Sylvie Baïpo-Temon, the foreign minister of the Central African Republic, said on July 30 that it was time to lift the embargo from 2013, U.S. News reported.
The Central African Republic is a landlocked country in Central Africa.
“The embargo from 2013 is undeniably ineffective because it no longer provides specific solutions to the grave problems posed by the proliferation of arms by extremists and rebels who have many, many sophisticated weapons themselves," Baïpo-Temon said, U.S. News reported.
United States officials praised the effectiveness of the arms embargo, by contrast.
“On the arms embargo, the region is awash with guns and it’s time to stem the unfettered flow," U.S. deputy ambassador Jeffrey DeLaurentis said. "If effectively implemented, this arms embargo will help silence the guns."
On July 30, the U.N. Security Council voted to ease the arms embargo against the Central African Republic. This decision came as a disappointment to the government of the nation, as they wanted a complete lifting of the ban on the sale or transfer of weapons and ammunition. The vote with Russia, China and the council's three African members was 10-0 for lifting of the embargo. According to Baïpo-Temon, the government welcomed the first move toward an arms embargo on armed groups.