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The Security Council of the United Nations has extended by one year an arms embargo against the Central African Republic. The vote took place on Thursday in New York among the 15 council members, with 14 votes in favour and an abstention by China.
Nicolas de Riviere, the French ambassador to the UN said the move was important as the situation in CAR was “deteriorating”.
However, the Russian representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya noted the UN’s efforts to “ease the burden of sanctions”, including on mortars.
“The state has every reason to demand a complete lifting of the embargo, as non-state actors can smuggle weapons”, said the representative.
China abstained in the vote because it believes the measures should be removed. Its deputy ambassador to the UN, Dai Bing, said the embargo had increasingly hampered “CAR government’s efforts to strengthen its security capabilities”.
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The Security Council imposed the arms embargo against the country in December 2013 when mainly Muslim Selaka rebels ousted then President Francois Bozize, prompting reprisals from mostly Christian militias.
