Security Gains in Central African Republic Must Translate to Political, Economic Success, Speakers Tell Security Council amid Calls to Avoid Further Mission Cuts

Briefed on political and security progress in the Central African Republic, where elections are being conducted and State authority extended, the Security Council today considered the future of United Nations engagement with the country amid warnings that financial considerations should not imperil these gains.

The mandate of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) will expire on 15 November. As the Council considers its future, it recently heard from the Mission's Force Commander that funding shortfalls are affecting ground operations. Nevertheless, MINUSCA continues to provide electoral and security support, including for both the successful December 2025 elections, as well as the most recent round of voting.

"The Central African Republic has made remarkable and tangible progress towards lasting peace and security," said Valentine Rugwabiza, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Central African Republic and Head of MINUSCA. She urged: "These gains must now be preserved and consolidated."

Historic Elections Point to More Stable Future

Detailing them, she first spotlighted successful legislative, regional and municipal elections on 26 April - "including in the few areas where voting could not take place in December 2025". She pointed out that, "in a country where elections have too often been associated with tensions and cycles of violence, this is a clear indication of institutional stability". The inauguration of President Faustin-Archange Touadéra on 31 March, installation of a new legislature on 4 May and formation of a new Government on 21 May "underscore this progress", she said.

The security situation is "generally improved", but remains fragile, she said, primarily in border areas. The impact of the conflict in Sudan is particularly acute in the north-east Vakaga Prefecture and attacks by armed groups continue to be a source of insecurity in the Haut-Mbomou and Mbomou Prefectures. While MINUSCA is working with the Government to protect civilians and consolidate the expansion of State authority, "the sustainability of security gains requires significant investment", she said.

In this context, she said the Mission has worked to "consolidate and rationalize its operational footprint". Between January and June, the Mission has closed 21 bases located in stabilized areas, as well as three field offices and one Bangui compound. It has also handed over several strategic security positions to national counterparts. While this has generated cost savings, she stressed that the reconfiguration "hinges on enablers" - particularly aviation capacity - given limited national infrastructure and an eight-month rainy season.

Briefing the Council on his recent visit to Bangui, Omar Hilale (Morocco), Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission, spotlighted the "vital" support provided by the Mission's logistical apparatus - "including its air assets" - to national and international operations given the limited road networks in the Central African Republic. He conveyed a warning from MINUSCA's leadership that "further reductions, if implemented over a compressed timeframe, could jeopardize the preservation of recent gains".

MINUSCA 'Indispensable' to Progress, 'Peace Dividend' for Communities

He recalled that President Touadéra told him that the Mission is "highly indispensable". While the Central African Republic is entering a "particularly promising phase", he said gains remain vulnerable to border insecurity, regional spillovers, transhumance tensions, reintegration challenges and the need to reform the security sector and further extend State authority. The "central challenge" now, he stressed, "is to build upon recent progress and render it durable".

The Commission's delegation also visited the city of Bouar, Mr. Hilale said, where projects supported by the Peacebuilding Fund help refugees, returnees and youth through mediation, civil documentation, housing-dispute resolution and community reintegration. Looking ahead, he called for sustained financing for reintegration, transitional justice and development, as well as the timely fulfilment of pledges made in Casablanca in September 2025 to support the Central African Republic's national development plan.

"As the Central African Republic enters a new phase of consolidation, it is important that the progress achieved in recent years be preserved and further strengthened," said the representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, also speaking for Liberia and Somalia.

While welcoming progress on the political track, he echoed the briefers' concerns over lingering security fragility in some areas. And while efforts towards State-building have advanced - particularly through the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration process - he underlined the need for inclusive politics, civic space and peace dividends for communities.

Peacebuilding, said Panama's representative, "ultimately will depend upon the capacity to translate political and security gains into tangible benefits for the population". Urging the international community to "take a long-term view", China's representative called for investment in the country's agriculture, mineral and forest sectors to strengthen endogenous drivers for economic growth. Creating jobs and improving livelihoods can "eliminate the breeding grounds of violence" and lay a solid foundation for lasting peace and stability.

Bahrain's representative similarly spotlighted the importance of advancing economic development and prosperity so that young people have safe and viable alternatives to joining armed groups.

Eyes on Contributions of Newly Elected Women in Legislature

"Results will be more sustainable if they systematically include the perspectives, needs and capacities of women," added the representative of Colombia, Council President for June, as she spoke in her national capacity to affirm the importance of the women, peace and security agenda. Greece's representative, in that vein, looked forward to the contributions of newly elected women officials and representatives.

"Turning to the future, democracy requires constant exercise," observed the representative of Latvia, encouraging the new Government to strengthen institutions, promote good governance and ensure inclusive decision-making. As for MINUSCA, he joined many others in stating that the Mission "remains indispensable". In that vein, the representative of the United Kingdom spotlighted the Mission's vital role in protecting civilians and supporting peace, security and lasting stability.

"What has been achieved in the Central African Republic in front of our eyes demonstrates that [peacekeeping] operations are effective, and in some respects, irreplaceable instruments," stressed the representative of France. Any gradual transfer of peacekeeping responsibilities to national authorities must be carried out in coordination with the Government, based both on progress in consolidating gains and developments on the ground.

"It is necessary, first of all, to take into account priorities of the Central Africans themselves and not to seek to artificially accelerate developments," added the representative of the Russian Federation. Joining others in pointing to MINUSCA's civilian-protection role amidst spillover from the war in Sudan and the violence in south-eastern prefectures, Denmark's representative stressed that these realities - rather than political timelines - "must weigh heavily in any transition-planning".

She also urged planning next steps "at a pace that reflects the realities on the ground, not the pressures of the calendar". As such, "any adaption of the Mission's footprint must therefore avoid creating security vacuums and preserve the hard-won gains achieved over the years", stated Pakistan's representative. Despite the liquidity crisis, "Council mandates must be matched with adequate, predictable and sustainable resources and operational enablers," he argued.

"But, the Mission cannot remain in [the Central African Republic] forever," said the representative of the United States, while noting its important role in supporting national authorities, advancing recent gains and providing a bulwark against lingering insecurity. In the long term, peace in the Central African Republic will depend on national ownership and require dedicated financial investment from the authorities to assume MINUSCA's responsibilities.

Priority on Reintegration, Youth Employment, Central African Republic Insists

For his part, the representative of the Central African Republic said that his country is now faced with a "classic post-conflict issue"; namely, "how to transform security gains into institutional, economic and social gains that are sufficiently solid to become irreversible". He said that, today, "the objective is no longer simply to silence the guns - it is to prevent their reappearance". To that end, reintegration programmes, as well as efforts to reduce community violence, facilitate youth employment and promote local development, "must now be approached as full-fledged security investments", he urged.

Noting the situation in Sudan - "over which the national authorities have only limited influence" - he called for "broader reflection on how peace operations must respond to contemporary cross-border crises". Armed groups, trafficking, forced displacement and the effects of regional conflicts ignore territorial limits, and this must be considered when discussing the future of MINUSCA. While acknowledging that "a mission that does not adapt inevitably loses its relevance", he warned that "adaptation must not be confused with weakening".

Emphasizing the "fundamental difference" between reductions made based on political or security developments and those motivated primarily by budgetary constraints, he pointed out that "premature disengagement can sometimes cost more than prolonged, but well-calibrated, support". He invited Council members to visit his country ahead of negotiations on MINUSCA's mandate renewal so they can directly observe both the progress achieved and the challenges remaining.

For now, he underscored that MINUSCA's continued support remains "indispensable".