Central African Republic
UN: Central African Republic needs reforms

afrol News, 12 July - Welcoming the efforts by the Central African Republic government to fight corruption and establish good governance, members of the UN Security Council yesterday stressed the "importance of implementing the necessary reforms." Additionally, the Council made a rare call for rapid World Bank backing.

The Security Council also "encouraged the government to continue along this path and to take the national dialogue further forward," the current President of the Council, Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock of the UK, said in a press statement following a private meeting.

In a rare move, the Council members also decided to ask the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the international financial institutions – the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the African Development Bank – to show consideration for the special circumstances in the country. "I will be preparing a letter as President to those institutions to make that point," Ambassador Greenstock said.

The Security Council almost never interferes in the work of other UN agencies, especially not that of its financial institutions. The rare move means that the Council finally has acknowledged that the extreme social and economic problems in the Central African Republic are directly connected to the continuing political crisis. 

This had also been an emerging conclusion in the regular reports UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan files on the Central African Republic. In his June report, Annan warned that progress in the Central African Republic "could falter without support" from outside.

At the same time, the Secretary-General pointed out that the country's difficult economic and financial situation was liable to shatter the "social truce" set to expire on 22 July. At that point, he warned, "the workers are not excluding the possibility of resuming social protests, which would threaten peace and stability." He stressed that the government must be able to ensure the regular payment of salaries, as agreed under the terms of the joint communiqué signed with the trade unions. 

- To this end, the Central African Republic should have access to external financial assistance, which has been lacking since January 2001, the Secretary-General wrote. "It is for that reason that I once again invite the authorities of IMF and the World Bank to take into account the special circumstances of this country and rapidly conclude a cooperation programme." He is finally backed by the Security Council.

Sources: Based on UN sources and afrol archives

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