On Sunday, Central Africans will elect a new President. His first task must be to end the violence which continues to devastate the country and provide better protection for the exhausted population. This will only be achievable with the staunch support of the international community.
The situation across the country is dire. At least six thousand people have been killed since violence erupted in March 2013. Easy access to weapons across the country makes attacks against civilians an everyday occurrence from multiple and fragmented armed groups. Between January and October 2015, 60,000 cases of violence against women and children have been reported – the equivalent of 200 a day.
The number of people struggling to find enough to eat has doubled in the past year leaving more than half the population hungry. In recent weeks, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has scaled-up attacks, kidnapping dozens of people, including children, and displacing over 2,200 more. Despite some localized improvements in security during the transition, one in five Central Africans remains displaced.
Oxfam’s Central African Republic Country Director, Ferran Puig said: “Armed groups have been driven out of the cities into rural areas by the presence of UN peacekeepers. Communities live in fear of their rampant abuses, and are unable to rebuild their livelihoods. In the cities, common criminals and vigilante groups ensure that the violence continues. All of this is exacerbated by the wide spread availability of weapons. Security and protection must be at the top of the incoming president’s agenda.”
“UN peacekeepers must react quickly to the multiple and changing threats across CAR. Improved coordination is needed with the African Union Regional Task Force also operating within the country, including initiatives to strengthen protection for civilians in all areas, with a particular focus on communication with communities,” said Puig.
Today, only 2,100 out of potentially tens of thousands of combatants have been registered for the national Disarmament, Demobilization, Reintegration and Repatriation (DDRR) program.
“Weapons must be collected from combatants and non-combatants alike and the whole process be sped up. The new Central African Government must work closely with regional governments, and the international community should immediately provide funding. The initial announcement of the DDRR process created many expectations. Several groups demobilized but retained their weapons and are waiting for the process to start. The delay is leading some individuals to attack civilians and NGOs," Puig said.
//ENDS
Relevant photos from CAR can be found here
Notes to editors:
A United Nations Commission of Inquiry submitted to the UN Security Council on 19 December, 2015, identified 6,000 fatalities from the conflict which began in 2013
An inter-agency group headed by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has registered 60,000 cases of sexual and gender violence between January to October 2015. Half of them are cases of sexual violence. This is the equivalent of 200 women and children experiencing violence and abuse everyday http://www.unhcr.org/5669a3a66.html
2.5 million people, more than half the population, face hunger, according to WFP http://www.wfp.org/news/news-release/half-population-central-african-republic-faces-hunger-wfp-warns
2.7 million people (59% of the population) require humanitarian assistance, and are unable to meet their basic need for water, food, health care and education.
452,000 people are internally displaced, while more than 451,000 people have sought refuge in neighboring countries http://www.unocha.org/car
2,107 ex-combatants have so far participated the current phase of the national Disarmament, Demobilization, Reintegration and Repatriation (DDRR) program. 929 in Bangui and 1178 in Kaga-Bandoro, Bria, Bambari, Bouar and Birao http://minusca.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/note_info_confpress_13jan2016.pdf
Oxfam has been working in CAR since 2014 with projects on food security, livelihoods, protection and gender, water, sanitation and hygiene in the capital, Bangui, and in Bria and Paoua.
