Corporate report

Central African Republic (CAR) - Country of Concern: latest update 30 September 2014

Updated 21 January 2015

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

0.1 Latest Update: 30 September 2014

The grave security and humanitarian situation continues to have a severe impact on the civilian population in CAR. There has been little improvement over the last three months, with reports highlighting continued serious human rights abuses against the population. Abuses include the recruitment and use of child soldiers, extrajudicial killings, and sexual violence against women and children.

Areas of CAR have been affected by conflict for decades, but this did not prevent diverse ethnic and religious communities from living and working together. Long-term poverty and the vulnerability of key state institutions have led to an acute level of insecurity and a lack of rule of law throughout the country, which has exacerbated religious tensions. There has been a continued increase in the number of interfaith reprisal attacks, as noted by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). This has resulted in large-scale migration of Muslim communities to neighbouring countries and to the north of CAR. It has had a huge impact on basic livelihoods, the wider economy, and the ability of the economy to recover. Food insecurity is a huge concern. The humanitarian situation is dire, with violence hampering operations of charities and organisations in CAR.

It is estimated that more than 2.5 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. The latest available figures from OCHA indicate that there are 542,000 internally displaced people. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) estimate over 100,000 refugees have crossed from CAR into Cameroon since December 2013. The UK has provided £5 million through multilateral organisations, including UNHCR and the Central Emergency Response Fund, in response to the CAR refugee crisis in Cameroon.

The UK welcomed the signing of the Brazzaville ceasefire agreement for the cessation of hostilities on 23 July as an important stage, but emphasised that it was critical for the agreement to be applied, and for an open and inclusive dialogue to be held.

The UK welcomed the deployment of the UN Peacekeeping Operation, MINUSCA, on 15 September. The operation has a civilian and military dimension, with an initial focus on preventing abuses and promoting reconciliation. The EU security mission to CAR (EUFOR RCA) and French forces are also present in CAR, and are playing an important role in establishing security.

The UK encouraged the International Criminal Court (ICC) to accept a request from the CAR government to open a new investigation into serious crimes committed in CAR since March 2013. On 24 September, the Prosecutor of the ICC confirmed that she will be opening a second full investigation into the situation in CAR.

On 26 September, at the UN Human Rights Council, the UK co-sponsored a resolution to extend the mandate of the Independent Expert for another year to assess, verify and report on the human rights situation in CAR, and to make recommendations on technical assistance and capacity building in the field of human rights.

Also on 26 September, the UN Secretary-General hosted a high-level meeting on CAR in the margins of the UN General Assembly. The Foreign & Commonwealth Office’s Director for Africa stated that the Brazzaville ceasefire agreement must be fully implemented, there must be an inclusive political process to find a sustainable settlement, and donor support for humanitarian assistance was critical.

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