- H.E Ms. Aglaia Balta, Permanent Representative of Greece to the United Nations, President of the Security Council,
- Distinguished Members of the Council,
- H.E. Mr. Marius Nzessioue, Permanent Representative of the Central African Republic to the United Nations,
Madam President,
- I would like to congratulate Greece on assuming the presidency of the Security Council for the month of October.
I am once more honoured to present the Secretary-General’s latest report on the situation in the Central African Republic. At the outset, I am pleased to share with this Council that the hostages that were held captive by the AAKG since the 28 December 2025 attack in Bambouti, including the Sub-Prefect of Bambouti, were successfully released yesterday -Monday, 19 October- in an operation led and executed by MINUSCA to secure the area of release, following several months of intense mediation by local leaders and MINUSCA.
Madam President, Distinguished Members of the Council,
- Since my last briefing, the country has continued to make progress in consolidating political, peace and security gains, even though the security situation in the northeast and southeast regions and specific localities of the northwest remains a source of concern, mostly in border areas, around mining sites and along transhumance corridors.
Today, I will focus my briefing on three issues: first, the consolidation of political, peace and security gains, and progress made towards the full implementation of the political agreement; second, the security situation, particularly in the northeast and southeast; and third, MINUSCA’s mandate renewal and the conditions required for a gradual and sustainable transition. Madam President,
Distinguished Members of the Council,
- The peace accord has continued to deliver tangible results. Since July 2025, more than 1,900 combatants have been disarmed and demobilized with MINUSCA’s logistical, security and technical support. It is now essential that the Government consolidate these gains, with MINUSCA support to expedite the completion of the disarmament and demobilization process as well as the selfdissolution of armed groups. The sustainability of these efforts will require the acceleration of the socio-economic reintegration process with the coordinated support of Central African Republic partners.
The 2025 – 2026 electoral cycle is nearing completion, with national institutions in place and elected local authorities progressively assuming their functions across the country. By 1 October, 127 out of 177 municipalities had completed the installation of their elected officials. This represents an important step towards decentralized governance and local administration, although the newly elected local authorities urgently need capacity building form development partners including the Peacebuilding Fund. This to enable them to deliver on their new mandates since most do not have any prior experience in local administration. I encourage national authorities, the Government and the National Electoral Authority to urgently address the financial constraints preventing the holding of the residual elections to successfully complete the 2025/2026 electoral cycle.
Madam President, Distinguished Members of the Council,
- Notwithstanding these positive developments, the security situation in the northeast remains a cause of serious concern. On 30 June, elements from different armed groups attacked the locality of Am-Dafock, located at the border with Sudan, killing civilians and members of the national defence and security forces, displacing more than 17,000 civilians, who sought refuge at the small MINUSCA temporary operating base. The attack also targeted MINUSCA’s peacekeepers, injuring six (6) of our peacekeepers.
Moreover, the security situation along the CAR-Chad-Sudan triborder area remains tense amidst ongoing military operations conducted by national defense forces, in response to persistent threats of imminent cross-border attacks by armed groups against several localities in Vakaga prefecture. While the recent attacks and armed confrontations in specific areas in the northeast have not succeeded in undermining the Central African State authority, they have exposed three realities: i) first, that recent gains in the extension of State presence are fragile and require consolidation; ii) second, without MINUSCA’s rapid and multifaceted responses to protect the population and local authorities in Am-Dafock, to support the rapid deployment of national defence forces and to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the entire population, the attacks would have resulted in significantly more fatalities and State authority could certainly not have been reestablished after only 5 days of control by the armed group who retreated across Central African border into
Sudan; iii) third, this attack illustrated that – while Central African Republic is on a positive trajectory – the volatile security situation in the broader subregion continue to pose serious threats to the stability of the Central African Republic.
- As these attacks occurred during the rainy season, MINUSCA’s aviation capability was the only means of access to Am-Dafok. The Force Commander and I had to make the difficult decision to move troops and air assets from other priority locations in the northeast region to respond to the pressures in the Vakaga and enable MINUSCA to continue implementing its mandate in a challenging security environment. This allowed MINUSCA to strengthen its presence and maintain a proactive and robust posture to protect civilians and activate our contingency plan to protect humanitarian actors and United Nations personnel in the Fertit region. In this regard, I plead with the Council, as it prepares to renew MINUSCA’s mandate, to maintain MINUSCA with adequate Force levels and capabilities during the coming critical consolidation phase.
In the southeast, violence involving the AAKG militia and reemergence of attacks and abductions attributed to suspected Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) continued to threaten civilians. Particularly concerning are the abductions of children by suspected LRA elements. In response, local authorities and community leaders, in collaboration with the Mission, have enhanced engagements with local communities which contributed to improving alerts and early warning mechanisms for protection of civilians.
Madam President,
- MINUSCA has continued to implement its reconfiguration towards a more robust and agile posture, concentrating resources in higher-risk areas, while fostering greater national ownership in more stable areas. Earlier this month, the Force Commander Police Commissioner and myself conducted field visits in CAR’s northwest region of Yade, and southeast region of Haut-Oubangui to assess the initial impact of MINUSCA’s reconfiguration of its operational footprint.
- Our very preliminary assessment is that peace and security gains have not reversed, and no significant security deterioration had been observed in localities where MINUSCA bases were closed. This seems to validate our planning assessment of areas of the country that are relatively stable and the effectiveness of our mitigating measures. These mitigating measures include more frequent longrange patrols in support of national armed and security forces in areas where responsibility for protection of civilians and security tasks have been handed over to our national counterparts.
The sustainability of security gains depends on continued investment in national security institutions, particularly the national armed forces. As MINUSCA progressively transfers its security responsibilities, professional, effective and accountable national defence forces and security institutions will be essential to ensure that security gains are sustained. I therefore encourage the Government and its partners to continue prioritizing the operational, logistical, and institutional capacities needed to sustain effective national defense forces throughout the country.
Madam President, Distinguished Members of the Council,
- On August 10, the Prime Minister and Head of Government, Mr. Félix Moloua, and myself jointly chaired a high-level meeting on the joint transition planning which highlighted the progress already made by MINUSCA regarding the transfer of selected tasks to national authorities as well as the capacities required for the transfer of additional tasks. Our joint approach is clear: the transition should be nationally owned, responsible and informed by the realities on the ground to preserve the still fragile peace, security and stability gains.
The next mandate period should therefore focus on consolidating progress in security and stabilization to create necessary conditions for a gradual and responsible transition, as the Central African Government and MINUSCA are jointly pursuing transition planning.
Madam President, Distinguished Members of the Council,
16. I wish to conclude by expressing my profound gratitude to the Council for its unwavering support to MINUSCA and myself since I assumed the responsibilities of SRSG and Head of Mission four and half years ago. It has been an honour and privilege to serve the Central African Republic and the Council. My profound gratitude extends to the troop- and police-contributing countries, as well as the civilian personnel of MINUSCA for their dedication and resilience. There can’t be effective peacekeeping operations without solid peacekeepers. I also thank the United Nations country team and the regional, bilateral and multilateral partners for their continued support to peace, security and stability in the Central African Republic.
I thank you for your attention.
