Peacekeeping trip to violence-torn region for UN chief
UN SECRETARY General Antonio Guterres is expected to arrive in the Central African Republic tomorrow, as violence between Muslim and Christian militias has intensified in the past few months.
“This is a gesture of solidarity with the peacekeepers working in one of the most dangerous environments,” Guterres said.
His trip to one of the world’s poorest countries will be his first as part of a peacekeeping mission since taking office on January 1 – but he regularly visited the country as former head of the UN refugee agency UNHCR.
The secretary general’s visit comes at a time when the United Nations faces a precarious financial situation, as the United States pushes for cost-cutting measures in peacekeeping.
The UN has maintained some 12 500 troops and police on the ground in the Central African Republic (CAR) since September 2014 to help protect civilians and support the government of FaustinArchange Touadera, who was elected last year.
Its mandate expires on November 15 this year but is expected to be renewed.
For Guterres – whose visit coincides with United Nations Day marking the entry into force of the UN charter – “the level of suffering of the people but also the trauma suffered by aid workers and peacekeepers are deserving of our solidarity and heightened attention,” he said.
The CAR has been struggling to recover from a three-year civil war between Muslim and Christian militias that started after the 2013 overthrow of leader Francois Bozize.
Between 2013 and last year, acting under a UN mandate, France intervened militarily to push out the Muslim Seleka rebels and the UN launched its Minusca peacekeeping mission in 2014 – but the country remains plagued by violence.
Guterres’s trip, just weeks before the likely reappointment of Minusca, will also send a strong political message amid criticism of the UN mission. Accused of passivity and collusion with armed groups, UN troops are also facing an avalanche of sexual abuse and rape allegations. — AFP