Protection of civilians

• To protect, in line with S/PRST/2018/18 of 21 September 2018, without prejudice to the primary responsibility of the CAR authorities and the basic principles of peacekeeping, the civilian population under threat of physical violence;
• To fully implement its protection of civilians strategy in coordination with CAR authorities, the United Nations Country Team (UNCT), humanitarian and human right organisations, and other relevant partners;
• In support of the CAR authorities, to take active steps to anticipate, deter and effectively respond to serious and credible threats to the civilian population through a comprehensive and integrated approach and, in this regard:
  • to ensure effective and dynamic protection of civilians under threat of physical violence through a comprehensive and integrated approach, including by anticipating, deterring, and stopping all threats of violence against the populations, in consultation with local communities, and by supporting and undertaking local mediation efforts to prevent escalation of violence, in line with the basic principles of peacekeeping, and outbreaks of violence betwe e n ethnic or religious rival groups;
  • to enhance its interaction with civilians, to strengthen its early warning mechanism, to increase its efforts to monitor and document violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights and to strengthen local community engagement and empowerment;
  • to maintain a proactive deployment and a mobile, flexible and robust posture, including by conducting active patrolling, in particular in high risk areas;
  • to mitigate the risk to civilians before, during and after any military or police operation, including by tracking, preventing, minimising, and addressing civilian harm resulting from the Mission’s operations, presence and activities, including in support of national security forces;
  • to work with the CAR authorities to identify and report threats to and attacks against civilians and implement existing prevention and response plans and strengthen civil-military cooperation, including joint planning;
  • to support the CAR authorities in the prevention, mitigation and response to the threat posed by explosive ordnance;
• To provide specific protection and assistance for women and children affected by armed conflict, including through the deployment of protection advisers, child protection advisers, women protection advisers and civilian and uniformed gender advisers and focal points, as well as consultations with women’s organisations, and by adopting a gender-sensitive, survivor-centred approach in this regard, especially to provide the best assistance to survivors of sexual violence, and to support women’s participation in early warning mechanisms;
• To take concrete measures to mitigate and avoid the use of schools by armed forces, as appropriate, and deter the use of schools by parties to the conflict, and to facilitate the continuation of education in situations of armed conflict;
• To support the implementation of the UN and Government of CAR joint communiqué to prevent and respond to sexual violence in conflict and to take into account these specific concerns throughout activities of all Mission components, in line with the UN Field Missions policy on Preventing and Responding to Confli c t - Related Sexual Violence, and to ensure, in cooperation with the SRSG for Sexual Violence in Conflict, that risks of sexual violence in conflict are included in the Mission’s data collection, threat analysis and early warning system;

 Good offices and support to the peace process, including the implementation of the ceasefire and the APPR

• To continue its role in support of the peace process, including through political, technical and operational support to the implementation and monitoring of the ceasefire and the APPR, to take active steps to support the CAR authorities in the creation of conditions conducive to the full implementation of the APPR via the roadmap and its subsequent timeline;
• To continue to coordinate regional and international support and assistance to the peace process, in consultation and coordination with the Unit ed Natio n s Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA) and regional organisations such as ECCAS and ICGLR, stressing the importance in that regard of the operationalisation of the road map through the implementation of the APPR via the roadmap per the government’s timeline;
• To ensure that the Mission’s political and security strategies promote a coherent peace process, particularly in support of the APPR, that connects local and national peace efforts with the ongoing efforts to monitor the ceasefire, advance the DDRR process, the SSR process, support the fight against impunity, and the restoration of State authority, and promote the participation of women and gender equality;
• To assist the CAR authorities’ efforts, at national and local levels, to increase participation of political parties, civil society, women, survivors of sexual violence, youth, faith-based organisations, and where and when possible, IDPs and refugees to the peace process, including the APPR;
• To provide good offices and technical expertise in support of efforts to address the root causes of conflict, including those referred to in paragraph 8 of this resolution, in particular to advance national reconciliation and local confli c t resolution, working with relevant regional and local bodies and religious leaders, while ensuring the full, equal and meaningful participation of women, including survivors of sexual violence, in line with the CAR national action plan on Women, Peace and Security, including through the support to local dialogue and community engagement;
• To support efforts of the CAR authorities to address transitional justice as part of the peace and reconciliation process, and marginalisation and local grievances, including through dialogue with the armed gro ups, civil society leaders includin g women and youth representatives, including survivors of sexual violence, and by assisting national, prefectoral and local authorities to foster confidence among communities;
• To provide technical expertise to the CAR authorities in its engagement with neighbouring countries, the ECCAS, the ICGLR and the AU, in consultation and coordination with the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOC A ) to resolve issues of common and bilateral interest and to promote their continued and full support for the APPR;
• To make more proactive use of strategic communications to support its protection of civilians’ strategy, in coordination with the CAR authorities, to help the local population better understand the mandate of the Mission, its activities, the APPR and the electoral process, and to build trust with the CAR citizens, parties to the conflict, regional and other international actors and partners on the ground;

