FAUSTIN ARCHANGE TOUADERA, President of the Central African Republic, said that the entire world “followed with great dismay” in recent days, the arrival of thousands of African migrants to the island of Lampedusa in Italy.  “These young people represent the present and the future of our continent of Africa,” he added.  This escalation of the migrant crisis is one of the terrifying consequences of the looting of the natural resources owned by the countries made poor by slavery, colonialism, Western imperialism, terrorism and internal armed conflict, he said.  Turning to Sudan, he said an internal armed conflict erupted in April — at a time when the country was well on the way to normalization.  The Central African Republic has already hosted 15,000 Chadian and Sudanese refugees.  He urged the international community to take into account the impact of this crisis and the effect it is having on regional geopolitics.

It is also deeply concerning that the Russian-Ukrainian conflict continues to play out on the ground with no prospects for a peaceful settlement, he continued.  The increase in the number of hotbeds of tension throughout the world raises questions about the effectiveness of certain global mechanisms.  The UN’s primary mission is to guarantee international peace and security.  “These question marks are why we forcefully reaffirm the common African position regarding Security Council reform,” he said.  That position seeks to increase the number of permanent and non-permanent members on the Council and for a permanent seat to be granted to Africa, “which is the only right and just thing to do”.  For its part, the Central African Republic is pondering how it can expedite the fulfilment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at a time when certain States wield political, economic and military might and exercise coercive diplomacy.

In July, the people of the Central African Republic learned to their great distress of the renewal of an arms embargo which was brought about by trumped up reports, he said.  This “cynical decision” betrays the unspoken intention of the members of the Council.  Arms embargoes and diamond embargoes happen in parallel with the suspension of budgetary and economic support.  “Both of these factors are real obstacles for my country’s achievement of the realization of the 2030 Agenda,” he said, also adding:  “Here we repudiate this denial of our right to self-determination and permanent sovereignty over our wealth and natural resources.”  These trumped-up mechanisms are a “thinly veiled” desire to allow insecurity to reign and to continue a stranglehold over that country’s natural resources for the benefit of foreign Powers.

Turning to climate change, he urged wealthy countries to live up to their commitments.  He decried the disinformation and smear campaigns waged by certain Western media against the Central African Republic.  On 30 July, his country adopted a new Constitution.  And with that vote, the people of the Central African Republic reaffirmed their commitment to self-determination, the stability of their institutions, to peace, to security, to national unity and to development.  “I wish to recall that beyond the Constitution, the national policy of decentralization is the expression of a deeply harboured will of the Central African Republic,” he continued.  It is also an essential component of the peace agreement and of the Luanda Joint Road Map. Local elections are scheduled to take place in October 2024.  “For us, this is a fundamental step in our journey towards ensuring local ownership of democracy, the promotion of participatory governance and local development,” he added.