Introduction
1. Political Development since the independence
Since its independence from France in 1960, the Central African Republic (CAR) has suffered from a multifaceted crisis in which political, economic, security, human rights and humanitarian challenges are intertwined.
In 1958, Boganda became the first president of the Central African Republic. The following year David Dacko succeeded him after Boganda died in an unexplained plane crash. It was under Dacko that independence was proclaimed on 13 August 1960. Although the independence of the CAR was meant to herald the beginning of a democratic process, the decades that have followed have been characterised by a series of coups and biased elections. This chronic political instability is one of the many roots of their stunted development.
In 1966, Jean-Bedel Bokassa overthrew the Government and installed what was widely recognised as a dictatorial and criminal regime. But in a second coup supported by France, Dacko regained power in 1979, after Bokassa had dissolved the National Assembly, abolished the Constitution and proclaimed himself Emperor Bokassa I. Dacko was merely seen as a provisional solution for the French, who supported General Kolingba’s coup in 1982. Under pressure from France, Kolingba undertook a constitutional reform and organized presidential elections, which he lost in 1993 to Ange-Félix Patassé.
In the 1990s Patassé faced a series of mutinies that finally ended with an agreement, signed in January 1997, and the deployment of the Inter-African Mission to Monitor the Implementation of the Bangui Agreements (Mission de Surveillance des Accords de Bangui, MISAB), and, eventually, a UN force (Mission des Nations Unies en République Centrafricaine, MINURCA). But in March 2003, Patassé’s armed forces and the regional Mutlinational Force for the CAR (Force Multinationale en Centrafrique, FOMUC) deployed by the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (Communauté Economique et Monétaire de l’Afrique Centrale, CEMAC) failed to fight back yet another attack by Bozizé. Having taken power by a coup, Bozizé was then elected as president in 2005 and he remains in office today.
2. Economic Crisis
In the decades since independence, the CAR has suffered several economic crises. Economic mismanagement, poor infrastructure, a limited tax base, scarce private investment, and adverse external conditions have led to deficits in both its budget and external trade. Its debt burden is considerable, and the country has seen a decline in per capita gross national product (GNP) over the last 30 years.
Important constraints on economic development include the CAR's landlocked position, a poor transportation system, a largely unskilled work force and a legacy of misdirected macroeconomic policies. Factional fighting between the government and its opponents has also prevented economic development.
Services currently account for 25% of GDP, largely because of the oversized government bureaucracy. Industry contributes only about 20% of the country's GDP, with artesian diamond mining, breweries, and sawmills making up the bulk of the sector. Diamonds constitute the most important export of the CAR, frequently accounting for 40-55% of export revenues, but an estimated 30-50% of the diamonds produced each year leave the country clandestinely.
Structural adjustment programs with the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) and interest-free credits to support investments in the agriculture, livestock, and transportation sectors have had a limited impact. The World Bank and IMF are now encouraging the government to concentrate exclusively on implementing much-needed economic reforms to jumpstart the economy and defining its fundamental priorities with the aim of alleviating poverty.
The current economic crisis in the CAR is closely linked to the corruption and nepotism of the administration and the Government. This corruption and has created a large public deficit, which in turn retards the country’s development.
Corruption is rooted in the elite of the country and continues to contribute to the country's incapacity to pay 40 months of government salary arrears, which the IMF and local human rights activists said was a major threat to the country's security, stability, and advancement of human rights. The country's tax collection and public expenditure management systems are extremely weak by international standards and the lack of transparency and accountability in the use of public resources is a serious problem.
According to Transparency International's (TI) 2006 Corruption Perceptions Index, corruption among the country's public officials is perceived by both resident and non-resident experts to be "rampant," which is the most severe assessment designation used by TI.
3. Current Crisis in the CAR
In recent decades, the Central African Republic has consistently remained amongst the poorest countries in the world. The most recent assessment made by the UN placed the CAR 172nd out of 177 countries on the 2006 Human Development Index. Other alarming indicators are the extremely high infant mortality rate (106 per 1000 in 2007) and the worryingly low life expectancy of 40 years for men and 45,7 years for women.
