Security Council meeting 4262

The President

The Security Council will now continue its consideration of the item on its agenda.

The Security Council is meeting in accordance with the understanding reached in its prior consultations.

Following consultations among members of the Security Council, I have been authorized to make the following statement on behalf of the Council:

“The Security Council has considered the report of the Secretary-General dated 11 January 2001 (S/2001/35), submitted in accordance with the statement by the President of the Council of 10 February 2000 (S/PRST/2000/5).

“The Security Council commends the United Nations Peace-building Support Office in the Central African Republic (BONUCA) and the Representative of the Secretary-General for the efforts they have constantly made to contribute to peace and stability in the Central African Republic. In this connection, the Council welcomes the additional progress made in certain areas since the previous report of the Secretary-General of 29 June 2000 (S/2000/639), particularly in the area of disarmament and the restructuring of the security and defence forces, and as regards respect for human rights by the police.

“The Security Council welcomes the mission to the region of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General to assess the impact of the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the Central African Republic and the Republic of the Congo, in particular its humanitarian, economic, social and security implications. The Council is looking forward to discussing the findings of that mission in the very near future.

“The Security Council expresses its concern at the political and social tensions which have recently resurfaced in the Central African Republic, which threaten the national reconciliation process undertaken four years ago with the active support of the international community. The Council notes with concern the absence of dialogue between the Government and the opposition. The Council is also disturbed by the deterioration of the economic situation, partly because of the repercussions of the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the resulting fuel crisis.

“The Security Council welcomes the contributions already received and calls upon bilateral and multilateral donors to provide full support to the efforts of the Government of the Central African Republic. The Council appreciates the release by the World Bank of the second tranche of credit for the consolidation of public finances and welcomes the recent decision by the International Monetary Fund to release additional funds. The Council calls upon Member States which made pledges at the special meeting in New York co-chaired by the Secretariat, Germany and the United Nations Development Programme in May 2000, to fulfil their commitments. The Council also stresses the importance of international assistance to refugees and displaced persons in the Central African Republic and in the other countries of the region in order to contribute to regional stability.

“The Council reaffirms that it is first up to the Central Africans to summon the necessary political will for national reconciliation. The Council strongly encourages the Government of the Central African Republic to do everything in its power to strengthen democratic institutions and broaden the scope of national reconciliation. The Council urges all political actors in the Central African Republic to contribute each in their own way to the reduction of the existing tension between the Government and the Opposition. In this respect, while it welcomes the release, on 8 January 2001, of 62 persons who had been arrested during the prohibited demonstration of 19 December 2000, the Council nevertheless notes with concern certain constraints on peaceful public assembly of opposition and labour groups.

“The Security Council calls upon the Government of the Central African Republic to take concrete measures to implement economic reforms and to ease social tensions. The Council stresses the priority need for the payment of salary arrears in the civil service and welcomes the recent announcement by the Government of the Central African Republic that it will take steps in this direction. The Council also encourages the Government of the Central African Republic to take all the financial measures that are necessary to relaunch the demobilization and reintegration programme.

“The Council requests the Secretary-General to continue to keep it regularly informed about the activities of BONUCA, the situation in the Central African Republic, and in particular the progress made in the political, economic and social reforms, and to submit a report by 30 June 2001, in accordance with the statement of the President of the Council dated 10 February 2000.”

This statement will be issued as a document of the Security Council under the symbol S/PRST/2001/2.

The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on its agenda.