The United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT) was a

United Nations peacekeeping Peacekeeping by the United Nations is a role held by the Department of Peace Operations as an "instrument developed by the organization as a way to help countries torn by conflict to create the conditions for lasting peace". It is distinguished ...

mission established by the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...

on September 25, 2007 to provide a multidimensional presence of up to 350 police and military personnel to eastern

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

and north-eastern

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...

The mission comes as a response to the dire situation of an estimated 230,000

refugees A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

from

Darfur Darfur ( ; ar, دار فور, Dār Fūr, lit=Realm of the Fur) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju ( ar, دار داجو, Dār Dājū, links=no) while ruled by the Daju, ...

who continue to flee into bordering eastern

and north-eastern

(CAR). Armed

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

ese rebel groups have continuously carried out attacks across the Sudanese border, endangering local residents and Darfurian refugees alike. This followed on from a resolution in July 2007 sending UNAMID into the region and a resolution in August 2006 sending

UNMIS The United Nations Mission in the Sudan (UNMIS) was established by the UN Security Council under Resolution 1590 of 24 March 2005, in response to the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the government of the Sudan and the Suda ...

there, the Secretary-General drafted a report outlining the shape of the mission he thought should be sent there, as well as received assurance from the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

of its contribution of troops. Although the

EUFOR Tchad/RCA European Union Force Chad and the Central African Republic (EUFOR Chad and the Central African Republic), also EUFOR Tchad/RCA after the French, was the European Union mission in Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR), authorised in late 2 ...

was originally scheduled to deploy in November 2007, it was delayed until February by a lack of equipment. It reached its Initial Operational Capability on 15 March 2008 and was replaced by UN forces under the same MINURCAT mandate on 15 March 2009. The latest resolution to concern the MINURCAT mandate, Security Council Resolution 1913, extended the stationing of the mission until 15 May 2010 allowing further discussions with the Chadian government which asked for the mandate not be renewed. A further extension was done until the end of 2010. MINURCAT's mandate officially ended on December 31, 2010.

Strength

Military personnel

As of 2010, there were 5,200 military personnel and 27 military liaison officers from Algeria, Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Ireland, Kenya, Mali, Mongolia, Namibia, Nepal, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Russia, Rwanda, Senegal, Serbia, Sri Lanka, Togo, Tunisia and United States.

Police personnel

As of 2010, there were 300 police officers from Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Finland, France, Guinea, Jordan, Madagascar, Mali, Niger, Oman, Rwanda, Senegal, Turkey and Yemen.

European Union mission

The EU forces mission

operated under the auspices and in the framework of

MINURCAT The United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT) was a United Nations peacekeeping mission established by the United Nations Security Council on September 25, 2007 to provide a multidimensional presence of up to 350 po ...

and the

as authorized in late 2007. The deployment of up to 3,700 troops began in February 2008. Contributors included (with number of troops committed):UN monitoring website HDPT Central African Republic
, accessed 14 November 2007 * Albania – 63 troops from Commando Regiment * France – half of the full contingent * Ireland – 411 troops * Poland – 350 troopsPanapress
accessed 13 November 2007 * Sweden – 200 troops * Austria – 160 troops * Romania – 120 troops * Belgium – 100 troopsPanapress - specifying 100 troops
accessed 13 November 2007 * Spain – 80 troops * Finland – 40 troops * Netherlands – 60 Marines According to the Brussels-based news agency “Panapress”, a number of non-EU countries also expressed interest in providing logistic or personnel support to the EUFOR mission. Their mandate included “to take all necessary measures, within its capabilities and its area of operation in eastern Chad and the north-eastern Central African Republic” to protect civilians, facilitate delivery of humanitarian aid, and ensure the safety of UN personnel. The EU operation commander, General

Patrick Nash Patrick may refer to: *Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name *Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People *Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint *Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick or ...

, announced on 5 NovemberThe Times article on 4,300 troop deployment instead of 3,000
, accessed 14 November 2007 that this force will be 3,700 troops strong. The military operation was approved by the Council of the European Union on 15 October.

References

External links

2013-2014 Central African Republic Crisis OverviewHDPT - United Nations website monitoring detailed progress of EUFOR TCHAD/RCA and MINURCATMINURCAT websiteMassachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Study on MINURCAT and EUFOR TCHAD/RCAEUFOR TCHAD/RCA website
UN News Centre {{Authority control Central African Republic and Chad

1778 Events January–March * January 18 – Third voyage of James Cook: Captain James Cook, with ships HMS ''Resolution'' and HMS ''Discovery'', first views Oahu then Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands of the Pacific Ocean, which he na ...

2007 in the Central African Republic 2007 in Chad Central African Republic–Chad relations Central African Republic–Sudan relations Central African Republic and the United Nations Chad and the United Nations