While extreme poverty affects the country as a whole, the northern regions have been particularly marginalised. Local populations in the north of the country lack basic services such as schools, hospitals and roads.
Keen to protect the capital from a potential coup or rebel attack, Bozizé has concentrated his army around Bangui, leaving very few troops to protect the rest of the country. The Government’s ability to provide a secure environment and protect populations is particularly diminished as one moves away from Bangui. In the face of banditry and rebel abuses, civilian populations are left to their own devices. Furthermore, the few Central African armed forces present in the north of the country are often some of the worst human rights offenders. Despite the involvement of the FOMUC and the French forces in their training, the FACA and the GP are renowned for their abusive behaviour and their habit of attacking civilians in retaliation for rebel advances.
Fighting between rebels and government security forces has significantly contributed to the recent political and military crisis. Despite the presence of a French military mission and the deployment of almost 400 peacekeeping soldiers from neighbouring member countries of the Economic and Monetary Union of Central Africa (CEMAC), lawlessness persists in large swaths of the country, particularly in the north, and analysts estimated that only 2 percent of the country's territory was under state authority.
While the rebellions in the northeast and in the northwest are independent from each other, they have both been motivated by extreme marginalisation and an absence of Government protection for civilians. Keen to protect the capital from a potential coup or rebel attack, Bozizé has concentrated his army around Bangui, leaving very few troops to protect the rest of the country. Furthermore, the few Central African armed forces present in the north of the country are often some of the worst human rights offenders. Despite their training by the FOMUC (Force of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa), the FACA (Forces Armées Centrafricaines) and the GP (Garde Présidentielle) remain renowned for their abusive behaviour and habit of attacking civilians in retaliation for rebel advances.
Operating in the northeast of the CAR since 2003, the UFDR (Union of Democratic Forces for Unity) is an umbrella group for a number of smaller rebellions. The UFDR has its roots in the extreme marginalisation of the north-eastern region and consists mainly of ex-liberateurs who felt betrayed by Bozize after his 2003 coup and of ethnic Gulas resenting the discrimination they face. The 500-strong UFDR is relatively well-equipped and trained. It has also developed a political program, demanding from the Government a greater share of power and increased development in the region.
The north-western regions of CAR hold particular significance for President Bozizé and his Chadian backers because they are the homeland of former President Felix Patassé. While a number of rebel groups have been identified as operating in the area, the rebellion has been dominated by the Popular Army for the Restoration of the Republic and the Democracy (Armee Populaire pour la Restauration de la Republique et la Democratie, APRD). The APRD only has an estimated 1000 poorly armed and equipped members, 200 of whom are thought to have automatic weapons. Less politicised than the UFDR, it does not appear to have a clear political programme. Its stated aims are to restore peace to the region and resolve political grievances of the populations.
4. Human Rights Concerns
The Central African Republic population continues to suffer widespread human rights abuses on a systematic scale.
Acts of torture, beatings, rape, and other abuses of suspects and prisoners by security forces continue to take place. Conditions in prisons and detention centres remain harsh and life- threatening. The government's use of arbitrary arrest and detention is increasing significantly, particularly following fighting in the north between rebels and the military, which also contributed to an increase in political detainees. Denial of a fair trial and judicial corruption continue to be a problem. Freedom of movement has deteriorated greatly due to actions by security forces, armed bandits, and rebels. In addition, societal violence, including female genital mutilation (FGM), discrimination against women, and societal discrimination against indigenous people are a regular occurrence. Restrictions on workers' rights, child labour, and forced labour are other serious challenges facing the country.
In Bangui and a number of other towns, civilians find themselves at the mercy of brutal and ill-trained security forces. The Presidential Guard in particular has been implicated in a number of cases of rape, arbitrary arrest, and assault.
