Central African Republic.

Towards the end of July, some progress was made in the Central African Republic (CAR) towards establishing the infrastructure for holding national elections. The required legislation was adopted by the country's Parliament and signed by President Ange-Felix Patasse, effective 24 July. France, the European Union and the United Nations Development Programme have pledged financial support for the elections.

In a resolution adopted by the Security Council on 14 July, extending the mandate of the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic (MINURCA) until 25 October 1998, the Council called on the authorities to adopt immediately an operational plan to organize legislative elections and so enable the United Nations and the international organizations to arrange for the provision of the necessary assistance.

As it unanimously adopted resolution 1182 (1998), the Council recognized that MINURCA, in implementing its mandate, might conduct limited duration reconnaissance missions outside Bangui and other tasks involving the security of United Nations personnel. It reiterated the need for the Government of the CAR to continue to take concrete steps to implement political, economic, social and security reforms, and to adopt as soon as possible a plan for the effective restructuring of its armed forces, based on proposals submitted by the country's Commission on restructuring the defence and security forces.

The Security Council, in its resolution, urged Member States to support the efforts of the authorities in the economic and social development of the Central African Republic and encouraged international financial institutions to cooperate with the country. Support for the rehabilitation of the country came from the International Monetary Fund on 22 July when it pledged $6.6 million over the next three years towards the country's economic recovery from the destruction caused by military mutinee and civil unrest, noting, however, that the country's fiscal situation remained precarious.

The Council had established MINURCA for an initial period of three months, starting on 15 April 1998, to replace the Inter-African Mission to Monitor the Implementation of the Bangui Agreements (MISAB). The arrival of 120 Egyptian soldiers in Bangui on 24 June brought the military component to its full strength of 1,350 Blue Berets.

In a report on 19 June, the Secretary-General said the Government of the Republic must make all possible efforts to conclude agreements with the Bretton Woods institutions to address the country's pressing economic and social difficulties, particularly the task of meeting salary arrears.

In his report, the Secretary-General also confirmed that some progress had been made in implementing security and economic reforms. He said that more remained to be done, with progress towards national reconciliation and the security situation remaining fragile. If lasting peace was to be achieved, urgent action was needed in priority areas including the credible restructuring of the defence and security forces, organization of free and fair legislative elections, and economic and social recovery.

The electoral unit of MINURCA estimated that a minimum of 90 to 100 days would be required to prepare credible elections once the electoral commission was installed and critical funding was obtained. MINURCA could, in due course, recruit electoral observers to establish a presence throughout the country and coordinate the international assistance necessary for the successful conduct of free and fair elections. The Security Council, in its resolution 1182, stressing the need to consolidate the progress achieved so far, had urged Member States to provide technical, financial and logistical assistance for the organization of such elections.