Facilitate the immediate, full, safe and unhinder e d delivery of humanitarian assistance

To improve coordination with all humanitarian actors, including United Nations agencies, and to facilitate, in accordance with relevant provisions of international law and consistent with the humanitarian principles, the creation of a secure environment for the immediate, full, safe and unhindered, civilian-led delivery of humanitarian assistance, and for the voluntary safe, dignified and sustainable return or local integration or resettlement of internally displaced persons or refugees in close coordination with humanitarian actors, while contributing to alleviate the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic as requested in resolution 2532 (2020);

Protection of the United Nations

To protect the United Nations personnel, installations, equipment and goods and ensure the security and freedom of movement of United Nations and associa t e d personnel;

Other tasks

Further authorises MINUSCA to pursue the following tasks of its mandate, working in close coordination with the United Nations Country Team, bearing in mind that these tasks as well as those in paragraph 34 above are mutually reinforcing:

Support for the extension of State authority, the deployment of security forces, and the preservation of territorial integrity

• To continue to support the CAR authorities in safeguarding State institutions and implementing its strategy for the extension of State authority, including through the implementation of relevant provisions of the APPR, for the establishment of interim security and administrative arrangements acceptable to the population and under CAR authorities’ oversight, and through a prioritised division of labour with the UNCT and relevant partners, and address cross-border illicit trade in natural resources;
• To promote and support the rapid extension of State authority over the entire territory of the CAR, including by supporting the deployment of vetted and trained national security forces in priority areas, including through co -locati o n , advising, mentoring and monitoring, in coordination with other partners, as part of the deployment of the territorial administration and other rule of law authorities;
• To provide at the request of the CAR authorities enhanced planning and technical assistance and logistical support for the progressive redeployment of vetted Central African Armed Forces (FACA) or Internal Security Forces (ISF), engaged in joint operations with MINUSCA that include joint planning and tactical cooperati o n , in order to support the implementation of MINUSCA’s current mandated tasks, including to protect civilians, and to support national authorities in the restoration and maintenance of public safety and the rule of law, in accordance with MINUSCA’s mandate, paragraphs 13 and 14 of this resolution and in strict compliance with the United Nations Human Rights Due Diligence Policy (HRDDP), contingent on a determination by MINUSCA of the recipients’ compliance with MINUSCA’s Status of Forces Agreement, human rights and international humanitarian law, witho u t exacerbating the risks to the stabilization of the country, civilians, the political process, to UN peacekeepers, or the impartiality of the Mission, to ensure such support be subject to appropriate oversight, and to review this logistical support in one year to ensure its compliance with the benchmarks outlined in the Secretary- General’s letter to the President of the Security Council of 15 May 2018 (S/2018/46 3 );
• To support a gradual handover of security of key officials, and static guard duties of national institutions, to the CAR security forces, in coordination with the CAR authorities, based on the risks on the ground and taking into account the electoral context;