Outside of Bangui human rights violations are intertwined with the conflict. As individual officers and their units are allowed to commit violations with total impunity (typically rape and house burnings), the failure of the regime to assert control over large areas of the country has allowed small groups of rebels and bandits to act with impunity against civilians and their property. While rebel groups operating in the north of the country are responsible for widespread human rights violations, the Central African Armed Forces and the Presidential Guard are responsible for the majority of the abuses, in particular the burning of houses in retaliation for rebel attacks, as well as summary executions and unlawful killings, looting and forced displacement. Rape has also become quasi institutionalised within militia groups and the military.
The APRD in the northwest has been known to carry out widespread looting, kidnappings, forced taxation and beatings of civilians. On 11 June 2007, APRD rebels also “accidentally” fired on a Médecin Sans Frontières vehicle, killing Elsa Serfass, a young French nurse. In the northeast, the UFDR is known to have carried out unlawful killings, summary executions and widespread looting during attacks on villages.
None of the Governments in power since independence have promoted genuine democratic reform, respectful of human rights and of civil society. Faced with these widespread abuses, the Central African Republic Government has taken little action to ensure accountability for the crimes committed. As a result, human rights abuses including summary executions and unlawful killings, beatings, house burnings, rape, extortion and unlawful taxation and the recruitment and use of child soldiers are widespread.
The FACA and GP in particular seem immune from prosecution as they are left to carry out beatings, lootings and summary killings of civilians in total impunity. The absence of prosecution for rape by the FACA and GP is particularly worrying. While a number of cases have been brought to court, they have systematically been dismissed. Unless the Government takes immediate action to put an end to this culture of impunity, human rights violations will continue to take place on a widespread scale.
5. Humanitarian crisis
While humanitarian organisations have scaled up their capacity and presence in the country in the last two years, the humanitarian situation in the CAR continues to deteriorate and needs are not met. The vacuum of authority in the northern region of the country has created a humanitarian and human rights crisis with an estimated 291.000 civilians displaced; 212.000 of them within the country and 79,000 fleeing into neighbouring Chad, Cameroon and Sudan. Furthermore, thousands of refugees from Sudan and Chad have sought refuge in the CAR.
The Coordinated Aid Programme, a joint attempt by non-governmental organisations and United Nations agencies - most recently referred to as the Humanitarian Community Partnership Team or HCPT- has been established to address the humanitarian crisis. The Government and the aid community have agreed on four strategic priorities: improving human security by alleviating suffering; providing assistance and protection to internally displaced persons; enhancing local capacities with particular attention to risk reduction; and improving coordination.
The main impediments to a more effective humanitarian response in the CAR are the security situation and the administrative and logistical challenges associated with operating in the country. As a result of the continued fighting, the lack of roads and excessive rain from June to November, 60% of the territory is of limited access to humanitarian organisations.
On 25 September 2007, the UN Security Council Resolution 1778 approved the establishment of the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT) and the deployment of European Union troops (EUROFOR) with a robust mandate to protect and support the UN mission.
MINURCAT, with an initial deployment of 300 police and 50 military liaison officers, would help monitor the human rights situation in the region, assist both countries in promoting the rule of law, support elements of the Chadian police and liaise with other actors in the region to assist refugees and to counter threats to humanitarian activities.
The 4,000-strong European Union operation, mandated under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, will be authorized to take “all necessary measures” to help protect civilians in danger, to facilitate delivery of humanitarian aid and to help provide UN personnel with protection and freedom of movement. Both missions have been mandated for an initial period of one year.
On 15 October, the EU approved the creation of EUROFOR-CHAD/CAR. It is expected that the European force will be partially operational by mid-November. The operational commander of the force is Irish General Pat Nash and its force commander is French Brigadier Jean-Philippe Ganascia. Although the exact make up of the force is not yet known, it appears that France will constitute at least half of the force (by re-helmeting its existing troops in Chad and CAR), with additional troops from Sweden, Poland and Belgium.
While the French military holds significant expertise in the region, France’s unconditional support for the CAR and Chad Governments and armed forces whilst they were committing serious human rights abuses makes it wholly inappropriate for the EU and UN to mandate France’s continued presence in the region. It is imperative that the troops operating in Chad and the CAR be neutral and impartial and French troops are very much seen as belligerents by rebels groups both in Chad and the CAR.
