Central African Republic welcomes lifting of UN arms embargo

The UN Security Council lifted the arms embargo imposed on the Central African Republic since 2013 on July 30, 2024. A decision hailed by Bangui as a “diplomatic victory” that puts an end to a “terrible injustice”.

On 30 July 2024, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution lifting the arms embargo imposed on the Central African Republic (CAR) since 2013. The embargo, which was introduced following the outbreak of the civil war and amended in 2023, still imposed reporting requirements on weapons intended for the army. The decision to lift this restriction was welcomed with great satisfaction by the Central African authorities, who consider it a major diplomatic victory.

Sylvie Baipo Temon, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the CAR, expressed her “pride and satisfaction” in the face of this lifting of the embargo. She stressed that this decision is the result of long work and a recurring demand by the Central African authorities to recover a “right essential to their sovereignty”. “It is a happy result, the fruit of long-term work”, she said.

Since 2022, the Central African authorities only had to report arms purchases to the UN monitoring committee. This reporting obligation was seen as an obstacle by Bangui, which considered that it favored armed groups, which were increasingly better equipped.

Enrica Picco, Central Africa director of the International Crisis Group, stressed that this total lifting of the embargo does not fundamentally change the situation on the ground for Bangui, which could already buy the weapons it wanted, although subject to a declaration regime. “It is more of a symbolic victory for President Faustin-Archange Touadéra”she said. This decision is facilitated by the warming of relations between Paris and Bangui and by the absence of a veto from the five permanent members of the Security Council.