Ambassador Richard Bell

Senior Adviser for African Affairs

New York, New York

October 30, 2024

AS DELIVERED

Thank you, Chair. Thank you, Mr. Special Rapporteur, for your work.

We appreciate the Central African Republic government's efforts to counter anti-MINUSCA misinformation, which hinders the UN's ability to help the Central African Republic's people.

We also thank the Central African authorities and Security Council members for their support for the strategic review of the Mission, which provides an important guide as we look ahead to the November mandate renewal.

Accountability for past security sector abuses is vital to increasing trust between civilians and the military; so we welcome strong prevention efforts to discourage future abuses. We appreciate continued support of Special Criminal Court investigators, magistrates, and court staff following the renewal of the court's mandate. We encourage the government to train police, gendarmes, prosecutors, and judges on

best practices for investigating and prosecuting cases of gender-based violence, including sexual violence.

The need remains for the international community to address the root causes of armed group violence, including strengthening access to justice, and for improving space for peaceful political discourse. We urge the government to work with partners to carefully vet demobilized armed group members potentially responsible for human rights abuses before accepting them into the armed forces, police, or gendarmerie.

Further, we stress that the abuses of human rights by the Kremlin-backed Wagner Group and Russia's obstruction of MINUSCA must stop.

A question for the Special Rapporteur, understanding local elections were pushed back to April 2025, how is the government enhancing preparations for free and fair elections that are conducted through an inclusive process?

Thank you.