Top UN officials say that a peacekeeping mission is essential to stabilise the Central African Republic -- but there will be no "quick fix" and the cost will be significant.
The nearly 12,000 peacekeepers that UN Security General Ban Ki-moon seeks would be operating in "a particularly challenging environment," UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous said at the Security Council.
The comments came as the council held its first discussions the proposal to send some 10,000 soldiers and 1,820 police to help restore order in Central African Republic, a country that has descended into chaos and sectarian killing over the past year.
"All the member states understand the necessity of a peacekeeping operation, but there are questions, nuances over the nature of the threat," said Gerard Araud, France's envoy to the United Nations, as he left the meeting.
France plans to propose a resolution by the end of the month mandating the deployment.
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But the negotiation "will be a difficult one," Araud said, because for many countries, "the financial burden of a peacekeeping operation is becoming a real question."
UN estimates put the price tag "in the hundreds of millions" a year, according to Ladsous, who described "a flexible operation" that would be deployed in phases to minimise the cost.
Ladsous acknowledged the peacekeeping mission will be costly, "but waiting to respond could be even more so," he said, citing the conflict's "potential negative impact on regional stability," including splitting the country and creating a breeding ground for extremists.
Given the approximately six months required to get a UN force ready, Ladsous also called for urgently sending "rapid and generous financial support" to MISCA -- the 6,000-strong African Union force already in Central Africa.
There are also 2,000 French soldiers there. Most of the future UN force is expected to come from the current ranks of MISCA.
The United States has expressed its support for a peacekeeping operation, with UN envoy Samantha Power saying "we are prepared to work closely with partners starting immediately."
However, the administration of President Barack Obama will need to convince the US Congress to finance the operation.
