Highlights

• The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) is moving to CAR, according to DRC’s Minister of Information
• End of the inclusive political dialogue in CAR on December 20
• Death of the President of the Central African League of Human Rights, Maitre Nganatouwa Goungaye Wanfiyo

Background and security

The LRA leadership of the Central

According to Lambert Mende, Minister of Information of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ugandan rebels of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) are moving towards the Central African Republic.
“According to information that we’ve received, they are preparing to enter the Central African Republic. We are currently in their pursuit.”, he said Saturday at Reuters. “The Central Government has sent troops to the border,” he added.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in DRC reported that 314 people have been killed by elements of the LRA in the east of the country.

End of the inclusive political dialogue

About two hundred people, including representatives from government, civil society, politicians and leaders of armed political groups have participated in the Inclusive Political Dialogue (IPD), which ended on 20 December.

Former President Patassé was in the country for the occasion and Abdoulaye Miskine, leader of the Democratic Front for the central African people (FDPC) in exile in Libya was also in the capital. Jean-Jacques Demafouth, the President of Popular Army for the Restoration of Democracy (APRD), returned to Bangui after six years of absence. Captain Abakar Sabone, head of the Central African Liberation Movement for Justice (MLCJ), was also present.

The discussions held by the participants of the twelve-day-long IPD have resulted in several recommendations.

Two measures were adopted: forming a government of national unity to bring together all sides involved in the dialogue, restore confidence between political actors and the people and bring peace to the territory, and ensuring that the country is run until general elections in 2010 with complete transparency. Furthermore, the establishment of a “truth and reconciliation” commission for final forgiveness is a major exhortation.

Government and the APRD reconciled

On 30 December, a ceremony of reconciliation between the Government and the APRD took place in Paoua. The Minister of the Interior Paul Raymond Ndougou, local authorities, officers of MICOPAX, the President and Spokesman of the APRD Jean-Jacques Démafouth and Laurent Ndjim-Woé, and humanitarian organizations working in the area took part in the ceremony.

In his speech, the president of the APRD asked for forgiveness from the population of the city and announced that all the barriers erected by the APRD would be lifted to allow the people to attend their business.

The Minister of the Interior stressed that the objective of this mission is to reassure the people of Ouham-Pendé that peace is real and that this visit is under the sign of reconciliation.

The Minister of Justice, Thierry Maleyombo, also visited Kaga Bandoro in the prefecture of Nana-Grébizi for a ceremony similar to that in Paoua. The population of Kaga Bandoro witnessed the desire for peace expressed by the Minister; which was echoed by Colonel Lakoye Maradas from the APRD who welcomed the return of peace.

Current events

Death of the lawyer Goungaye Wanfiyo

President of the Central African League of Human Rights (LCDH) for four years, the lawyer Nganatouwa Goungaye Wanfiyo died following a road accident on the night of 27 to 28 December.

As part of his work, Goungaye was defending victims in the proceedings launched by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Jean-Pierre Bemba, and he was returning from Sibut (188km north of Bangui), where he had been gathering evidence from some of the victims when he died.

At the inclusive political dialogue, he was one of the only people to be offended that the victims of the country’s crises were often being overlooked .

Goungaye had been threatened with death several times, and had also been arrested three months ago. Despite this, he had often said that he would never shut up; nor did he until the tragic accident. An investigation is ongoing to determine its exact cause.

Campaign for displaced persons

On 18 December, the Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, John Holmes, launched a new global campaign to raise awareness of displaced persons within their own country. At a press conference at United Nations Headquarters, he said that these people were at a greater risk of being forgotten because they do not have a clear status, unlike refugees. “Even if they have not crossed borders, the experience of displaced people is just as devastating as that of refugees,” he added.

The campaign for displaced persons will continue throughout 2009, and it aims to improve local and international awareness of the plight and rights of the displaced, facilitate their return and if possible to help prevent new displacement from occurring. Focusing on countries with a large number of displaced persons, the campaign will begin in January in the Central African Republic, before it continues in 40 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, said John Holmes.

$ 37.78 million for primary education

The Catalytic Fund Committee of the Fast Track Initiative has agreed to grant US$ 37.78 million to the education sector in CAR over the next 3 years.

The funds are specifically to support a programme for the construction and rehabilitation of schools (totalling 1,000 classrooms), support for the training, recruitment and payment of 2,800 teachers, the acquisition of 448,000 textbooks and capacity building within the Ministry of Education.

The World Bank will be the oversight entity for the implementation of the project and the signing of the grant agreement should take place in early 2009. The World Bank has also officially announced the ongoing negotiation of an education project of $ 5 million for 2011; while the French Development Agency (AFD) has anounced the negotiation of a project of the same amount to begin in 2010.

For more information h.cron@unesco.org or jean-philippe.deschamps@diplomatie.gouv.fr

Joint mission in the north-west

Following the ambush on 11 November of the Central African Armed Forces (FACA) by the FDPC in Nobanja (30km north of Kabo), humanitarian air and road access to the area had been suspended.
From 12 to 17 December, a joint mission composed of the International Rescue Committee (IRC), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and OCHA therefore went to Kabo and Sido on the border with Chad to assess the security and humanitarian situation.

Nobanja and Kembito, two villages of the region have been completely burned and emptied. However, during the mission, the team found no presence of elements of the FDPC and roads remain relatively busy with trucks, motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians. The gendarmerie of Sido has no means of locomotion. The border between CAR and Chad at Sido is permeable, there is as yet no police or customs formalities to get through on either sides.

The majority of people living along the Kabo-Sido road are former displaced from the site dedicated to IDPs located in Kabo.

The clean-up operations of the FACA, supported by the Chadian army, have been followed by the looting and destruction of homes which has caused further displacement of villagers from Bokayanga and Danzé. The villagers hide either in the bush, in other villages or flee to the displaced people’s site in Kabo. These renewed activities of the FDPC rebels have led to an influx of newly displaced people at this site, with an estimated 2,584 new arrivals reported since 13 November.

For more information mpaka@un.org

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

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