UN Peace-building Office to work with new administration

The representative of the UN secretary-general in the Central African Republic (CAR), Lamine Cisse, has said the activities of the UN Peace-building Office (BONUCA) in CAR will be revised and adapted to the new situation in the country.

"The mandate remains the same, but the activities will be readjusted," Cisse, who heads BONUCA, told IRIN on Tuesday. "Before, we worked with a democratically elected regime. Now we are going to work with a different one."

The self-declared president of CAR, Francois Bozize, seized power from former President Ange-Felix Patasse on 15 March after a period of fighting which began in October 2002.

BONUCA replaced the UN Mission in the CAR, known as MINURCA, in June 2000 and was mandated to consolidate peace there after three mutinies in 1996 and1997 and to support democratic institutions. BONUCA has been organising meetings between political parties and members of parliament, educating people about human rights and advising on information, administration, and military and civil police matters.

Cisse, who met Bozize on 27 March, said he had to wait for a national transitional council to be formed before he knew exactly what BONUCA could do.