Highlights

• The Popular Army for the Restoration of Democracy (APRD) suspends its participation in the process leading up to the political dialogue.
• A barge crossing the Oubangui river in CAR, sank, killing 42.

Background and security

The APRD pulls out of the political dialogue
The President of the Popular Army for the Restoration of Democracy (APRD), Jean-Jacques Démafouth said in a press release that his organisation had suspended its participation in the process leading up to the political dialogue. Mr. Démafouth has also stated that the APRD had withdrown from a ceasefire and a global peace agreement signed on 9 May and 21 June 2008. The APRD made that resolution because they disapprove parts of a proposed general amnesty law.

Radio France Internationale (RFI) also reported that the two other groups, the Union of Democratic Forces for Uniity (UFDR) and the Democratic Front of the Central African People (FDPC), threatened to pull out of the dialogue.

A barge sinks on the Oubangui River
On the night of 22 to 23 July, a barge carrying 182 people across the Oubangui River sank after hitting a rock. 42 passengers died, 115 are missing and 25 survived.

The passengers boarded in the town of Mobayi-Mbongo in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the boat which belonged to a Central African sank while on its way to Bangui.

Passengers were from both the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic. The accident occurred near Bosobolo, over 600 km north-east of Mbandaka, the provincial capital of Equateur.

Current events

Mission of WFP and OCHA to Bouar
From 21 to 24 July officers of the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) went to Bouar in Nana Mambéré prefecture to assess the humanitarian needs.

In Bouar, the WFP provides emergency food assistance to internally displaced people and supports nutritional rehabilitation centers and 85 school canteens in the prefecture.

The Human Rights unit of the United Nations Office in the Central African Republic (BONUCA) works to raise awareness for the respect of human rights among, armed groups, civil authorities and the people of Bouar.

The Global Fund supports HIV/AIDS awareness activities, voluntary testing, care and monitoring of people infected with the virus in the prefecture. At the time of the visit, the center performed 5,786 voluntary tests of which 828 were HIV-positive.

The NGO Mercy Corps has been in Bouar since February 2008 and is involved in water, hygiene and sanitation projects. In partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), they have also distributed corn and peanut seeds to almost 12,500 families

For more information: ndayirukiye@un.org

Project for households in the affected areas
A project funded by the Irish government to diversify sources of income for vulnerable households by restocking goats in areas affected by crises, was launched in June. Three hundred local organizations representing approximately 6,000 households will receive 3000 goats.

The animals will be purchased in areas with high goat production and the animals will be distributed to households which have socio-economic difficulty, such as widows without support, orphans, and persons with chronic illnesses. The groups selected will also be assisted with construction materials to build shelter for these animals.

For more information: jean.nkusi@ fao.org

Symposium on witchcraft in Bangui
A symposium on “Witchcraft and Justice” was held from 1 to 2 August sponsored by the University of Bangui, the European Union, the French Cooperation, the United Nations Fund for Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and BONUCA.

During the two days, participants from different departments of the university and civil society discussed topics such as “Witchcraft, the penal system and human rights in Central Africa” and “Witchcraft in court”

Participants gather for the symposium on witchcraft
Among the many recommendations made to the government and development partners, participants in the symposium called for the revision of certain articles in the Criminal Procedure Code that limit the rights of alleged perpetrators of witchcraft.

Coordination

UN supports the government
United Nations Agencies have made every effort to ensure that human lives are saved by attending leading health services of the capital by distributing generators.

This support follows the letter from the Prime Minister on 7 July that addressed international institutions, proposing measures to solve the energy crisis in CAR. The Head of Government expressed his concern about a prolonged interruption of electricity that could cause a humanitarian crisis for public health system.

The generators were distributed to the following sites:

For more information: manenguc@cf.afro.who.int

EUFOR and MINURCAT in Bangui
On 29 July, Victor Angelo Da Silva, Special Representative for UN Secretary-General of the UN Mission in Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT), met with ambassadors, national authorities and heads of UN agencies. Discussions at that meeting focused on the future of the MNURCAT at the end of mandate of the European Force for Chad and the CAR (EUFOR) which is expected to end in March 2009.

General Ganascia of EUFOR was in Bangui on 30 July. He met with humanitarian organisations operating in the north-west of the country to gain a better understanding of the security situation in that region.

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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