Central African Republic - Universal Periodic Review

UPR 31, November 9, 2018
Recommendations by Canada

Recommendations:

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Thank you, Mr. President.

Canada congratulates the Central African Republic for the successful holding of elections in 2015-2016 and highlights its sustained efforts particularly in the areas of peace and security and the fight against impunity, with the establishment of the Special Criminal Court. We remain profoundly concerned at the high incidence of human rights violations and abuses in the country.

Canada recommends that the Central African Republic:

1. Strengthen the capacity of the Joint Rapid Response Unit to Combat Sexual Violence Against Women and Children in order to better meet the needs of these vulnerable groups.
2. Allocate a suitable budget to the National Commission on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, to allow it to better fulfil its mandate.
3. Revise article 294 of the Penal Code to ensure full protection against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
4. Take measures to effectively protect all human rights defenders.

Canada continues to encourage the Central African Republic and its international partners in their work to restore lasting peace in the country, essential for the respect of human rights.

Background:

According to UPR Info, a non-profit, non-governmental organization that tracks the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process, in the first two cycles of the UPR, the Central African Republic (CAR) received 296 recommendations, of which 248 were accepted (a rate acceptance of 84%). Canada’s previous recommendations to the CAR touched on the right to life, the preservation of the freedom of religion and the return of the rule of law. They were all accepted by the CAR Government.

Since the last review in 2014, despite breakthroughs such as the holding of elections in 2015-2016 and the creation of the Special Criminal Court, the country remains in a security and humanitarian crisis. Armed groups control about 80% of the territory, continue to commit violent acts against civilians and have increased their attacks targeting humanitarian workers and UN peacekeepers. Armed groups continue to be primarily responsible for human rights violations in the country. According to the 2017-2018 Amnesty International report on the situation in the CAR, "armed groups were responsible for killings, torture and other ill-treatment, sexual assaults, abductions, arrests, extortion and looting, recruitment and exploitation of children and attacks on humanitarian workers and premises; they also prevented access to humanitarian assistance”.

In 2017, the African Initiative for Peace and Reconciliation in the Central African Republic was adopted in Libreville, under the supervision of the African Union. In 2017 and 2018, a group of facilitators worked on the implementation of this roadmap by holding meetings to facilitate dialogue between the armed groups and the Government. However, the latest report of the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the CAR, in August 2018, raises the lack of consultation with the population. Thus, the Independent Expert requested more inclusion, especially women, in the ongoing peace processes.

Gender and sexual-based violence is also a very worrisome scourge in the CAR. According to the latest UN report on conflict-related sexual violence, of March 2018, the UN peacekeeping mission in the CAR (MINUSCA), in 2017, "documented 308 incidents of conflict-related sexual violence, affecting 155 women, 138 girls (including 48 recruited by armed groups), 13 men and 2 boys”. In addition, according to the latest report of the Independent Expert, at least 300 complaints of sexual violence were processed by the Joint rapid response unit to combat sexual violence against women and children. The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, in his report of May 2018, recommends to the CAR to “strengthen [...] the resources available to the Joint unit”.

Among the work begun to improve the human rights situation, it is important to highlight the creation of the National Commission on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. However, according to the Independent Expert and the Committee, the Commission has not yet received an operational budget.