Info Bulletin 61
May 27th, 2008 by Gisele Willybiro, OCHA
19 - 26 May 2008 - Highlights:
- Jean-Pierre Bemba arrested by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes in CAR
- Mia Farrow finds a people living in fear
- Support to agriculture in the far north west of CAR by Première Urgence
- Upcoming mission of the UN Special Representative on Children and Armed Conflict
Background and security
Jean-Pierre Bemba arrested by the ICC
Jean-Pierre Bemba, accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes, was arrested in Brussels, Belgium, on 24 May upon request by the International Criminal Court (ICC). The accusations against him relate to violence, particularly sexual violence, committed in Bangui and other Central African towns in 2002 and 2003 by the troops of the Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC), under Bemba’s command. The MLC came to help the beleaguered Patassé régime.
Current events
Mia Farrow finds a people living in fear
One year after her first visit, American actress Mia Farrow, goodwill ambassador of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) returned to the Central African Republic from15 to 22 May. Ms. Farrow was accompanied by Esther Guluma, UNICEF Regional Director for West and Central Africa, and the two women came to assess the implementation of projects initiated in February 2007.
Nurit Galron, an Israeli pop star, and Meira Aboulafia of the Israeli Forum for International Humanitarian Aid were also part of the delegation this year.
The goodwill ambassador and her team assessed the humanitarian situation in the country through field visits, meeting with Government members and in-depth discussions with NGOs and UN agencies. The UNICEF team visited the towns of Bossangoa, Paoua, Kaga-Bandoro, Kabo and Sam Ouandja where they met displaced people, refugees and victims of violence.
During her last visit to this part of the country, Ms. Farrow had no doubt on the existence of a humanitarian crisis in CAR. One year later, she holds the same view. During a meeting with the national press on 22 May, Ms. Farrow expressed shock and concern over what she had witnessed in the north of the country.
She praised aid workers for their assistance to people in need, but regretted the outbreak of violence in the North-West which has caused the displacement of thousands of people surviving in extremely harsh conditions. She explained that most of the people she had met were living in constant fear, caused mainly by bandits, so-called called coupeurs de route, who are looting, burning villages and kidnapping children for ransom. In addition to that, sexual violence is perpetrated against women and girls. Ms. Farrow reported that over 1,000 rape survivors are receiving assistance on the Kaga Bandoro-Kabo road, one of them a four year old girl.
“I asked one displaced woman if she thinks she will have a better life one day. She told me that she has no hope for the future. I think it’s horrible… At the same time, in spite of the suffering, there is hope when you see teacher-parents determined to teach children in the bush schools,” commented the UNICEF goodwill ambassador.
She mentioned that some health centers she visited in Bossangoa have no medicines and equipment at all, and she launched an appeal to Central African President François Bozizé. “Last year when I met the President, he appointed me as the Spokesperson for all Central Africans who are suffering. So on their behalf, I ask him to dedicate 15% of the state budget to health and education,” she stated.
Esther Guluma raised the same concerns as Ms. Farrow and deplored the persisting humanitarian crisis in the North. “The crisis in this country is complex because it has diverse origins which are poverty, attacks by bandits against the population and the rape of women,” she said.
The Regional Director confirmed that resources mobilized to provide relief last year were three times larger than the three previous years together. Advocacy conducted by Mia Farrow in numerous press conferences and during high level meetings had contributed to this achievement. With the funds, UNICEF launched several programmes and opened two sub-offices in the interior of the country.
The Israeli singer, Nurit Galron, who was on her first visit in CAR, said she was shocked by what she had witnessed in the field. She contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel asking them to help the country.
For more information: aboher@unicef.org
Support to agriculture in the far north west
Première Urgence started its emergency agricultural activities in Ouham Pendé, on the Bongaro-Pougol road traversing Paoua in the far north west of the country. The NGO has already rehabilitated 12 hectares of the 30 hectares of low-lying land, flooded during the rainy season. Five kilos of rice seeds will be distributed in the coming days to 300 households so that they can begin to cultivate the land. These families will also receive seed protection rations for 45 days. With a view to revitalize the local economy and trade by the ‘High Labour Intensity’ approach, the rehabilitation project will employ 825 workers for 30 days, applying the Cash for Work method. Some 160 farmers are already at work.
A baseline study in the same area led to the identification of 6,000 vulnerable households. These are often displaced or returned families, who had to flee their burned villages. Their farmland has been abandoned, their tools were looted or stolen and they lack seeds. These households will get farming tools and seeds to produce food and cash crops, as well as seed protection rations for 45 days. The projects are funded by the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO); the protection rations are a donation of the French Embassy in CAR.
With the support of UNICEF, Première Urgence has also rehabilitated the health center of Paoua, providing it with adequate consultation rooms, water and equipment. The rehabilitation of the Pendé health center is planned for the coming months.
For more information: pu.cdm.rca@gmail.com
Coordination
Mission on Children and Armed Conflict
Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, will visit CAR from 27 to 31 May. She will assess first-hand the situation of children in the country to advocate for better protection and programme interventions for children affected by conflict. Ms. Coomaraswamy will pay particular attention to child recruitment by state and non-state actors.
Contact us: UN OCHA Bangui, CAR
Nancy Snauwaert | snauwaert@un.org | +236 75 54 22 78
Gisèle Willybiro | willybiro@un.org | +236 75 54 90 31
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