UN General Assembly
2013

There are already several foreign armed groups in our country. The Lord’s Resistance Army, which has been present in the south-east of the country since 2008, has killed several hundreds people, raped dozens of women, abducted thousands of children and burned entire villages. The Vakaga region has been penetrated by traffickers and poachers from neighbouring countries, including the Sudan. If the Central African State collapses, new criminal and terrorist networks could settle in the country and destabilize the entire region. While stability in Central Africa is a major concern of the international community, that concern must go beyond the minimal reactions and half-hearted commitments that are too often features of international support for political transition. I recall that Ms. Valerie Amos, Under-Secretary- General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, and Ms. Kristalina Georgieva, European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, came to my country in July 2013 and visited the devastated population of the city of Kaga Bandoro. When they returned to Bangui, they told me about the heart-