Geneva — A review by United Nations independent experts of the human‑rights situation in the Central African Republic (CAR) reveals rampant ethnic violence and systemic gross violations throughout the country. Children suffer appalling abuse and brutality at the hands of armed groups, defense and security forces, and private military and security companies. “It is rare to find a country with a human‑rights record so alarming, which has been forgotten by the rest of the world,” said Volker Türk, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, in his opening remarks to the U.N. Human Rights Council on Friday. He added that the people of the CAR face a daily reality of sudden spikes of violence, where fear is used as a weapon and serious trauma results from years of conflict.
Türk noted that children have not been spared the ravages of the conflict, which has been ongoing since 2012. Girls, in particular, have been subjected to horrific acts of sexual violence linked to the fighting. “Last year, the Human Rights Division recorded 647 children who were victims of child‑rights violations. The majority concerned the use of children in armed conflict, attacks on their physical integrity, arbitrary detention and sexual violence linked to the conflict,” he said. Reports received by the U.N. human‑rights office estimate that armed groups that signed last year’s peace agreement were responsible for 35 % of documented abuses, including killings, abductions, detention, ill‑treatment, destruction of infrastructure and appropriation of property.
Virginia Gamba, the U.N. Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, said the number of grave violations against children in 2022 had decreased compared with the previous year, but the conflict continues to take a heavy toll on boys and girls, many of whom are killed or maimed by gunfire and explosive remnants of war. “The recruitment and use of children remained the most prevalent violation verified in 2022,” she said. While boys were most affected, girls were also recruited and subjected to sexual violence during their association, with some becoming pregnant as a result of rape. Children are driven to join armed groups by poverty and the need to protect their communities from rival attacks.
More than a decade of armed conflict has left the CAR in a state of perpetual impoverishment, hunger and ill health. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that more than two million people—over one‑third of the population—need humanitarian assistance to survive. A recent U.N. food assessment found 2.7 million people, nearly half the population, are acutely food‑insecure, with 642 000 on the verge of famine. Hundreds of thousands suffer from acute malnutrition, most of them children under five. In addition, more than half a million children aged three to 17 are out of school, making them vulnerable to recruitment, exploitation and trafficking.
Mohamed Ag Ayoya, deputy special representative of MINUSCA, the U.N. peacekeeping force in the CAR, warned that children continue to be raped, abducted, killed, maimed and recruited by armed groups and security forces with impunity. “There is no peace without justice. Despite the government and partners’ efforts, there is still a lot of impunity,” he said. “There are no criminal courts operating, so rape is often tried as a minor crime and trivialized. That stops peace and security efforts. I urge all partners to support the government in ending inequality and delivering justice to victims of rape.”
The CAR minister said there is no military solution to this long‑lasting conflict and urged the warring parties to lay down their weapons and “take up a dialogue for the sake of all children in the country.” His sentiments were echoed by rights chief Türk, who called on the government to adopt measures to prevent serious violations and to provide comprehensive care for child victims. Arnaud Djoubaye Abazene, minister of state for justice, human rights and good governance, responded by assuring the U.N. Human Rights Council that children’s issues are being addressed at the highest level. “The government is resolved to ensure the protection and promotion of the rights of the child and to combat the recruitment of children by armed groups. The government also reaffirms its commitment to prosecute and punish perpetrators of crimes against children and other serious human‑rights violations,” he said.
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