Promotion and protection of human rights

• To monitor, help investigate, report annually to the Security Council, and follow up on violations of international humanitarian law and on violations and abuses of human rights committed throughout the CAR;
• To monitor, help investigate and ensure reporting on violations and abuses committed against children and women, including rape and other forms of sexual violence in armed conflict, in connection with the UMIRR;
• To assist the CAR authorities in their efforts to protect and promote human rights and prevent violations and abuses and to strengthen the capacity of civil society organizations;

Republican Dialogue and 2023 elections

To assist the CAR authorities in the follow-up of a fully inclusive Republican Dialogue and the preparation and delivery of peaceful local elections of 2023, as outlined in the preamble and in paragraph 9 of this resolution, by providing good offices, including to encourage dialogue among all political stakeholders, in an inclusive manner, to mitigate tensions throughout the electoral period, by also providing security, operational, logistical and, as appropriate, technical support, in particular to facilitate access to remote areas, and by coordinating with the UN Development Programme regarding international electoral assistance;

Security Sector Reform (SSR)

• To provide strategic and technical advice to the CAR authorities to implement the National Strategy on SSR and the National Defence Plan, in close coordination with EUTM-RCA, EUAM-RCA, the African Union Observer Mission in the CAR (MOUACA) and CAR’s other international partners, including France, the Russian Federation, the United States, the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Rwanda, with the aim of ensuring coherence of the SSR process, including through a clear delineation of responsibilities between the FACA, the ISF and other uniformed entities, as well as the democratic control of both defence and internal security forces;
• To continue to support the CAR authorities in developing an approach to the vetting of defence and security elements which prioritises human rights vetting, in particular to fight impunity for violations of international and domestic law and in the context of any integration of demobilised armed groups elements into security sector institutions;
• To take a leading role in supporting the CAR authorities in enhancing the capacities of the ISF, particularly command and control structures and oversig h t mechanisms and to coordinate the provision of technical assistance and traini n g between the international partners in the CAR, in particular with EUTM-RCA and EUAM-RCA, in order to ensure a clear distribution of tasks in the field of SSR;
• To continue to support the CAR authorities in the training of police and gendarmerie and in the selection, recruitment, and vetting of police and gendarmerie elements, with the support of donors and the UNCT, taking into account the need to recruit women at all levels, and in full compliance with the United Nations HRDDP;

Disarmament, Demobilisation, Reintegration (DDR) and Repatriation (DDRR)

• To support the CAR authorities in implementing an inclusive, gende r - sensitive and progressive programme for the DDR and, in case of foreign elements, repatriation, of members of armed groups, and, as appropriate, and in consultation and coordination with international partners, support possible, temporary, voluntary cantonment sites in support of community -based socioeconomic reintegrat i o n , including through supporting the government to provide security and appropri a t e protection to demobilised ex-combatants, based on the Principles of DDRR and Integration into the Uniformed Corps, signed at the Bangui Forum in May 2015 and guided by the revitalised 2019 UN Integrated DDRR Standards, while paying specific attention to the needs of children associated with armed forces and groups and women combatants, the need to ensure the separation of children from these forces and groups, and the need to prevent re-recruitment, and including gender-sensitive programmes;
• To support the CAR authorities and relevant civil society organisations in developing and implementing CVR programmes, including gender-sensitive programmes, for members of armed groups including those not eligible for participation in the national DDRR programme, in cooperation with development partners and together with communities of return in line with the priorities highlighted in the RCPCA;
• To provide technical assistance to the CAR authorities in implementing a national plan for the integration of eligible demobilised members of armed groups into the security and defence forces, in line with the broader SSR process, the need to put in place professional, ethnically representative and regionally balanced national security and defence, and to provide technical advice to the CAR authorities in accelerating the implementation of the interim security arrangements provided for in the APPR, following vetting, disarmament, demobilisation and training;
• To coordinate the support provided by multilateral and bilateral partners, including the World Bank and the Peacebuilding Commission, to the efforts of the CAR authorities on DDRR programs to reintegrate eligible and vetted members of the armed groups into peaceful civilian life and to help ensure that these efforts will lead to sustainable socioeconomic reintegration;

