Chad RCA ESDP Mission. The launch of the military operation recorded by the 27
(BRUSSELS2) The Council of Foreign Ministers approved, on January 28, the decision to launch the military operation in Chad and the Central African Republic. A launch that comes after several months of uncertainty. At full capacity, by May or June, the mission should reach around 3800 troops from 14 member states. The mission will have the task of "protecting civilians in danger, particularly refugees and displaced persons", UN personnel (the UN police mission), and facilitating humanitarian aid. This operation will be conducted in a “neutral, impartial and independent” manner and carried out in “close coordination with the United Nations and in cooperation with the governments” concerned, recalls the Council. On the ground, the operation will be carried out closely with the future United Nations missions in these two countries (Minurcat) and in Sudanese Darfur (Minuad) as well as with the humanitarian and development NGOs already present.
However, this mission falls within a delicate regional political context, as the 27 recalled in their conclusions. The Council therefore called on the Sudanese authorities to give their full support to " the effective establishment of UNAMID », in particular by approving the necessary administrative and technical procedures, and by accepting the troops of the Member States of the UN (Sudan had in particular refused the Swedish and Norwegian contributions). He asked both Sudan and Chad to "stop all support for armed groups" operating in the area, welcoming in passing the efforts of certain neighboring countries such as Libya.
(published in Europolitics, January 2008)
Read the text of Council conclusions (See page 11)
