(ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA – Friday, January 31, 2014)The deteriorating security, humanitarian, and human rights situation in the Central African Republic (CAR), characterized by intense and devastating religious and communal violence, has claimed the attention of the Government of Liberia (GOL). 

The GOL asserts that the current state of peace and security in the CAR is a cause for concern and should therefore trigger concerted, robust, and expeditious actions by the international community, with the aim to restoring the country on the path of peace, stability and democracy in the soonest possible time.

The Government of Liberia welcomes the recent election of Her Excellency Catherine Samba-Panza as Interim President of the Central African Republic, and the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2127 (2013) authorizing the deployment of the African-led International Support Mission in the Central African Republic (MISCA), which in December 2013 assumed authority over the ECCAS Peace and Consolidation Mission in CAR (MICOPX).

In spite of these laudable developments, the GOL is of the view that the persistent climate of violence and instability requires a stronger and more robust international peacekeeping presence in the CAR. 

The GOL supports the recent decision emanating from a meeting of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union (AU), held on January 29, 2014, endorsing the transformation of MISCA into a multi-dimensional peacekeeping mission under the aegis of the United Nations.

The GOL believes that such transformation represents the most viable means of securing political stability and dealing with the complex and urgent situation in the CAR.