Central African Republic: UN underscores grave humanitarian, human rights situation

Central African Republic: UN underscores grave humanitarian, human rights situation

A displaced woman receives aid items from UNHCR in Uganga, Central African Republic. Photo: UNHCR/P. Djerassem

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1 October 2013 – United Nations officials today voiced deep concern at the deteriorating situation in the Central African Republic (CAR) and called on the transitional authorities to take urgent measures to protect the population against the risk of atrocity crimes and to restore the rule of law.
Plagued by decades of instability and fighting, the CAR witnessed a resumption of violence last December when the Séléka rebel coalition launched a series of attacks. A peace agreement was reached in January, but the rebels again seized the capital, Bangui, in March, forcing President François Bozizé to flee.
There is now a transitional government, headed by Prime Minister Nicolas Tiangaye, entrusted with restoring law and order and paving the way for democratic elections. But armed clashes in the north-east have increased since the beginning of August, and the country is facing a dire humanitarian situation that affects the entire population of some 4.6 million.
In addition, there are continued reports of gross human rights violations since the Séléka coalition seized power in March 2013, including the deliberate killing of civilians, acts of sexual violence against women and children, and the destruction and looting of property, including hospitals, schools and churches.
“While the international community has yet to engage in a concerted way to prevent atrocities in the Central African Republic, there is still time to take steps to halt the escalation of this crisis and the suffering of the population,” stated the UN Special Advisers on the Prevention of Genocide, Adama Dieng, and on the Responsibility to Protect, Jennifer Welsh.

“The breakdown of law and order and the apparent inability of the transitional authorities to exercise control over Séléka soldiers committing atrocities, could presage a deepening crisis and a return to large scale fighting. This, compounded with other risk factors, including religious tensions, has opened the door to the risk of atrocity crimes,” they said in a statement.
They also urged the international community to support regional initiatives by the African Union and the Economic Community of Central African States aimed at protecting the population and preventing further abuses.
Also, the Special Advisers welcomed the appointment on 25 September by the Human Rights Council of an Independent Expert to monitor the human rights situation in CAR and called for the establishment of an independent and impartial body to investigate all allegations of serious human rights violations.
They also underscored the need for any international or regional force deployed to the country to have a strong mandate for the protection of civilians.
“While the international community is deeply engaged with crisis situations around the world and with the crisis in Syria in particular, we must not forget other populations that are equally in need of protection,” they stated.
Meanwhile, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said today that an assessment mission to north-west CAR last week – the first since March this year – found that 170,000 people had been newly displaced by recent fighting between former Séléka rebels and various armed groups.
“Civilians are caught in the middle of the fighting and are at the mercy of anyone with a gun,” said Amy Martin, the head of OCHA in the country. She added that the clashes had “instilled a deeply-rooted fear and mistrust among the population, and there are violent incidents every day.”
Teams from the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) are providing emergency assistance to around 5,000 families uprooted by the recent violence in the north-west, including safe water, tarpaulins, blankets, sleeping mats, mosquito nets, jerry cans, and soap.
The agency’s spokesperson in Geneva, Marixie Mercado, told reporters that the majority of the displaced are women and children who are now living in deplorable conditions with no access to safe water or shelter.
She added that the past nine months of lawlessness and insecurity have been disastrous for children in the CAR: measles outbreaks were reported almost everywhere in the country; at least 250,000 children had lost out on the previous school year; forced marriages and sexual violence against young girls were reportedly on the rise; and UNICEF estimated that some 3,500 children are associated with armed groups, up from around 2,000 prior to the conflict.


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UNHCR chief presents Nansen Refugee Award to inspiring Congolese nun

 

News Stories, 30 September 2013

© UNHCR/M.Henley

UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres (right) presents the 2013 Nansen Refugee Award medal to Sister Angélique Namaika of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Behind the winner are, from left to right, Norwegian Refugee Council Jan Egeland, Swiss Ambassador to the United Nations Alexandra Fasel, and Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide.

GENEVA, September 30 (UNHCR) –UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres on Monday night presented the annual UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award to an inspiring Congolese nun in recognition of her work helping hundreds of displaced and abused women to rebuild their lives.

"This prize, this medal, is not only for me – it is also for all the women, the girls and the children who have been abducted by the LRA [Lord's Resistance Army rebel group from Uganda]," Sister Angélique Namaika said after receiving the Nansen Medal from Guterres at a ceremony in Geneva's Bâtiment des Forces Motrices.

"I will never give up, because even if I help only one person it's already a success," added the 46-year-old Roman Catholic nun from Orientale province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) at a ceremony attended by several hundred people, including delegates attending UNHCR's annual Executive Committee meeting,

Guterres said that he had heard and seen many bad things during his visits to refugees and other forcibly displaced people in Africa. "And it is when you look at Sister Angélique that all of a sudden your perspective also changes," he said. "And you believe that God has a hand. She is the hand of God."

Named after celebrated Norwegian polar explorer, diplomat, scientist and humanitarian, Fridtjof Nansen, the Nansen Refugee Award was established in 1954 to honour a person, group or organization for their outstanding work on behalf of the forcibly displaced.

Sister Angélique is the latest in a line of illustrious winners, recognized for her role in helping to transform the lives of more than 2,000 women and girls who have been forced from their homes and abused by the LRA or other armed groups in the Dungu region of the DRC's Orientale province.

Many of those she helps through her Centre for Reintegration and Development have suffered abduction, forced labour, beatings, murder, rape or other human rights abuses. Her one-on-one approach helps them recover from the trauma and damage. On top of the abuse they have suffered, these vulnerable women and girls are often ostracized by their own families and communities because of the stigma attached to sexual violence.

Sister Angélique helps these victims regain confidence and become self-sufficient by teaching them a trade and how to start a small business or by encouraging them to go back to school. Testimonies from these women show how she has turned around their lives, with many affectionately calling her "mother." Having been displaced by LRA violence in 2009, the Sister learned first had the pain of forced displacement.

Since being named this year's Nansen Refugee Award winner on September 17, Sister Angélique has received accolades and congratulations from people around the world. Earlier on Monday, UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie sent a message of warm congratulations and said Sister Angélique's work could "help to draw attention to the devastating effects of rape and sexual violence and the need for justice and help for survivors."

Best-selling Brazilian author Paulo Coelho, in a keynote speech at Monday's Geneva event, also praised the Nansen laureate, describing her as a lesson in compassion. The Award ceremony featured musical performances by British singer-songwriter Dido, Malaysian singer-songwriter Yuna and Grammy-nominated Malian musicians, Amadou and Mariam. "It was brilliant to meet Sister Angélique and inspiring to perform for her," said Dido after singing.

Following the ceremony, Sister Angélique will travel to Rome, where she will be received at the Vatican by Pope Francis on 2 October before proceeding to Paris, Brussels and Oslo for other meetings. The award consists of a commemorative medal and a US$100,000 monetary prize donated by the governments of Norway and Switzerland to support a project of the laureate's choice.

The presentation of the 2013 Nansen prize followed the release earlier this month of a report about life for those displaced by LRA violence. Since 2008, hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee in DRC's north-eastern province of Orientale – in some cases several times. Today, an estimated 320,000 of them are still living in displacement. The report, supported by UNHCR and the IDMC (Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre), highlights why LRA violence has created such severe and long-lasting trauma for both the abductees and the hundreds of thousands of people still too afraid to return home.