UN Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA): Adoption of Presidential Statement
This afternoon (1 November), the Security Council is set to adopt a presidential statement on the UN Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA) that expresses support for the regional office’s work. The draft text was initiated by Mozambique and the UK, the co-penholders on the file.
Background
The last time that the Council adopted a presidential statement on UNOCA was on 12 September 2019 (S/PRST/2019/10). Since then, the Council had not been able to agree on a presidential statement on UNOCA, apparently because of differences on several issues, including references to climate change.
In the context of UNOCA’s mandate renewal in August 2021, Council members negotiated a draft presidential statement but could not achieve consensus on the text. (UNOCA’s mandate was established and is renewed through an exchange of letters between the Secretary-General and the Security Council, rather than through the adoption of a resolution). There had been several attempts to revive discussion on the draft presidential statement over the past three years. The latest effort started in September following UNOCA’s mandate renewal in August for three years, until 31 August 2027. This process is usually a routine matter, but it seems that China and Russia broke silence over the Secretary-General’s draft letter on the UNOCA mandate renewal, which contained strong human rights and gender language. Eventually, Council members reverted to the Secretary-General’s 3 August 2021 letter to achieve the necessary consensus on the mandate renewal.
Negotiations on the Draft Presidential Statement
The co-penholders circulated the zero draft to Council members in early September. The negotiations were held through two in-person meetings, followed by email exchanges and bilateral consultations with some Council members over the past two months. The draft text went through several iterations, and the co-penholders placed it under silence procedure on 22 October. However, Russia broke silence over several issues. It seems that Mozambique was instrumental in securing Russia’s agreement on the text by accommodating its edits and comments. Subsequently, the co-penholders placed a revised version under a brief silence procedure until Wednesday evening (30 October), which it passed.
Nonetheless, some elected members appear to be disappointed with how the negotiations proceeded, as the discussions apparently took place behind the scenes among the Council’s permanent members following the in-person meetings. The co-penholders maintained that they made every effort to address the issues raised during the negotiations, but that they had to make additional efforts to bring Russia on board and achieve the necessary compromises on the text.
Although the negotiations were apparently contentious, some Council members remained optimistic that consensus could be achieved. Climate-related language proved divisive, as it has been for the past three years. Like-minded members advocated for retaining previous language from the 2018 presidential statement, which they felt effectively emphasised the link between climate change and security. In particular, some members were keen to retain language on farmer-herder clashes exacerbated by climate-driven changes in transhumance patterns, a particularly relevant issue in the Central African Republic (CAR). Other members sought to soften this language, however. Russia apparently proposed using agreed language from the recent presidential statement on the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), which was adopted in May. Negotiations on that text also stalled for more than two years over language related to climate, peace and security. Although some members argued that the climate-security context in Central Africa differs from West Africa and the Sahel, they accepted this proposal as a compromise, considering it a positive outcome. The agreed presidential statement recognises “the adverse effects of climate change, ecological changes and natural disasters, including through floods, drought, desertification and land degradation, as well as their exacerbating effects on food security and on other humanitarian, social and economic challenges”, while noting that these factors “impact the security and stability of the Central Africa sub-region”. In an apparent compromise, the text does not refer to farmer-herder clashes exacerbated by climate-driven changes in transhumance patterns.
Another contentious issue was how to reference unconstitutional changes of government in the region. It seems that Russia argued during the negotiations that these events may not always lead to instability. The draft text initially referenced the Kigali Declaration on the prevention and fight against unconstitutional changes in Central Africa, which was adopted during a 20-24 November 2023 meeting of the UN Permanent Advisory Committee on Security Issues in Central Africa (UNSAC) in Kigali. However, Russia expressed reservations about mentioning the declaration, which contains references to continental and regional instruments which provide for the imposition of sanctions and other punitive measures in cases of unconstitutional changes of government. The co-penholders agreed to remove the reference to the declaration from the final text in order to reach compromise.
It seems that there was no consensus on language about hate speech, disinformation, and misinformation in the region. The initial draft text encouraged UNOCA to work with other UN entities to address these issues, suggesting measures such as effective strategic communications and the development of national action plans with implementation strategies. However, Russia apparently opposed the entire paragraph, and it was ultimately removed from the final text in an apparent compromise.
Additionally, it seems that there was an attempt to soften language pertaining to women, peace and security (WPS) during the negotiations. However, the final agreed text retains language from the zero draft underscoring “the importance of the full, equal, meaningful and safe participation of women in decision-making at all levels, including with a view to increasing the number and participation of women in senior government positions and elected office more broadly, in accordance with their respective constitutions and laws, including gender quotas where applicable, and national, regional and global commitments, and consistent with resolution 1325 (2000) and subsequent resolutions of Women Peace and Security”.
A reference to mercenaries was deleted from the final agreed text. It was apparently difficult to retain it considering that the issue is not referenced in the tasks of UNOCA’s mandate. Mercenary activity in Central Africa, including the role of Africa Corps (formerly the Wagner Group), a Russian private security firm under the control of the Russian Ministry of Defense, is a recurring issue raised in Security Council discussions.
A reference to “maritime insecurity” was also deleted because it was not agreed language, but “armed robbery at sea” was retained in the final text. This challenge in the Gulf of Guinea is a topic of discussion in the Council, particularly in relation to the work of UNOCA. It is also regularly covered in the Secretary-General’s biannual report on UNOCA.
As in past negotiations on Council products, there was apparently disagreement regarding language on the “UN guiding principles” of humanitarian assistance. Russia usually seeks to include this formulation, which is viewed as giving greater weight to state sovereignty and the consent of the country concerned. Other Council members prefer references to the delivery of humanitarian assistance in accordance with the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence. It appears that Council members reached a compromise by using agreed language from previous resolutions, particularly resolution 2709 of 15 November 2023, which renewed the mandate of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA). The agreed text calls for unhindered access for the delivery of humanitarian assistance “in a manner consistent with the UN guiding principles of humanitarian emergency assistance and humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence”.
