UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Friday to extend the U.N. peacekeeping force in Central African Republic for a year, with a mandate to protect civilians, support peace efforts, and assist in preparing for elections starting in 2020. The French-drafted resolution welcomed the Feb. 6 peace agreement signed by the government and 14 armed groups and reiterated the council’s support for President Faustin-Archange Touadera and his government in their efforts to promote lasting peace. It urged all signatories to implement the agreement without delay and condemned “in the strongest terms” violations and violence perpetrated by some armed groups and militias throughout the country. It demanded that armed groups cease all violence. The resolution also condemned “incitement to ethnic and religious hatred and violence, violations of international humanitarian law and human rights violations and abuses, including those committed against children and those involving sexual and gender-based violence in conflict.”

Source: International New York Times November 15, 2019 18:14 UTC