7 Jul 2011

UN / CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

Special Representative and head of the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in the Central African Republic (CAR) Margaret Vogt told the Security Council today that the CAR still faces “serious challenges” and said that “an implosion in the CAR will have cataclysmic impacts throughout the region.” UNTV

Posted at: July 7, 2011 1:32 pm

Duration: 01:18

Available in: SD

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STORY: UN / CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC 
TRT: 1.18
SOURCE: UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/ FRENCH/ NATS

DATELINE: 7 JULY 2011, NEW YORK CITY/ FILE

SHOTLIST:

FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY

1.	Wide shot, exterior UN building

7 JULY 2011, NEW YORK CITY

2.	Pan right, Security Council
3.	Med shot, delegates
4.	Pan right, delegates
5.	SOUNDBITE (English) Margaret Vogt, Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in the Central African Republic (BINUCA):
"The Central African Republic still faces serious challenges. It is afflicted with extreme poverty, weak national institutions, corruption, a high rate of violent crime perpetrated by armed movements and brigands, human rights violations and impunity."
6.	Med shot, delegate of India
7.	SOUNDBITE (English) Margaret Vogt, Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in the Central African Republic (BINUCA):
"An implosion in the CAR will have cataclysmic impacts throughout the region, negating investments made in securing the neighbouring countries. I intend to work closely with my colleagues in the region to provide a holistic response to these challenges."
8.	Med shot, delegates
9.	SOUNDBITE (French) Jan Grauls, Chair of the Central African Republic Configuration of the Peacebuilding Commission:
"The transparent management of natural resources is a problem which also demands urgent attention in order to guarantee an increase in state revenue and to stimulate private investment."
10.	Zoom out, Security Council

STORYLINE:

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General to the Central African Republic (CAR), Margaret Vogt, told the Security Council today (7 July) that the country still faces "serious challenges" as it continues to struggle to emerge from conflict and to avoid sliding back into chaos.

Vogt said that the CAR remains afflicted with "extreme poverty, weak national institutions, corruption, a high rate of violent crime perpetrated by armed movements and brigands, human rights violations and impunity."

The Special Representative warned that "an implosion in the CAR will have cataclysmic impacts throughout the region."

The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), among other groups, has continued to threaten civilians, using brutal tactics during cross-border movements between the CAR, The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and South Sudan.

Vogt said that she intends to "work closely" with colleagues in the region in order to provide "a holistic response to these challenges."

Jan Grauls, Chair of the Central African Republic Configuration of the Peacebuilding Commission in his address to the Council noted that "the transparent management of natural resources is a problem which also demands urgent attention in order to guarantee an increase in state revenue and to stimulate private investment."

Diamonds are the main export of the CAR, but a high percentage leave the country clandestinely.

In 2008 the Central African Republic became the fourth country to be placed on the agenda of the Peacebuilding Commission, set up in 2005 to help countries emerging from conflict.

Last month, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today reiterated the need for international organizations to continue supporting the poverty reduction efforts of the Central African Republic, one of the world's poorest nations.