CAR Peac Accord: Partners Push For Rapid Implementation

The international community is concerned about ensuring that lasting peace returns to the Central African Republic, CAR. It is for this reason that a United Nations, African Union and European Union mission is in the country on a four-day visit to help hasten up the implementation of the February 5, 2019 Khartoum Political, Peace and Reconciliation Accord, the British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC reported. The team arrived in the capital, Bangui on April 14, 2019 to monitor the deal signed by the government and 14 armed groups that control 80 per cent of the territory.

The delegation is made up of Smail Chergui, African Union Commissioner for Peace and Security, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the UN Deputy Secretary General in charge of Peacekeeping and Koen Vervaeke, EU Africa Director. According to Chergui, signatories must keep the commitments they made at the signing of the accord. “Time has come to silence weapons, and this applies to everyone,” he said. Jean-Pierre Lacroix spoke of the need to mobilise all stakeholders to ensure lasting peace. “There is a window of opportunity that should not be allowed to close because it might not reopen soon,” Lacroix underscored.

Meanwhile, all CAR partners will gather in Bangui on April 17, 2019 for the second meeting of the International Support Group for the country. The objective is to consolidate the implementation of the peace deal, the BBC said. “Jean-Pierre Lacroix and I - in collaboration with the government – have decided to come back to Bangui to fol...