Paulo Soares on the occasion of the end of his mandate as Head of Mission of EUAM RCA

“After two and a half years, my mandate as Head of Mission of EUAM RCA ends today and it is with deep respect that I look back on the challenges and achievements of this period.

The youngest EU civilian mission has managed a sanitary and security crisis, contributed to the modernisation of the Internal Security Forces (ISF), promoted interoperability between the ISF, the judiciary, the penitentiary system, the Central African Army and the Ministry of Water and Forests, and has always stressed the importance of human rights, gender and environmental protection in the security sector reform.

We have done all this while respecting a principle that we have never renounced, that of local ownership. The Mission has gained the confidence of its national partners, has been able to count on the European family on the ground at all times and has created synergies with its international partners in joint projects.

I leave the Mission enriched professionally and personally. The great life lesson I have learned from this country is that, despite all the hardships and deprivation people go through, it is always possible to share a smile of hope.

I wish the Central Africans the strength to continue to work for what is inevitable: peace! And I am convinced that the EUAM RCA Mission can continue to contribute to this."