Highlights

• Message of the UN Secretary General to the participants of inclusive political dialogue
• Central African opposition groups in the UFVN movement demand Bozizé’s resignation
• Aid management system DAD contributes to improved coordination
• Attack near Baïdou in the east of the country leaves 12 dead

Background and security

Ban-Ki Moon’s message to the IPD participants

In his message to participants of the Inclusive Political Dialogue (IPD), the UN Secretary-General welcomes the encouraging reconciliation efforts of the Central African government and opposition groups since 2007. He wished the participants of the dialogue all success, in the hope that it will establish the foundations for lasting peace.

“This dialogue is an opportunity to establish a strong foundation for genuine national reconciliation, which is essential for the stabilization of the country. Stability can unleash the rich potential of the country’s people, and put its abundant natural resources to use for its citizens’ well-being and prosperity. All efforts should be made to successfully combat poverty, build strong national institutions, and promote respect for human rights and the rule of law.”, he said.

The Secretary General also reaffirmed that the UN will do everything in its power to help implement the recommendations of the Inclusive Political Dialogue.

“I would like to express gratitude to His Excellency El Haj Omar Bongo Ondimba, President of the Gabonese Republic, for his tireless efforts in facilitating the return of peace and promoting national reconciliation in the Central African Republic. I also thank President Pierre Buyoya for accepting the challenging task of chairing such a historic event. I thank the bilateral and multilateral partners of the Central African Republic for supporting the dialogue. I would also like to thank the peace consolidation force of the Economic Community of the Central African Republic (MICOPAX) for providing vital support for the security arrangements for this event.”, he added.

UFVN demand the resignation of Bozizé

Central African opposition groups and parties assembled in the Union of National Forces (UFVN) have demanded the resignation of President François Bozizé during the Inclusive Political Dialogue on Wednesday; 10 December. According to the message of the UFVN read by its coordinator, Mr. Henri Pouzère, the president should resign because of his repeated violations of the Constitution, which would have been a source of suffering for the Central African people.

A message from the former Central African president, André Kolingba, currently in France for health reasons, was also read during the Dialogue by an official of his party, the Central African Democratic assembly (RDC), also member of the UFVN. “We must stop the hemorrhage in the political and economic sector and restore hope for the Central African people. I therefore propose that we go through a political transition whose contours will be defined by your work “, he said.

At least 12 killed during an attack in the east

According to the French Press Agency (AFP) and a Central African military source who requested anonymity, twelve people, including a soldier, were killed in an attack in the east on Tuesday. Soldiers working on an installation near the settlement of Baïdou, about 600 km northeast of Bangui, were attacked by unidentified gunmen. Eleven of the attackers and one soldier were killed in the ensuing skirmish, explained the military source, who was present in the region at the time.

Among the killed attackers was their alleged leader. His body was publicly displayed by the army on Wednesday in Bria, fifty miles away from Baïdou, said the source adding that the military also made prisoners and that some were wounded.

Current events

The programmes of Jesuit Refugee Service

In October, the NGO Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), opened its office in Bangui, which also coordinates projects in the prefectures of Ouham, Haute-Kotto and the Vakaga. By 15 December, offices in the above areas should be operational.

JRS programmes are designed to assist displaced people, refugees, returnees and local populations affected by conflict. Although the NGO offers a range of services, it focuses mainly on girls’ education by providing training supervision, by accompanying teachers and by distributing educational materials for students and instructors. The NGO is also active in building schools and latrines and contributes to the development of activities for students in schools.

JRS works with the Catholic diocese, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the Ministry of education, which JRS supports with capacity building activities.

Contact albertedgar.manyuchi@gmail.com for more information.

Aid management system supports coordination

The Central African government and its humanitarian and development partners have jointly launched the aid management system DAD to improve aid coordination and effectiveness.

The new public online database will allow anyone to easily find detailed information on humanitarian and development assistance in the Central African Republic (CAR). Flexible lists, graphs and interactive maps will help donors, aid agencies and the government understand better who contributes, and who does what where. The DAD system will complement the intranet, public websites and mapping exercises at cluster and NGO level.

The launch of DAD represents an important milestone for the HDPT’s information management team, building on its success with innovative and user-friendly advocacy, mapping, and knowledge-sharing tools. By late November, donors had already entered data on more than 170 activities (or roughly two thirds of the total), documenting expenditures of more than $145 million in 2008. Implementing agencies are asked to make sure that the data for 2007/2008 is complete by March 2009.

Visit dad.minplan-rca.org or contact dad@minplan-rca.org

FACA instructors to teach humanitarian law

On Thursday, 4 December, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) held a workshop to strengthen the capacity of officers’ instructors of the Central African Armed Forces (FACA) to include International Humanitarian Law (IHL) in the training, planning and conduct of their activities.

According to the ICRC, the officers had already received similar training in 2006, but experienced some difficulty in implementing the recommendations. Given the still unsatisfactory outcome, the ICRC decided to further strengthen the instructor’s capabilities and explore ways and means with them to better promote IHL within the defence forces and integrate it fully into training programmes.

The workshop focused on the concepts of IHL, for example, the command responsibility, the conduct of operations, the restriction and prohibition of methods and means of warfare, repression of violations of IHL and the integration of IHL in military training. The Chief of Staff of the FACA, the General Jules Bernard Ouandé confirmed that the authorities are willing to ensure the promotion of the IHL in the FACA’s training programme.

Contact bangui.bng@icrc.org for more information.

Education in Paoua supported by Coopi

Through its emergency education programme for the past school year in Paoua (north-west), the NGO Coopi helped to ensure that 104 schools have been able to operate, received material support and parent-teacher training. According to Coopi’s activity report, in total 32,000 students were able to attend school.

With the new project funded by the Common Humanitarian Fund, 115 schools of the prefecture of Paoua will benefit from funding and training of existing parent-teachers, the recruitment of 52 new parents-teachers to further reduce the staff deficit, the distribution of educational materials to children in school and the opening of 5 kindergartens. Coopi plans to hire an expert to provide psychosocial support in schools. The issue of reducing gender disparities in the classroom will also be taken into account in the project.

Contact romio@coopi.org for more information.

Gisèle Willybiro | willybiro@un.org | +236 75 54 90 31

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