34 The EU and the Central African Republic
| Committee's assessment
| Politically important |
| Committee's decision | Cleared from scrutiny
|
| Document details | Draft council decision and regulation concerning restrictive measures against certain persons engaging in, or providing support for, acts that undermine the peace, stability or security of the Central African Republic (CAR)
|
| Legal base | (a) Article 29 TEU; unanimity; (b) Article 215 TFEU; QMV
|
| Department
Document numbers
| Foreign and Commonwealth Office
(a) (36730), — (b) (36731), —
|
Summary and Committee's conclusions
34.1 Council Decision 2013/798/CFSP imposed a year-long arms embargo
on the direct or indirect supply, sale or transfer to the Central
African Republic (CAR) of arms and related materiel, including
weapons and ammunition, military vehicles, paramilitary equipment
and spare parts related to military activities, in line with UNSCR
2127 (2013) of 5 December 2013, which the United Nations Security
Council (UNSC) adopted in response to the deteriorating situation
in the CAR, which centred on fighting between predominantly Muslim
militants, known as the ex-Seléka,[100]
and bands of Christian vigilantes, the Anti-balaka.[101]
34.2 On 28 January 2014, the UNSC adopted Resolution
2134 (2014), which extended and clarified the arms embargo imposed
by UNSCR 2127 (2013) and introduced a travel ban on, and provided
for the freezing of funds and economic resources of, certain persons
engaging in, or providing support for, acts that undermine the
peace, stability or security of the Central African Republic.
34.3 Council Decision 2014/125/CFSP of 10 March 2014
amended Council Decision 2013/798/CFSP, to reflect the changes
that UNSCR 2134 (2014) introduced; the Regulation accompanying
it enabled the embargo, travel ban and asset freeze measures in
the UNSCR and Council Decision to be implemented.
34.4 France was playing a prominent role in this
process, having deployed 1,600 French troops in early December
2013 on a mission to stem the fighting: the focus was on specific
individuals with Séléka or anti-balaka links, although
no specific listings had yet been proposed.
34.5 The Committee cleared the draft Council Decision
from scrutiny on 26 February 2014. But the Minister for Europe
(Mr David Lidington) noted that France was "aware that for
the UK to agree any names for listing, there is a need for strong
underlying evidence that can be defended in a UK court of law";
the UK had the right to veto any nominations at the UN sanctions
committee stage, and would do so if evidence was lacking; he expected
France to "propose listings and share supporting evidence
with us in the coming weeks".
34.6 The Committee therefore retained the Council
Regulation under scrutiny until the Minister was able to provide
the key components: the names of those to be listed and the justification.
34.7 The draft Council Implementing Decision and
Council Implementing Regulation subsequently presented for scrutiny,
which included "populating" the Annex to the earlier
Council Regulation with the names of the three individuals concerned
and why they have been "listed", completed the process
begun in February 2014.
34.8 The Minister also confirmed that the Council
Decisions, Council Regulations, Council Implementing Decisions
and Council Implementing Regulations became legally binding in
all Member States at the point of adoption at Council —
in this case, the Foreign Affairs Council on 23 June 2014 —
and not, as he had originally suggested, when adopted by COREPER[102]
— ditto, in the week commencing 3 March 2014.
34.9 The Committee therefore cleared the Council
Regulation, Council Implementing Decision and Council Implementing
Regulation from scrutiny (see paras 34.22 to 34.27 below for details).
34.10 The Minister now explains that this new Council
Decision and Council Regulation:
— update
the various UN and African Union-led entities named in the documents;
— add language to the travel ban and asset
freeze criteria to include those illicitly trading in wildlife
products and gold (this being principally aimed at former Séléka
forces who are collecting approximately US$150,000 in taxes per
year from local gold production which in turn funds their continuing
operations).
34.11 More generally, the Minister says that the
situation in CAR remains dire: a spike in violence in October
2014 included an attack on a UN convoy, and the population as
a whole continues to suffer from extrajudicial killings, arbitrary
arrests and detention, torture, recruitment and use of child soldiers
and sexual violence against women and children (as well as the
exploitation of natural resources and wildlife and wildlife products).
He notes that a sustainable recovery will depend on improved security
and increased stability, and that the UK's immediate priorities
for CAR at this critical time are to ensure that a safe and secure
environment is established and maintained through the MINUSCA,[103]
which will enable the right conditions for a sustainable political
process. Amending EU restrictive measures in line with those implemented
by the UN "will increase pressure on those who have been
designated to cease their destabilising activities by restricting
their finances and ability to travel internationally", and
also send "a political message to allies and UN Member States
that the situation in the CAR must be addressed".
