The Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice is an international women's human rights organisation that advocates for gender justice through the International Criminal Court (ICC) and through domestic mechanisms, including peace negotiations and justice processes. We work with women most affected by the conflict situations under investigation by the ICC.

The Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice works in Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, the Central African Republic, Kenya, Libya and Kyrgyzstan.

Offices
■ Cairo, Egypt
■ Kampala and Kitgum, Uganda
■ The Hague, the Netherlands

Dear Friends,

Welcome to the first of two Special Issues of Women’s Voices dedicated to the situation in the Central African Republic (CAR). Women's Voices is a regular eLetter from the Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice. In Women’s Voices, we provide updates and analysis on political developments, the pursuit of justice and accountability, the participation of women in peace talks and reconciliation efforts from the perspective of women’s rights activists within armed conflict situations, specifically those countries under investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) including Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Darfur, the Central African Republic (CAR), Kenya, Libya, Côte d’Ivoire and Mali.

This first Special Issue is dedicated to the recent conflict in the CAR. It provides an overview of events since December 2012, a summary of allegations of ongoing violations of international humanitarian law and human rights, including sexual violence, as well as civil society statements on the conflict. The forthcoming second Special Issue on the CAR discusses the international response to the recent conflict, including the authorisation of a UN peacekeeping force for the CAR, the establishment of an International Commission of Inquiry, and the opening of a new Preliminary Examination by the ICC Prosecutor.

In addition to Women’s Voices, we also produce a regular legal eLetter, Legal Eye on the ICC, with summaries and gender analysis of judicial decisions and other legal developments at the International Criminal Court (ICC), and discussion of legal issues arising from victims’ participation before the Court, particularly as these issues relate to the prosecution of gender-based crimes in each of the Situations under investigation by the ICC.

More information about the work of the Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice and previous issues of Women’s Voices and Legal Eye on the ICC can be found on our website www.iccwomen.org.

Conflict and political transition in the CAR

In 1993, the Central African Republic (CAR) held its first democratic elections, bringing to power Ange-Félix Patassé, who was subsequently re-elected in 1999. Shortly after Patassé’s re-election, the CAR experienced a major conflict, with a peak of violence occurring in 2002-2003, when rebel groups attempted multiple coups and ultimately overthrew the legitimate government.[1] During this period, President Patassé invited the Mouvement de libération du Congo (MLC) forces into the CAR from neighbouring DRC, in order to help him quash the rebellion and maintain his power.[2] In this context, the MLC is alleged to have launched a campaign of rape, pillaging and murder against the civilian population. Following the overthrow of President Patassé in 2003, François Bozizé seized power, supported a new constitution that was approved by voters in 2004, and was elected as the President of CAR in 2005.[3] In December 2004, the Government of the CAR referred the Situation to the ICC, which led to an investigation being opened in 2007 focusing on the events of 2002-2003, and to the eventual trial of MLC leader, DRC national and former Vice-President, Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo.

The current conflict, which reportedly began in December 2012, stems from a series of attacks led by an alliance of armed opposition factions known as the Séléka Coalition, which claimed that President Bozizé ‘had failed to uphold the terms of the peace agreements signed in 2007, 2008, and 2011’.[4] In January 2013, following the commission of ‘widespread and grave violations of human rights’ by Séléka fighters, peace talks between the Séléka Coalition and the Government of the CAR were organised in Libreville, Gabon, moderated by the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS).[5] On 11 January 2013, after three days of negotiations, the ‘Libreville Agreements’ were signed, which included a ‘declaration of principles to resolve the political and security crisis in the [CAR], a ceasefire agreement, and a political agreement.’[6] According to these agreements, President Bozizé would stay in power until the end of his term in 2016 but would not be eligible to run in the next elections; and a transitional unity government would be formed and led by a Prime Minister chosen from the opposition.

In spite of the Libreville Agreements, ongoing distrust by both parties, internal power struggles within the Séléka Coalition and dissatisfaction by its combatants with the Agreements, Séléka launched an attack, entered Bangui on 24 March 2103 and overthrew President Bozizé. On 26 March, the leader of the Séléka Coalition, Michel Djotodia, suspended the country’s constitution, dissolved its parliament, and subsequently declared himself President.[7] Djotodia appointed a new government and initiated a three-year transition after which he said elections would take place.[8] On 27 March, former Prime Minister Nicolas Tiangaye, appointed in January by Bozizé, was confirmed in his functions by Djotodia.[9] Djotodia went on to establish a National Transitional Council (NTC) on 13 April 2013, and to appoint himself ‘Head of the Transition’.[10] In September 2013 Djotodia ‘dissolved’ the Séléka group, but retained his position as CAR’s new leader.[11] Conflict continued throughout the period Djotodia was in office, as described further below.

During this period, ECCAS countries continued to meet in Extraordinary Summits to discuss, and seek solutions to, the crisis.[12] Following one such meeting, held in Ndjamena, Chad on 9 January 2014, Djotodia and Tiangaye resigned from their positions, after having been criticised by regional leaders, including Chad’s President Idriss Déby Itno, for their failure to stop the violence in CAR.[13] The French Government had also reportedly shown its lack of support for Djotodia when the French Defense Minister refused to meet with him on a visit to the country on 2 January 2014,[14] and the African Union Peace and Security Council strongly condemned Séléka’s seizure of power and refused to recognise Djotodia as President.[15] As of January 2014, Djotodia was reported to have left the CAR for exile in Benin.[16]

Subsequent to Djotodia’s resignation, the NTC organised an election, and on 20 January Catherine Samba-Panza, former mayor of Bangui, was elected as President of the Transition, becoming the first woman to serve as head of state of the CAR.[17] On 25 January, President Samba-Panza appointed André Nzapayékéas the new Prime Minister of the CAR.[18] The new government, composed of 20 ministers including seven women, was formed by Nzapayéké on 27 January 2014.[19]

