, good governance and security sector reform.

Replying to queries by members of the Commission, Mr. Maliko said his Government had received a large number of proposals from interested partners on possible uses for the $10 million from the Peacebuilding Fund.  Those included ideas for economic recovery programmes, but half the funding was likely to be used for security sector reform, with $4 million to $6 million alone going towards the demobilization of child soldiers.  Possible project partners included United Nations agencies such as the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

According to Mr. Maliko, the country had undergone two tumultuous decades marked by a series of coups and dictatorships, lasting until 2003.  A wave of rebellions and massive destruction in the 1990s had been particularly harsh, causing people to flee to neighbouring countries and for large numbers of citizens within the country to be displaced.  Beginning in 1995, gross domestic product had shrunk by 1 per cent annually for eight years, and several social indicators -- such as life expectancy, educational attainment, health, hunger and unemployment -- plummeted.

He said the year 2003 had brought the rise of the “Patriotic Movement” and a return to stability, during which the country had adopted a new Constitution, held legislative and presidential elections and rebuilt State institutions.  But, rebellions had begun anew in 2006.  The resulting conflict had been made worse by violence in Sudan and Chad that had spilled over into the territory of the Central African Republic and continued until today.

The representative of France, speaking on behalf of the European Union, said it was important to bring stability to the region, which was a central objective of the European Union Force in Chad and the Central African Republic, EUFOR.  Expanding on that topic, the representative of the European Community said security sector reform was the subject of intense coordination between the European Commission, France and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which were working together to avoid duplicating efforts in the field.  He also urged an immediate mobilization of resources by the international community to launch a disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programme, without which it would be impossible to achieve political stability.

According to a representative of the World Bank, the Bank had agreed to a joint strategy with the Government of the Central African Republic covering the period from 2009 to 2015.  An emergency energy project, worth $8 million, would come under consideration in early 2009 to help the country manage its energy needs.  Another $8 million would be spent on reinforcing links between local Government structures and civilian populations.

Ms. Lute, head of the Peacebuilding Support Office, noted that peacebuilding was a “complex and painstaking process”, and echoed others in welcoming the Government’s readiness to engage in the peacebuilding process with the Commission.  The next step in the process was the upcoming visit of the Peacebuilding Commission to the country, to be followed by the development of a strategic framework for peacebuilding.

Mr. Grauls, Chair of the Central African Republic country-specific configuration, said the Peacebuilding Commission would send a team to visit the country from 28 October to 6 November.

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For information media • not an official record