CAR : UN Extends Arms Embargo

The UN Security Council has extended the arms embargo against the Central African Republic (CAR), for a year (till July 31, 2022) saying the government hasn’t met U.N. benchmarks including ensuring the protection and control of all weapons. The decision was taken on Thursday, July 29, 2021 despite an appeal from the country’s President Faustin Touadera and massive Chinese influence in favour of the lifting. The council adopted the resolution, which also extends targeted sanctions on individuals and companies (travel bans and asset freezes), by a vote of 14-0 with China abstaining. The Council also extended the mandate of the panel of experts monitoring implementation of all sanctions until Aug. 31, 2022. 
France’s U.N. Ambassador, Nicolas De Riviere, whose country sponsored the resolution, told reporters after the vote that it is “particularly important in the deteriorating context of the Central African Republic, with a very worrying amount of violence and violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.” But China’s deputy U.N. ambassador Dai Bing strongly disagreed, saying that since December’s successful elections, “the security situation in the country continues to improve.”
When the council imposed the arms embargo on CAR in December 2013, he said, the intention was to help restore order. But “in reality, the arms embargo has become an obstacle that hampers...