Crisis In The Central African Republic

Lying at the centre of a tumultuous region, the Central African Republic and its turbulent history have often been overlooked. Democracy, in any kind of a meaningful sense, has eluded the country. Since the mid-1990s, army mutinies and serial rebellion in CAR have resulted in two major successful coups. Over the course of these upheavals, the country has become a laboratory for peacebuilding initiatives, hosting a two-decade-long succession of UN and regional peacekeeping, peacebuilding and special political missions. Drawing together the foremost experts on the Central African Republic, this much-needed volume provides the first in-depth analysis of the country’s recent history of rebellion, instability, and international and regional intervention.

Today's hearing is not being called an emergency hearing, but it could very well be, because since we first decided to hold a hearing to spotlight the human rights situation in the Central African Republic, the situation has deteriorated even further, so that today the country is on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe. Coups and dictatorships have characterized the Central African Republic since its independence in 1960, but the current crisis is far more dangerous than what has come before. Consider this, in a country of approximately 5 million people, roughly 1.1 million citizens face serious food insecurity. Some 460,000 CAR nationals are displaced, including 64,000 who have fled to neighboring countries as refugees and nearly 400,000 who are internally displaced. This is because there has been a complete breakdown of law and order in the country following the ouster of President Francois Bozize in March of 2013.

In March 2013, the ex-Seleka's seizure of power was the final chapter in the gradual but inevitable collapse of the Central African Republic (CAR) state. Since the start of 2015, conflict has become the routine and manifests itself in deadly intercommunal reprisals, the establishment of Muslim enclaves in the west of the country, a combat zone in the centre of the country and the emergence of chronic banditry. In a context of high intercommunal tension and the lack of national cohesion, the Bangui Forum, held in May 2015, aimed to be the first stage in a genuine process of reconciliation. However, several armed groups have rejected the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) agreement. The Republican Pact itself, which lays down the principles of a new regime, reads like a catalogue of good intentions. This report is the product of research conducted in CAR, Kenya, Chad, France, Belgium and the U.S. It analyses the two main protagonists in the CAR crisis (the armed groups and the armed communities) and describes the complex mechanisms and communal nature of the conflict. As CAR seems to be in a "no war no peace" situation, this report proposes a different approach to the task of neutralising these armed groups and avoiding a further increase in intercommunal tension in the run-up to the elections.

This book brings together qualitative studies conducted during 2008-11 in communities in sixteen countries, with eight case studies that illustrate how people in specific localities were impacted by global shocks and what coping mechanisms they used.

The papers in the collection are divided into two main areas: nation building and regional integration: problems and prospects; and the ?weird wind of democratisation and governance'. Some examples of topics covered are: the effects of the foreign debt burden on saving ratios in the CEMAC Zone; the Nepad initiative as a basis for fostering economic recovery in the CEMAC Zone; foreign states? elites and the DRC conflicts 1997- 2002; traumas, memories and ?modern? politics in Central Africa; and human rights abuses in the Central Africa sub-region: the case of children.

"On March 24, 2013, the Seleka alliance, having overthrown former President François Bozizé, seized power in the Central African Republic (CAR), unlawfully killing scores of civilians in the process. Since then, the Seleka have ruled with complete impunity; abusing and killing civilians, raping women and girls, and looting properties. Based on field research in April to June 2013, "I Can Still Smell the Dead": The Forgotten Human Rights Crisis in the Central African Republic, documents the litany of serious violations committed against civilians by the Seleka since the alliance of rebel groups took power, as well as the response of the transitional government and Seleka leaders. It also describes human rights abuses that occurred under Bozizé's rule at an illegal detention facility at the Bossembélé military training center.

Central African Republic Governance and Political Conflict. The ongoing presidential and legislative elections in the Central African Republic (CAR) look set to produce a new government in early 2016. The foremost responsibility of the country's elected leaders and the Central African people will be to stop the violence that has beset the country since the Seleka rebel coalition's coup in 2013 and build the foundations of lasting peace. Since the coup the transitional government, civil society and international partners have launched diverse initiatives to begin the peacebuilding process at the national and local levels, and they have made some gains. Relatively peaceful elections are testament to this. To prevent a backslide, all stakeholders need to learn from their own and others' efforts and address both the drivers and long-term underlying causes of the crisis. This Book has the complete information on Central African Republic