Support for national and international justice, the fight against impunity, and the rule of law

• To help reinforce the independence of the judiciary, build the capacities, and enhance the effectiveness of the national judicial system as well as the effectiveness and the accountability of the penitentiary system including through the provision of technical assistance to the CAR authorities to identify, investigate and prosecute those responsible for crimes involving violat ions of internatio n a l humanitarian law and of violations and abuses of human rights committed throughout the CAR;
• To help build the capacities of the national human rights institution coordinating with the Independent Expert on human rights in the CAR as appropriate;

Urgent temporary measures:

• To urgently and actively adopt, within the limits of its capacities and areas of deployment, at the formal request of the CAR authorities and in areas where national security forces are not present or operational, urgent temporary measures on an exceptional basis, without creating a precedent and without prejudice to the agreed principles of peacekeeping operations, which are limited in scope, time-bound and consistent with the objectives set out in paragraphs 34 and 35 (f), to arrest and detain in order to maintain basic law and order and fight impunity and to pay particu l a r attention in this regard to those engaging in or providing support for acts that undermine the peace, stability or security of the CAR, including those violating the ceasefire or the APPR;

Special Criminal Court (SCC):

• To provide technical assistance, in partnership with other internation a l partners and the UNCT, and capacity building for the CAR authorities, to facilitate the operationalisation and the functioning of the SCC, pending renewal of its mandate, in particular in the areas of investigations, arrests, detention, criminal and forensic analysis, evidence collection and storage, recruitment and selection of personnel, court management, prosecution strategy and case development and the establishment of a legal aid system, as appropriate, as well as to provide security for magistrates, including at the premises and proceedings of the SCC, and take measures for the protection of victims and witnesses, in line with the CAR’s internatio n a l humanitarian law and international human rights obligations;
• To assist in the coordination and mobilisation of increased bilateral and multilateral support to the functioning of the SCC;

Rule of law:

• To provide support and to coordinate international assistance to build the capacities and enhance the effectiveness of the criminal justice system, within the framework of the United Nations global focal point on rule of law, as well as the effectiveness and the accountability of police and penitentiary system with the support of the UNCT;
• Without prejudice to the primary responsibility of the CAR authorities, to support the restoration and maintenance of public safety and the rule of law, including through apprehending and handing over to the CAR authorities, consistent with international law, those in the country responsible for crimes involving serious human rights violations and abuses and serious violations of international humanitarian law, including sexual violence in conflict, so that they can be brought to justice, and through cooperation with states of the region as well as the ICC in cases of crimes falling within its jurisdiction following the decision made by the Prosecutor of the ICC on 24 September 2014 to open, following the request of national authorities, an investigation into alleged crimes committed since 2012;

Additional tasks

• Further authorises MINUSCA to carry out the following additional tasks: (a) To assist the Committee established pursuant to paragraph 57 of resoluti on 2127 (2013) and the Panel of Experts established by the same resolution;
• To monitor the implementation of the measures renewed and modified by paragraph 1 of resolution 2648 (2022), in cooperation with the Panel of Experts established pursuant to resolution 2127 (2013), including by inspecting, as it deems necessary and when appropriate without notice, all arms and related materiel regardless of location, and advise the CAR authorities on efforts to keep armed groups from exploiting natural resources;
• To support the Panel of Experts established pursuant to resolution 2127 (2013) in collecting information about acts of incitement to violence, in particular on an ethnic or religious basis, that undermine the peace, stability or security of the CAR in accordance with paragraph 32 (g) of resolution 2399 (2018) extended by paragraph 6 of resolution 2648 (2022);
• To ensure, with all relevant United Nations bodies, unhindered access and safety for the Panel of Experts established pursuant to resolution 2127 (2013), in particular to persons, documents and sites within their control in order for the Panel to execute its mandate;
• To provide transport for relevant CAR authorities as appropriate and on a case by case basis and when the situation allows, as a means to promote and support the extension of the State authority over the entire territory;