Central African Republic

Advocacy

Local militias known as anti-balaka, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), and the Front populaire pour la renaissance de la Centrafrique (FPRC), Mouvement patriotique pour la Centrafrique (MPC), and Union pour la paix en Centrafrique (UPC) as part of the former Séléka coalition, are all listed in the annexes of the Secretary-General’s (SG) 2023 annual report (S/2023/363) on children and armed conflict (CAAC) for various grave violations against children. In February, the SG will report on the situation in CAR, per SCR 2709 (2023). According to the SG’s October report (S/2023/769), the UN documented a 294 percent increase in grave violations between June and October 2023. This increase was primarily the result of the “high number of self-demobilized children formerly associated with Retour, réclamation et réhabilitation, FPRC, and UPC.” Humanitarian access continued to face challenges, including in areas where military operations took place and due to explosive ordnance. The Security Council should:

  • Demand that all parties uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law (IHL) and human rights law (IHRL), and that all parties allow and facilitate the safe, timely, and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance to affected populations, especially children; and call on signatories of the Political Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in CAR to uphold their commitments, especially those pertaining to children;
  • Call for all parties to end and prevent grave violations against children, including by engaging with the UN to sign and implement action plans to end and prevent all six grave violations against children; urge the MPC, FPRC, and UPC to fully and swiftly implement their respective action plansand release all children still in their ranks;
  • Ensure allocation of sufficient capacity in MINUSCA’s child protection unit to fully deliver on its child protection mandate, per SCR 2709 (2023);
  • Call on the Government to fully implement all aspects of the Child Protection Codeand to ensure perpetrators of grave violations are held accountable and that child survivors of sexual violence have access to comprehensive, gender-sensitive, and age-appropriate response systems and services, and strengthen preventive measures, including through the adoption of a prevention plan; encourage the Government to appoint child protection focal points in the armed forces and establish effective measures in cooperation with the UN to end and prevent grave violations by National Defense Forces and other security personnel, including through the adoption of a national prevention plan;
  • Urge the adoption and implementation of a handover protocol to facilitate the release of children to civilian child protection actors, prioritizing their reintegration in line with the Paris Principles and Commitments, which the Government has endorsed.

FRANCE IS THE SECURITY COUNCIL PENHOLDER ON CAR. 

This information is based on Watchlist’s Children and Armed Conflict Monthly Update – February 2024.

Publications

UN Action

Year listed: 2007
Action Plans signed: UFDR – recruitment and use of children (June 2007); Mouvement Patriotique pour la Centrafrique – recruitment and use, killing and maiming, rape and other forms of sexual violence, and attacks on schools and hospitals (June 2018); Front Populaire pour la Renaissance de la Centrafrique – recruitment and use of children, killing and maiming, rape and other forms of sexual violence, and attacks on schools and hospitals (July 2019); l’Unité pour la paix en Centrafrique – recruitment and use of children, killing and maiming, rape and other forms of sexual violence, and attacks on schools and hospitals (August 2019)
Previous Action Plans: APRD – recruitment and use of children (October 2011) *Party ceased to exist; CPJP – recruitment and use of children (November 2011) *Party ceased to exist
Sanctions Committee: The Central African Republic Sanctions Committee (Current Chair: Niger)
Secretary-General’s reports on CAAC in CAR: 2021; 2019; 20162011; 2009
Security Council Working Group conclusions on CAR: 2020201620112009
UN Mission: MINUSCA

Perpetrators listed in the annexes of the Secretary-General’s annual reports on children and armed conflict

2001 2002 2003 2005 2006 2007 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Armee populaire pour la restauration de la Republique et de la democratie (APRD)~ a, c a a a a
Forces democratiques pour la reassemlement (UFDR)/Union des forces democratiques pour le rassemblement (UFDR)~ a, b, d a,c a a a a a,b,c,d
Forces democratiques populaire de Centrafrique (FDPC)* a, c a a a a a a,b,c,d
Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA)* a,c,e a,c a,b,c a,b,c a,b,c a,b,c a,b,c a,b,c,e a,b,c,e
Movement des liberateurs centrafricains pour la justice (MLCJ) a a a a a
Self-defence militias supported by the Government of Central African Republic a a a a
Convention des patriotes pour la justice et la paix (CPJP)~ a a a a a,b,c,d
Convention des patriotes pour la justice et la paix fondamentale (CPJP fondamentale) a a,b,c,d
Convention patriotique pour le salut du Kodro (CPSK) a
Union des forces republicaines (UFR) a
Local defense militias known as the anti-balaka a,b a,b,c a,b,c a,b,c
Former Séléka coalition and associated armed groups  a,b,c,d a,b,c,d a,b,c,d a,b,c,d

a: Parties that recruit and use children
b: Parties that kill and maim children
c: Parties that commit rape and other forms of sexual violence against children

d: Parties that engage in attacks on schools and/or hospitals
e: Parties that engage in abduction of children
f: Parties that deny humanitarian access to children

~ This party has concluded an action plan with the United Nations in line with Security Council resolutions 1539 (2004) and 1612 (2005).
* This party has been in the annexes for at least five years and is therefore considered a persistent perpetrator.

News

News