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Iftikhar Ali
UNITED NATIONS, Nov 14 (APP):The UN Security Council on Thursday extended for one year the mandate of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), which includes over a thousand Pakistani troops.
By a recorded vote of 14 in favour and none against, with one abstention (United States), the 15-member Council adopted resolution 2800 (2025).
Through that text, the Council decided that MINUSCA shall comprise up to 14,046 military personnel and expressed its firm intention to review the number of personnel following the successful completion of the electoral process scheduled in 2025 and 2026.
“With 1,400 troops, Pakistan is among the top troop contributors to MINUSCA,” Ambassador Usman Jadoon, deputy permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, said in explanation of his vote in favour of the resolution, while highlighting MINUSCA as one of the success stories of UN peacekeeping.
Through its multidimensional approach, the Pakistani envoy added, MINUSCA has embodied the very essence of peace operations, with cooperation between the Mission and the host authorities remaining exemplary.
The focus, he emphasized, should remain on a careful and conditions-based transition, not risking reversal of the gains, which were achieved over the past decade, through undue haste or external pressures.
Ambassador Jadoon said UN peacekeeping was a vital instrument which must be employed effectively – to advance political solutions, protect civilians, and preserve stability.
Under its further terms, the resolution recalled that MINUSCA’s mandate should be implemented based on a prioritization of tasks established in the text, and, when relevant, in a sequenced manner. It also requested the Secretary-General to reflect this prioritization in the deployment of the Mission, as well as in MINUSCA’s political strategy, and to align the allocation of budgetary resources according to the prioritization of mandate tasks, while ensuring appropriate resources for implementation of the mandate.
The priority tasks as outlined by the resolution are: protection of civilians; support for the extension of State authority, the deployment of security forces, and the preservation of territorial integrity; good offices and support to the peace process, including implementation of the ceasefire and the Political Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation; and facilitate the immediate, full, safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance and protection of the United Nations.
The Council also requested the Secretary-General to report to the Council on 15 February 2026, 15 June 2026 and 13 October 2026 on the progress in implementing MINUSCA’s mandate.
Introducing that text, France’s Ambassador Jerome Bonnafont said it “marks an inflection point” in the Council’s approach towards stabilizing the Central African Republic and noted the progress made in recent months in that country. With this resolution, MINUSCA will be able to continue its work in priority areas, such as organizing elections, protecting civilians, extending State authority across the entire territory and implementing the peace process.