United Nations Security Council Resolution 2339 – The situation in the Central African Republic

Resolution 2339 (2017)

The Security Council,

Recalling its previous resolutions and statements on the Central African Republic (CAR), in particular resolutions 2121 (2013), 2127 (2013), 2134 (2014), 2149 (2014), 2181 (2014), 2196 (2015), 2212 (2015), 2217 (2015), 2262 (2016), 2264 (2016), 2281 (2016), 2301 (2016) as well as resolution 2272 (2016), and the Statements of its President of 18 December 2014 (S/PRST/2014/28), 20 October 2015 (S/PRST/2015/17), and 16 November 2016 (S/PRST/2016/17),

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,

Recalling that the CAR bears the primary responsibility to protect all populations within its territory from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity,

Noting with concern that while improving, the security situation in the CAR remains fragile, due to the continued presence of armed groups and other armed spoilers, as well as the ongoing violence, the lack of capacity of the national security forces, the limited authority of the State over all of the CAR territory, and the persistence of the root causes of the conflict,

Emphasizing that any sustainable solution to the crisis in the CAR should be CAR-owned, including the political process, and should prioritize 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,

Calling upon the CAR authorities to urgently implement transparent and inclusive measures that allow for stabilization and reconciliation in the CAR, including to take concrete steps to restore the effective authority of the State over all of the territory of the CAR; to fight impunity by restoring administration of the judiciary and the criminal justice system, including the penitentiary system, throughout the country; to speed up the reform of the CAR Armed Forces (FACA) and internal security forces in order to put in place multi-ethnic, professional, and republican security services through appropriate security sector reform processes; to carry out the inclusive and effective disarmament, demobilization, reintegration and repatriation (DDRR) of armed groups, including children formerly associated with them; and to establish a functioning public financial management in order to meet the expenses related to the functioning of the State, implement early recovery plans, and revitalize the economy,

Encouraging the CAR authorities, in collaboration with the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Mission in the CAR (MINUSCA) and the European Union Training Mission in the CAR (EUTM-RCA), to provide equal opportunities for members of armed groups, whether anti-Balaka or ex-Séléka, in the process of selecting eligible demobilized members to integrate into the national security and defence forces, and to ensure that FACA soldiers of all prefectures enjoy equal access to the registration and simplified verification process,

Underlining the importance of rebuilding a multi-ethnic, republican and professional national army in the CAR, recognizing in this regard the work carried out by the EUTM-RCA and welcoming the intention of Member States of the Central Africa Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) to contribute to the training of the national security and defence forces in support of the CAR authorities and in coordination with EUTM,

Calling upon the CAR authorities to ensure that perpetrators of violations of applicable international law, including those committed against children and women, are excluded from the CAR security and armed forces,

Welcoming the commitment of the Secretary-General to enforce strictly his zero-tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and abuse, expressing grave concern over numerous allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse reportedly committed by peacekeepers in the CAR, stressing the urgent need for troop- and police-contributing countries and MINUSCA to promptly investigate those cases in a credible and transparent manner and to hold accountable those responsible for such criminal offenses or misconduct, and further stressing the need to prevent such exploitation and abuse and to improve how these allegations are addressed,

Welcoming the Secretary-General’s Report of 29 September 2016 (S/2016/824) submitted pursuant to resolution 2301 (2016),

Further welcoming also the midterm update and the final report (S/2016/1032) of the Panel of Experts on the CAR established pursuant to resolution 2127 (2013), expanded by resolution 2134 (2014) and extended pursuant to resolution 2262 (2016), and taking note of the Panel of Experts’ recommendations,

Strongly condemning the ongoing violence and instability in the CAR, and the threats of violence, human rights violations and abuses and international humanitarian law violations, including against women and children; the attacks against United Nations peacekeepers, international forces and humanitarian personnel; the continuous cycle of provocations and reprisals by armed groups, both inside and outside Bangui and denial of humanitarian access, committed by armed elements, which continue to adversely affect the dire humanitarian situation faced by the civilian population and to impede humanitarian access to vulnerable populations,

