S/PV.6172
6172nd meeting
Tuesday, 28 July 2009, 10 a.m.
New York
The situation in Chad, the Central African Republic and the subregion
Mr. Dabbashi (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) (spoke in Arabic): I would like to thank Mr. Victor Da Silva Angelo, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and head of the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT), for his introduction of the report of the Secretary-General (S/2009/359).
The security situation in MINURCAT’s area of operation continues to deteriorate as a result of banditry and rebel activity. Unfortunately, that has direct repercussions on the humanitarian situation in eastern Chad and in the North-East of the Central African Republic. Many refugees and internally displaced persons are still in great need of humanitarian assistance. Also disturbing are the results of the activities of armed groups and bandits during the period under consideration. They have caused significant loss of human life and have endangered the lives of humanitarian personnel and restricted their movement, resulting in a negative impact on the delivery of humanitarian assistance to people in need.
We welcome the positive developments in the implementation of the 13 August 2007 agreement between the Government of Chad and the political opposition. In particular, we welcome the consensus reached on the legislative framework for the elections and modalities for the establishment of the National Independent Electoral Commission. We are also pleased to note that the census is moving ahead, which will ultimately make it possible to determine the electoral districts and to hold elections.
The leader of our revolution and the President of the African Union, Colonel Muammar Al-Qadhafi, has reiterated his concern about re-establishing peace in eastern Chad, the Central African Republic and Darfur. Libya believes that it is possible to end conflict through comprehensive political solutions in the region, thereby strengthening international peace and security. We would therefore like to see rebel groups in Chad sit down with the Government in order to implement the Sirte agreement of October 2007. Libya would also like to see all Chadian opposition groups join in a national reconciliation effort. In that regard, we welcome the agreement signed in Tripoli between the Chadian Government and three opposition groups.
Libya also continues to support the political process in the Central African Republic to safeguard the achievements of the political talks held in December 2008. In that connection, we refer to the latest positive results in Libya’s mediation efforts, which led to the signing of an agreement between the Government of the Central African Republic and armed groups headed by Mr. Abdoulaye Miskine that brought this group back into the political process.
We would also like to reiterate the importance of strengthening peace efforts in the Central African Republic. We welcome the efforts made by the Government, local stakeholders, the Peacebuilding Commission and international and regional actors. We hope that the international community will extend its support to peace and development projects as they are an important factor in consolidating stability and peace.
Libya is aware of the direct impact of the relationship between the Governments of Chad and the Sudan on the security and humanitarian situation in eastern Chad and Darfur. We therefore welcome the mediation efforts of the Government of Qatar and its cooperation with the leader of our revolution and the President of the African Union, Colonel Muammar Al‑Qadhafi, to ensure that the agreements signed between the parties are implemented in order to ultimately normalize relations between the countries.
With regard to MINURCAT’s deployment to eastern Chad and the north-eastern part of the Central African Republic, we are pleased to note the efforts of Mr. Angelo and all the Mission’s personnel, who are working in such dangerous circumstances. We express our concern over the fact that not all of the Mission’s staff have been deployed. We hope that that will be done quickly, so as to resolve problems regarding the lack of materiel and personnel and to equip the Mission to effectively carry out its mandate.
We hope that MINURCAT will also be deployed to areas of tension in the north-eastern part of the Central African Republic. In that regard, we welcome the positive role played by the Détachement intégré de sécurité (DIS) in improving security in refugee camps and main towns in eastern Chad despite the difficult circumstances. Those conditions are difficult both due to the lack of security and want of equipment. We hope that DIS will be strengthened and its deployment accelerated.
We welcome the workplan annexed to the report of the Secretary-General, entitled “Benchmarks, indicators of progress and key activities: 2009-2011”. We appreciate the need for and importance of developing such benchmarks at all levels — military, humanitarian and political. Having said that, however, we do not support the imposition of a time frame, even if one should be established, because timing should be based on practical forecasts. Otherwise, that would send an erroneous message to the various political parties, refugees and the internally displaced.
We do need to be realistic. Progress may be achieved soon or delayed for some reason, and that might make some people particularly optimistic and others particularly pessimistic. That is why we believe that it would be wiser to confine ourselves to objective benchmarks and indicators of progress that are not associated with a timetable.
In other words, we should ensure that the benchmarks envisaged are associated with genuinely realistic indicators of progress. All of that will depend on the political resolve of all parties concerned and the provision of assistance by the international community to the peace process and the ongoing mediation efforts. It should not be subject to time factors, since it is plain that they have not been very effective in many long-standing conflicts.
