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Report of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Mr. Philip Alston: Addendum - Mission to the Central African Republic (A/HRC/11/2/Add.3)

Attachments

HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
Eleventh session
Agenda item 3

PROMOTION AND PROTECTION OF ALL HUMAN RIGHTS, CIVIL, POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS INCLUDING THE RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT

Summary

The people of the Central African Republic have suffered through repeated violent coups since independence in 1960, widespread lawlessness and banditry, and, over the last three years, internal armed conflicts in the north of the country. During these crises, killings by the security forces have been common, and impunity for abuses has prevailed. The security forces have been unable either to protect human rights or to respect human rights, and the Government has been, in turns, unwilling and unable to punish violations.

When the Special Rapporteur conducted his fact-finding mission to the Central African Republic in February 2008, the conflict in the northeast had ended, but a low-intensity conflict continued in the northwest. The rebels had killed a small number of civilians, but the security forces had been involved in widespread village burnings and the killing of hundreds of civilians in the northwest. These large-scale abuses had declined significantly by mid-2007, due to positive steps taken by President François Bozizé and a general waning of the conflict.

Since the Special Rapporteur's visit took place, there have been encouraging moves towards securing a durable peace in the north. A formal ceasefire was brokered, multiactor political dialogue to assure stability for the country as a whole was held in December 2008, and a new government of national unity formed in January 2009. These steps were, however, interrupted through 2008 by sporadic fighting in the northwest and renewed rebel activity in the northeast. And progress in resolving the conflict has not been matched with progress in securing human rights. Killings have continued, accountability for past abuses is non-existent, and a general lack of security in the north prevails. From a human rights perspective, the most pressing issues today remain those of securing the population from banditry, remedying general lawlessness, countering impunity, and reforming the largely unaccountable security forces.

As fighting between the Government and the rebels ebbed, banditry took its place as the prime threat to civilians. Bandits loot vehicles and kidnap for ransom; they also sometimes burn villages and kill villagers. The security forces are largely unwilling and unable to protect villagers. Further, members of the security forces have been responsible for killings of suspected criminals and for killings motivated by personal or corrupt ends. Killings in police custody and in detention centers have been common. Killings of persons alleged to be "witches" also regularly occur, often with the direct participation of the security forces. Investigations and prosecutions of killings rarely occur due to a lack of will to tackle abuses by State actors and to a severe lack of resources in the justice sector.

This report analyses the causes of unlawful killings in the Central African Republic and proposes reforms to reduce their incidence and promote accountability. The security sector should be transformed so that the armed forces are able to both ensure and respect human rights. This means that the security forces should be reformed so that they can effectively protect the Central African Republic's people from cross-border raids and the internal threats presented by rebel groups and bandits. But it also means that the security forces must themselves, in carrying out military and law enforcement operations, obey human rights norms.

Although the reforms required to reduce unlawful killings and ensure accountability for past abuses are extensive, a number of factors suggest that the country is currently at an unusually favorable juncture for change. In June 2008, following extensive consultations, the Government pledged wide-ranging security sector reform. In addition, the President has shown a specific willingness to take steps to reduce killings by his troops. Former rebel groups have been brought into a multi-party government. International financial institutions have recently reengaged in the Central African Republic, and both international aid and the presence of humanitarian organizations have increased substantially. If the Government's willingness to make reforms is met with targeted support from the international community to increase the Central African Republic's capacity to implement them, the country can begin to break its decades-long pattern of abuse and impunity.