The writer is a Researcher with the Peace Operations and Conflict Management Programme at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
Female peacekeepers from South Africa on patrol in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. July 2021. Credit: MONUSCO/Michael Ali
STOCKHOLM / THE HAGUE, Aug 4 2021 (IPS) - The first year of the Covid-19 pandemic saw wide-ranging impacts on multilateral peace operations.
The crisis simultaneously affected all operations, host nations, headquarters and contributing countries. It caused major disruption from the political-strategic level where mandates are drawn up, down to the operational and tactical levels.
Operations were forced to adapt in order to preserve continuity as far as was possible. While some of the effects of the pandemic are clearly reflected in the data most notably in mission mortality rates others are not.
Communique of the 979th meeting of the PSC, held on 16 February 2021, on the situation in the Central African Republic (CAR)
Format
COMMUNIQUE
Adopted by the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU) at its 979th meeting held on 16 February 2021, on the situation in the Central African Republic (CAR):
The Peace and Security Council,
Noting the opening remarks made by the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Ghana to the AU and Chairperson of the PSC for February 2021, H.E Ambassador Amma Admaa Twum-Amoah, and the statement by the AU Commissioner for Peace and Security, H.E. Ambassador Smail Chergui, delivered by the Acting Director for Peace and Security Department, Ms. Fiona Lortan, as well as the presentation made by the Special Representative of the AU Chairperson (SRCC) for CAR, H.E Ambassador Bertino Matias Matondo; also noting the statements delivered by the representative of CAR, H.E Ambassador Fernad Poukre-Kono, Chairperson of the Economic Commun