34.12 The EU is also heavily engaged in enabling
the safe and secure environment that would provide the right conditions
for a sustainable political process via its two ESDP missions:
the EU military stabilisation force, EUFOR CAR, which was launched
on 1 April 2014, operates under a UN Security Council mandate
(UNSCR 2134 (2014)) and will end on 15 March 2015, handing over
to the EU Military Advisory Mission to the Central African Republic,
EUMAM CAR, which was established via the Council Decision that
the Committee cleared on 14 January 2015.[104]
They will be working with MINUSCA on security sector reform (SSR),
i.e., introducing order into the CAR armed forces, about whose
reliability the interim president and prime minister are deeply
concerned.
34.13 At present, three individuals are "listed":
two senior figures associated with the anti-balaka militias and
one associated with the Séléka. If there is subsequently
a further Council Regulation of some sort, with additional names
in the light of the language added to the travel ban and asset
freeze criteria, we look forward to the Minister depositing it
for scrutiny.
34.14 In the meantime, we now clear the draft
Council Decision and Council Regulation from scrutiny.
Full details of
the documents: Council
Decision amending Decision 2013/798/CFSP concerning restrictive
measures against the Central African Republic: (36730) —;
Council Regulation amending Regulation (EU) No. 224/2014 concerning
restrictive measures in view of the situation in the Central African
Republic: (36731) —.
Background
34.15 On 23 December 2013, the EU Council adopted
Decision 2013/798/CFSP concerning restrictive measures against
the Central African Republic (CAR) providing for an arms embargo,
in accordance with UNSCR 2127 (2013) of 5 December 2013. The Committee
cleared this Council Decision and reported the background and
the government's views to the House on 8 January 2014.[105]
34.16 On 28 January 2014, the UN Security Council:
— extended
the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office
in the Central African Republic (BINUCA) for one year;
— reinforced and updated BINUCA's mandate
to assist in the transitional political process, and to help with
conflict prevention, humanitarian assistance, extension of State
authority, stabilization of the security situation, and the promotion
and protection of human rights;
— authorized the European Union to deploy
an operation in the Central African Republic, and authorized that
operation to take all necessary measures, within the limits of
its capacities and areas of deployment from its initial deployment
and for a period of six months from the declaration of its full
operational capacity; [106]
— decided that, for an initial period of
one year, all UN Member States would take the necessary measures
to prevent the entry into or transit through their territories
of individuals designated by the relevant UN Sanctions Committee,
provided that nothing would oblige a State to refuse its own nationals
entry into its territory; and
— decided that all Member States would
freeze without delay all funds, other financial assets and economic
resources within their territories that were either owned or controlled,
directly or indirectly, by individuals or entities designated
by the Sanctions Committee, by others acting on their behalf or
by entities owned or controlled by them.[107]
34.17 With his Explanatory Memorandum of 19 February
2014, the Minister for Europe submitted for scrutiny:
— a
draft Council Decision to amend Decision 2013/798/CFSP, to reflect
the changes that UNSCR 2134 (2014) introduced; and
— a draft Regulation, enabling the embargo,
travel ban and asset freeze measures set out in the Council Decision
to be put in place.
34.18 The Minister said that:
— the
arms embargo, introduced under UNSCR 2127 (2013), therefore played
a logical step in reducing access to weapons that had undoubtedly
played a negative role in the situation in the CAR, with violence
occurring across much of the country; however, policing of the
lengthy and porous CAR borders was minimal, and tightening the
embargo under the new Council Decision, and the supporting Regulation
in question, thus sought to mitigate further the risk of arms
entering the country;
— a successful political process, leading
to an inclusive, constitutional, and effective government, was
vital to the medium and long term future of the CAR; the introduction
of asset freeze and travel ban measures would therefore be used
to target individuals who engage in, or provide support for, acts
that undermined the peace, stability or security of the CAR;
— France was looking to target specific
individuals with Séléka (the mainly Muslim rebel
coalition that took power by force in March 2013) or anti-balaka
(i.e., anti-machete; mainly Christian armed groups who had been
linked to atrocities against Muslim communities) links, although
no specific listings had yet been proposed;
— France was "aware that for the UK
to agree any names for listing, there is a need for strong underlying
evidence that can be defended in a UK court of law. The UK has
the right to veto any nominations at the UN sanctions committee
stage, and will do so if evidence is lacking";
— he expected France to "propose listings
and share supporting evidence with us in the coming weeks";
and
— in the meantime, it was "worth noting
that the threat of restrictive measures that UNSCR 2134 (2014),
and ultimately this regulation, impose already sends a powerful
and timely political signal; which we hope will work somewhat
to deter further violence and instability in the country".
