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The Central African Republic (CAR) has seen a proliferation of criminal networks operating in the shadow of a proxy war pitting pro-French and pro-Russian actors responsible for the looting of the country’s vast natural resources.

The Khartoum agreement, inked in February 2019 and brokered by the African Union, instead of moving CAR towards peace and responsive governance has been fueling corruption and rewarding actors with little incentive to shift towards peace. Upcoming elections scheduled for December could spark unrest or further entrench those at the forefront of the nation’s violence and volatility. A new approach is desperately needed that would address the Central African Republic’s foundational challenges and provide a framework that would put the people, not the armed and corrupt actors, of the Central African Republic in position to control their nation’s destiny.

Unfortunately, the proxy war has empowered an array of predatory forces including actors involved in the trafficking of natural resources including gold and diamonds, as well as trafficking weapons. An array of international facilitators are enabling these criminal networks that are creating instability and conflict in the country.

International actors such as the European Union, United States and United Nations Security Council can disrupt these international criminal networks that rely on the global financial system. They can help ensure that upcoming elections are democratic and transparent by targeting government officials and their commercial partners.