The United States has called on the authorities of Central African Republic (CAR), to accelerate security sector reform and take greater responsibility for restoring peace and security.

This was as the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) moves towards transitioning its responsibilities to national institutions.

The U.S representative for UN Management and Reform, Ambassador Jeffrey Bartos, made the call during a UN Security Council briefing on the country’s socio-political situation in the New York City.

Bartos said the country had made progress towards durable peace and security with MINUSCA’s support, noting that strengthening national and local institutions was helping to restore state authority.

He said the implementation of the peace process had continued to generate security gains, adding that Washington welcomed steps taken by MINUSCA towards transferring responsibilities to national authorities.

According to him, the mission had already transferred security and corrections tasks to national authorities while electoral responsibilities were handed over to other entities following the successful completion of the electoral cycle.

He said the transition process involved cooperation between the Central African government, MINUSCA and other UN agencies.

“The Central African government and MINUSCA established a joint committee to assess and plan how to transition tasks. MINUSCA and the UN Country Team were also discussing the transfer of responsibilities”, Bartos said.

He added that the mission was consolidating existing security gains while seeking to hand over tasks whenever national authorities had sufficient capacity to assume them.

Bartos however warned that the transition would face challenges, particularly as security improvements remained fragile in some parts of the country, including border areas.

He cited the June 30 attack in the North-East as an example of the risks confronting the country, commending Zambian peacekeepers for responding proactively to threats during the incident.

According to him, MINUSCA protected more than 17,000 civilians during the attack, describing the response as an example of the performance expected of UN peacekeeping missions.

Despite the security challenges however, Bartos said the U.S was encouraged by the political will of Central African governmentto work towards the transition of MINUSCA’s responsibilities.

He stressed that achieving lasting peace will require sustained commitment to the peace processes and dedicated investment by the country’s authorities.

He therefore urged the government to take the lead in security sector reform and speed up the process while encouraging the authorities and MINUSCA to continue working together to develop and implement timely transition plans.

Bartos also warned against allowing concerns about the risks of a premature withdrawal to prevent progress towards the mission’s eventual transition.

According to him, Security Council had frequently received reports highlighting the dangers of a hasty transition and drawdown of MINUSCA but argued that maintaining the mission indefinitely also carried risks.

He called on the Security Council to encourage continued efforts to ensure an efficient transition of MINUSCA’s responsibilities, emphasising the need to balance the protection of fragile security gains with the restoration of national capacity.