The Board agreed to lift Central African Republic's suspension. It also agreed to accept its request for adapted implementation.

The EITI Board agreed to lift the suspension of the Central African Republic, with a first EITI Report to be produced by 31 December 2022 and the next Validation to start on 1 April 2024.

Lifting of suspension will allow national and global stakeholders to monitor progress in the implementation of the EITI Standard and assess the level of continuous progress in Validation.

The Board recognises the challenging environment in which the EITI operates in the country. The Board urges the Government to ensure that natural resources are managed in the benefit of all citizens and to take steps to mitigate risks of corruption, abuse or mineral smuggling that could undermine peace and stability in the country. The Board will continue to closely monitor the situation and consult stakeholders and partners in country to ensure that the EITI Principles and requirements are adhered to.

The EITI Board also accepts the multi-stakeholder group’s request for adapted implementation with respect to:

• Regional perimeter: the EITI perimeter can be limited to the areas approved as compliant by the Kimberley process to export diamonds.
• Reporting cycle: The first EITI Report due in 31 December 2022 may be based on unilateral disclosures from the government for the fiscal year 2020 or more recent.

This adapted implementation is valid until the end of the Validation expected to start on 1 April 2024.

The EITI Standard allows for adapted implementation “where the country faces exceptional circumstances that necessitate deviation from the implementation requirements” (Section 4 Article 1). In taking this decision, the EITI Board recognises the Central African Republic’s concern that the Government and the multi-stakeholder group do not currently have the means to fully implement all of the EITI Requirements and recognises the recent effort made to re-start the EITI process.

The Board requires that the Government of the Central African Republic continues its efforts to fully implement the EITI Requirements in coming years and guarantees the respect of the EITI civil society protocol. The Board also requires the Government to commit to ensure full disclosure of information in line with the EITI Standard, to adapt the EITI institutional framework to the latest provisions of the 2019 Standard and to ensure effective mobilisation of the funding necessary to implement the EITI work plan.

In addition, the Board requests that the multi-stakeholder group takes steps to ensure that EITI Reports include an assessment of the quality and comprehensiveness of disclosures. The Board further recommends that the multi-stakeholder group takes steps to strengthen collaboration with the Kimberley Process to find a sustainable solution for ensuring transparency in the country’s natural resources, as well as with all relevant stakeholders in the extractive sector value chain.