Stressing the urgent and imperative need to end impunity in the CAR and to bring to justice perpetrators of these acts, some of which may amount to crimes under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), to which the CAR is a State party, noting in this regard the opening by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court on 24 September 2014 of an investigation following the request of the national authorities on alleged crimes committed since 2012 and welcoming the ongoing cooperation by the CAR authorities in this regard,

Stressing the importance of putting in place an effective national judicial system, underlining the need to bolster national accountability mechanisms, including through further implementation of the 7 August 2014 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Urgent Temporary Measures, and the law promulgated in June 2015 to establish a national Special Criminal Court to investigate and prosecute serious crimes committed in the CAR, and recalling the import ance of continuous support of the international community to this process pursued by the CAR authorities,

Emphasizing that those engaging in or providing support for acts that undermine the peace, stability or security of the CAR, threaten or impede the political stabilization and reconciliation process, target civilians and attack peacekeepers may meet criteria for designation under sanctions as stated in this resolution,

Expressing concern that illicit trafficking, trade, exploitation and smuggling ofnatural resources including gold, diamonds and wildlife has a negative impact in the economy and the development of the country, and that it continues to threaten the peace and stability of the CAR,

Taking note of the Kimberley Process (KP) Administrative Decision on Resumption of Exports of Rough Diamonds from the CAR, its annexed Operational Framework, and the work of the KP Monitoring Team for CAR and recognizing the extraordinary efforts of the CAR Authorities and the KP, to responsibly and progressively, through pre-established “compliant zones”, reintegrate the CAR into the global diamond trade,

Noting with concern the findings of the Panel of Experts’ final report that the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) remains active in the CAR, has established links to other armed groups and is generating revenues from the exploitation and trade of natural resources, including gold, diamonds and wildlife poaching,

Further noting with concern the ongoing transnational criminal activity in the region, emphasizing the risk of the situation in the CAR providing a conducive environment for further transnational criminal activities, such as those involving arms trafficking and the use of mercenaries as well as a potential breeding ground for radical networks,

Acknowledging in this respect the important contribution the Council-mandated arms embargo can make to countering the illicit transfer of arms and related materiel in the CAR and its region, and in supporting post-conflict peacebuilding, DDRR and SSR processes, recalling its resolutions 2117 (2013), 2127 (2013), 2220 (2015) and 2262 (2016) and expressing grave concern at the threat to peace and security in the CAR arising from the illicit transfer, destabilizing accumulation and misuse of small arms and light weapons, and the use of such weapons against civilians affected by armed conflict,

Reiterating the importance of all Member States’ full implementation of the measures set out in resolutions 2127 (2013), 2134 (2014), 2196 (2015), 2262 (2016)and this resolution, including the obligation to implement targeted sanctions against individuals and entities designated by the Sanctions Committee established pursuant to resolution 2127 (2013) (the Committee),

Noting the critical importance of effective implementation of the sanctions regime, including the key role that neighbouring States, as well as regional and subregional organizations, can play in this regard and encouraging efforts to further enhance cooperation and implementation of the sanctions regime in all its aspects,

Noting with concern the reports that sanctioned individuals are travelling in the region in violation of the travel ban, and underlining that individuals or entities who knowingly facilitate the travel of a sanctioned individual in violation of the travel ban may be determined by the Committee to have met the designation criteria for sanctions,

Welcoming efforts by the Chair of the Committee and the President of the Security Council to support and strengthen the implementation of the measures imposed pursuant to resolution 2262 (2016) through engagement with Member States, especially regional States, and welcoming in this regard the travel by the Chair and Committee members to the CAR in May 2016,

Welcoming the outcome of the international support conference held in Brussels in November 2016 and the pledges announced during this conference, encouraging Member States to swiftly disburse these pledges, and encourages further mobilization at the African Union Solidarity Conference for the CAR to be held in Addis Ababa in February 2017,

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,

Adopted by the Security Council at its 7872nd meeting, on 27 January 2017.