Amnesty researcher says possible war crimes and crimes against humanity still being committed by local and foreign armed groups
DAKAR (AlertNet) – Attempts to end years of conflict in the Central African Republic have failed because of the lack of coordination between national and international forces dealing with the situation, says the lead author of an Amnesty International report released on Thursday.
Godfrey Byaruhanga, Amnesty’s Central Africa researcher, says serious human rights violations including possible war crimes and crimes against humanity are still being committed by local and foreign armed groups operating in the country.
“There have been measures taken to end the crises but these measures have been ineffective,” Byaruhanga told AlertNet.
“If there was a central coordinating body such as the African Union (A.U.) there might be a way that these forces (intervening to restore peace) may coordinate efforts to be more effective,” he added on the phone from London.
The report – “Central Africa Republic – Action needed to end decades of abuse” – recommends that the A.U., through its peace and security council, should take the lead to coordinate measures to build a coalition of governments for the purpose of protecting and promoting human rights.
The international community has pledged support to end the crisis in the Central African Republic, particularly the U.S. and former colonial power France, to provide support to the A.U. which may not have sufficient resources to intervene, Byaruhanga said.
He said past and ongoing peacekeeping and military interventions including those led by the U.N., the European Union, neighbouring Uganda and the regional Central African force have not only operated without coordination but also failed to consider the complexity of the situation in the CAR which requires long-term involvement and a holistic approach by partners willing to help.
The country has endured years of misrule since independence in 1960 and a mix of local rebels, bandits and the spillover of conflicts from neighbouring Chad, Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo have undermined efforts to stabilise the nation.
The government’s inability to control the country beyond the capital Bangui has allowed parts of the vast country to become a haven for the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a rebellion ejected from Uganda in 2005 but which has since roamed remote jungle regions in Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic.
Rights groups say the LRA has been abducting children in the Central African Republic to use as child soldiers or sex slaves, and has been killing civilians and looting their harvests.
The U.S. government announced this month that it was sending troops to support Ugandan forces to deal with the LRA. The Ugandan army (UPDF) has since 2008 been tracking the LRA in the Central African Republic but the group has continued to commit atrocities.
“Deploying U.S. troops could be a positive development to help bring an end to abuses committed by the LRA but are 100 advisers enough,” he said.
“We should not forget that there are more than 14 other armed groups in the Central African Republic that should not be allowed to run loose committing human rights violations in the country,” Byaruhanga added.
He said Amnesty is urging the international community to take an approach that tackles all the armed groups that operate in the Central African Republic as well as the issues of governance that make it hard to enforce peace and justice in the country.
“Strengthening the ill-equipped and poorly trained Central African Republic army and providing it with training so that it does not commit abuses against civilians will be a good step,” Byarunhanga said.
He said steps must also be taken to improve the country’s judicial system which is unable to prosecute anyone for crimes under international law despite such crimes being incorporated in its penal code since January last year.
“The people of the Central African Republic have suffered all manner of abuses including killings, torture, rape, and pillaging and they deserve a better future than they have had so far,” said Byaruhanga.
“The international community has to be better interested and more involved in helping the country to return to normality and protect civilians from human rights violations,” he said.
(Editing by Rebekah Curtis)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