34.19 The Minister concluded by saying that Council
Decision and Regulation were due to be adopted by COREPER in the
week commencing 3 March 2014; at which point, the Council Decision
and Regulation would be implemented into EU law and be legally
binding in all Member States.
34.20 No questions arose on the draft Council Decision,
which we therefore cleared from scrutiny.
34.21 We were, however, concerned that we are being
asked to clear a Council Regulation that was incomplete, in that
precisely who was to be subject to it was yet to be decided —
which, as the Minister noted, was crucial. The Council Regulation
could not be properly adopted until the UN Sanctions Committee
had agreed to whom it should apply. We therefore continued to
retain it under scrutiny until the Minister was able to provide
a draft that contained those names.
34.22 On a point of detail, pace COREPER,
our understanding was that no draft legislation was finalised
until it had been adopted by the Council; we therefore asked the
Minister to confirm that this was his understanding also.
34.23 In his Explanatory Memorandum of 6 June 2014,
the Minister recalled that the asset freeze and travel ban measures
were designed to target individuals who engaged in, or provided
support for, acts that undermined the peace, stability or security
of the CAR, by restricting their freedom of movement and limiting
their financial capability to fund further violence or acts that
contribute to instability; and said that three individuals, who
met these criteria and had been listed with restrictive measures
under UNSCR 2134 (2014), were now due to be listed by the EU via
the attached Council Decision and supporting Regulation.
34.24 He continued as follows:
"The first individual is Francois Yangouvanda
BOZIZE, who is being targeted for providing financial and material
support to militiamen who work to destabilize the ongoing transition
in the CAR and bring him back to power. François Bozizé,
in liaison with his supporters, encouraged the attack of 5 December
2013 on Bangui by anti-Balaka forces, which left over 700 people
dead. Since then, he has continued to run destabilization operations
and to federate the anti-balakas militias, in order to maintain
tensions in the capital of CAR. Bozizé also tried to reorganise
many elements from the Central African Armed Forces, who dispersed
into the countryside after the coup d'état, and has called
on his militia to pursue atrocities against the current regime
and CAR Islamists.
"The second individual is Nourredine ADAM,
who is being targeted due to his role as both a General and the
President of the Central PJCC, one of the armed rebel groups of
the Séléka; he was also the military coordinator
of the ex-Séléka during offensives in the former
rebellion in the CAR between early December 2012 and March 2013.
Without Noureddine's involvement, the Séléka would
likely have been unable to wrest power from former CAR President
François Bozizé. He now clearly urges his forces
to resist injunctions of the transitional government and of the
military leaders of the African-led International Support Mission
in the Central African Republic (MISCA) and directs operations
against Christian neighbourhoods, with significant provisions
of support and direction to the ex-Séléka operating
in CAR. ADAM also used the now-defunct CAR intelligence service
as his personal political police, carrying out many arbitrary
arrests, acts of torture and summary executions. Lastly, in early
2013, he played an important role in the ex-Séléka's
financing networks, travelling to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the
United Arab Emirates to collect funds for the former rebellion
and operated as a facilitator for a Chadian diamond-trafficking
ring operating between the CAR and Chad.
"The third individual is Levy YAKETE, who,
on 17 December 2013, became the political coordinator of the newly
formed People's Resistance Movement for Reforming of the Central
African Republic anti-Balaka rebel group and has been directly
involved in decisions that have undermined peace, stability and
security in the CAR. Yakete is accused of ordering the arrest
of people connected to the Séléka, calling for attacks
on people who do not support President Bozizé and recruiting
young militiamen to attack those hostile to the regime with machetes.
Having remained in the entourage of François Bozizé
after March 2013, he joined the Front for the Return to Constitutional
Order in CAR, which aimed to return the deposed president to power
by whatever means necessary. In late summer 2013, he travelled
to Cameroon and Benin, where he attempted to recruit people to
fight against the Séléka. In September 2013, he
tried to regain control over operations led by pro-Bozizé
fighters in towns and villages near to Bossangoa. Yakete is also
suspected of promoting the distribution of machetes to young unemployed
Christians to facilitate their attacks on Muslims."
