RTL Today – UN lifts territorial arms embargo on C.Africa

The UN Security Council on Tuesday lifted a territorial arms embargo on the Central African Republic, imposed in 2013 after a civil war broke out but now called “unjust” by the country’s foreign minister.

The unanimously adopted resolution removes sanctions that were already weakened last year when Security Council members decided to exempt government troops from the embargo.

While the territorial embargo was lifted, a separate ban on sales to “armed groups” operating in the country was also imposed on Tuesday, until the end of July 2025. This measure was already in effect.

“This diplomatic victory is a first step in restoring the dignity of the Central African Republic and its people. It makes Central African diplomacy an example of perseverance and determination in the quest for a fairer world,” said Sylvie Baipo-Temon, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Central African Republic.

“It will have taken months, years to end a sanction that, as I have always said here, may have seemed fair in 2013 but has now become unjust,” Baipo-Temon added.

The former French colony has been ravaged by civil war since a Muslim-dominated armed coalition called Seleka ousted former President Francois Bozize in 2013.

The French intervention and deployment of UN peacekeepers paved the way for elections in 2016, which President Faustin-Archange Touadera won. Two years later, he brought in fighters from the Russian Wagner mercenary group to train his forces.

The conflict has eased since 2018, but the country still faces violence by rebel groups or violence over resources such as gold and diamonds.

Russian UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said after the Security Council vote that “it might be appropriate to raise the issue of lifting the arms embargo on illegal armed groups operating in the Central African Republic.”

“The problem of illegal armed groups can only be solved through government efforts to stabilize and ensure security within the country’s borders, in cooperation with neighboring countries,” Nebenzia added.