34.25 With regard to the question of when Council
Decisions, Council Regulations, Council Implementing Decisions
and Council Implementing Regulations were implemented into EU
law and thus legally binding in all Member States, the Minister
said:
"this happens at the point of adoption at
Council; in this case adoption is planned for the Foreign Affairs
Council on 23 June 2014."
The draft Council Decision and Council Regulation
34.26 In his Explanatory Memorandum of 11 March 2015,
the Minister says that, on 22 January 2015, the UN Security Council
adopted Resolution 2196 (2015), which renewed the sanctions measures
on the CAR to 29 January 2016, and provided for certain amendments
to the criteria for restrictions on admission and the freezing
of funds and economic resources for persons or entities designated
by the Committee established pursuant to paragraph 57 of UNSCR
2127 (2013).
34.27 The Minister explains that the draft Council
Decision and Regulation detail the changes and allow for the transposition
of these amendments from the UN to the EU accordingly; in short,
these amendments include:
"the removal of references to: the Mission
for the Consolidation of Peace in Central African Republic (MICOPAX);
African-led International Support Mission to the Central African
Republic (MISCA); United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office
in Central African Republic (BINUCA) and its guard unit. The mandates
for MICOPAX and BINUCA have expired. MISCA was the African-led
International Support Mission to the Central African Republic
which transitioned into the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated
Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA)
on 15 September 2014; and
"the addition of language to the travel
ban and asset freeze criteria to include those illicitly trading
in wildlife products and gold. These amendments were made by the
Security Council following the findings of the Panel of Experts
Established Pursuant to Security Council Resolution 2127 (2013)
in their Final Report (S/2014/762) that provided information that
former Séléka forces collect approximately US$150,000
in taxes per year from local gold production which in turn funds
their continuing operations. It also noted that armed groups and
criminal networks exploited natural resources and supply routes."
The Government's view
34.28 The Minister recalls the circumstances in which
the UN sanctions measures were imposed on CAR, when it judged
that there was a high risk of genocide.
34.29 He continues as follows:
"Numerous human rights abuses have been
reported and sanctions seek to minimise the ability of rebel groups
to commit further acts of violence.
"The situation in CAR remains dire. A period
of relative calm in Bangui was shattered in October 2014 with
a spike in violence which included an attack on a UN convoy. The
population continues to suffer from extrajudicial killings, arbitrary
arrests and detention, torture, recruitment and use of child soldiers,
sexual violence against women and children and exploitation of
natural resources including diamonds and wildlife and wildlife
products in the CAR.
"A sustainable recovery from crisis will
depend on improved security and increased stability. The UK's
immediate priorities for CAR at this critical time are to ensure
that a safe and secure environment is established and maintained
through the MINUSCA which will enable the right conditions for
a sustainable political process. Amending EU restrictive measures
in line with those implemented by the UN will increase pressure
on those who have been designated to cease their destabilising
activities by restricting their finances and ability to travel
internationally. This also sends a political message to allies
and UN Member States that the situation in the CAR must be addressed."
Previous
Committee Reports
None, but see (35672), —, (36064), —
and (36065), —: Second Report HC 219-ii (2014-15), chapter
9 (11 June 2014); also see (35812), — and (35671), 6282/14:
HC 83-xxxiv (2013-14), chapter 8 (26 February 2014); and (35672),
—: HC 83-xxvi (2013-14), chapter 18 (8 January 2014).
100 Séléka was an alliance of rebel militia
factions that overthrew the Central African Republic government
on 24 March 2013. Nearly all the members of Séléka
are Muslim. Back
101
The term used to refer to the Christian militias formed after
the rise to power of the Seléka, who had been linked to
atrocities against Muslim communities; Anti-balaka means "anti-machete"
or "anti-sword" in the local Sango and Mandja languages. Back
102
COREPER. Back
103
MINUSCA. Back
104
(36595), -: Twenty-ninth Report HC 219-xxviii (2014-15), chapter 14
(14 January 2015). Back
105
(35672), -: HC 83-xxvi (2013-14), chapter 18 (8 January 2014). Back
106
For the Committee's consideration of the Council Decision establishing
this mission, see (35747), -: HC 83-xxxi (2013-14), chapter 14
(5 February 2014). Back
107
See full text of the press notice, and of UNSCR. Back
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