Under President Samba-Panza, the CAR government is reported to have continued efforts towards a peace process, including calling for voluntary disarmament of citizens in June 2014,[20] as well as introducing a ‘four-point plan’ which would (1) ‘ensure that the population is informed about matters relating to security, criminal prosecution, justice and reconciliation'; (2) ‘seek to strengthen dialogue with the armed groups who are responsible for the insecurity in the country'; (3) ‘seek to reduce the animosity between the Christian and Muslim religious communities’; and (4) begin ‘dialogue with internally displaced persons and with refugees who have left the country’.[21] Subsequently, from 10-12 June 2014, President Samba-Panza held a three-day National Reconciliation Conference in Bangui, reportedly attended by 30 individuals belonging to political parties, armed groups, civil society, religious groups, media and economical actors, who engaged in discussions on a ‘road map’ for national reconciliation.[22]

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Séléka and 'anti-balaka'

Attacks by Séléka and ex-Séléka fighters have been met by further fighting and retaliation by militias calling themselves ‘anti-balaka’, or ‘anti-machetes’.[23] According to a report by FIDH, the Séléka occupation ‘started to become especially harsh and violent’ in June 2013, with ‘large-scale stealing, pillaging and extortion’. In this context, ‘the first anti-balaka militia groups recomposed and attacked the Séléka’ and a ‘spiral of vengeance on both sides degenerated into anti-balaka attacks on the civilian Muslim population’.[24] The UN Secretary General has noted in his March 2014 report to the Security Council that ‘[f]or much of 2013, many Central Africans suffered under the control of ex-Séléka forces, which were perceived by much of the population as being made up entirely of and as being supported by Muslims.’[25] His report states that ‘this is not the case’ and clarifies that religious hatred was not the root cause of the violence but rather a dimension that was ‘injected’ into the conflict through the ‘manipulation and exploitation by some in positions of power’.The report adds that ‘the current wave of revenge and reprisal attacks being carried out in the name of Christians are the result of resentment stemming from months of serious human rights abuses.’[26]

With Djotodia’s resignation in January 2014, ex-Séléka elements retreated from Bangui, which ‘sparked renewed attacks on the remaining members, associates, perceived supporters and members of Muslim civil communities, who are now deliberately and systematically targeted by anti-balaka elements’.[27] The UN Secretary General’s March 2014 report stated that killings ‘are reported daily’ in Bangui, mob violence ‘has reached unprecedented levels’, and use of hate speech over mass media and use of the rhetoric of ‘cleansing operations’ had been reported.[28] Under these conditions, the Secretary General noted that ‘the ethnic and religious demography of the country has changed radically’, with ‘more than 15,000 Muslims seeking to flee to safety […] taking shelter in 18 locations throughout the country.’[29] The destruction of Muslim neighbourhoods has also been a feature of recent violence, according to Human Rights Watch, which via satellite imagery identified the remains of ‘over 4,000 homes, shops, and mosques destroyed during several waves of organised violence, systematic looting and arson’ between January and May 2014. The group reported that during this time period ‘international peacekeepers and Chadian troops assisted in the evacuation of some 120,000 Muslims’, leaving Bangui a ‘city almost entirely cleansed of its Muslim populations.’[30] Also in May, ‘Muslim rebels’ reportedly attacked a Catholic church compound in Bangui that was sheltering ‘hundreds of civilians’, in ‘the largest [attack] attributed to Muslim fighters since their Séléka coalition was ousted from power’ in January 2014.[31]

In May 2014, the Séléka Coalition held a congress in Ndele, in north eastern CAR, and announced that it had reorganised itself and chosen a new commander, General Joseph Zindeko.[32] Séléka is now said to be controlling large parts of northern CAR,[33] and the UN has warned that the creation of the new high command ‘was tantamount to setting up a rival government in the north, thereby partitioning the country’.[34] While the rival forces, the anti-balaka, have roots as a self-defence militia, a recent report by FIDH claimed that ‘these militias groups are mainly set up by the Central African Armed Forces (FACA) and eminent politicians close to former president François Bozizé’.[35] It is also reported that both Séléka and the anti-balaka have been financing their activities through ‘significant revenues’ from the exploitation of natural resources including diamonds and ivory, as well as by looting.[36]

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Ongoing international humanitarian law and human rights violations

As of April 2014, the UNSC stated its serious concern about ‘multiple violations of international humanitarian law’ and ‘widespread human rights violations and abuses’ taking place in the CAR.[37] The crimes identified by the UNSC include ‘extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests and detention, torture, sexual violence against women and children, rape, [and] recruitment and use of children’. These acts took place in the context of ‘attacks against civilians, in particular but not limited to Muslims, and attacks against places of worship’, as well as ‘denial of humanitarian access’. The UNSC stated that these acts are ‘committed by both former Séléka elements and militia groups, in particular the “anti-Balaka”’.[38]

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Sexual violence

Multiple forms of sexual violence have been reported during the conflict, including cases of rape, gang rapes, abduction of women, sexual slavery and forced marriage of children.[39] According to the UN ‘preliminary reports indicate that women and girls have been targeted in retaliatory attacks, during house-to-house searches and through forced marriages.’[40] The UN Secretary-General’s March 2014 report on conflict-related sexual violence states that ‘allegations have emerged of abductions and forced marriages by ex- Séléka officers in Bangui, Bouar and other areas affected by the conflict, with credible reports of girls being kept in military camps and becoming pregnant as a result of sexual slavery’.[41] Reports have also indicated that ‘female politicians and female relatives of public officials have been raped, kidnapped, and sometimes tortured.’[42]

The UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Zainab Hawa Bangura, during her second visit to the CAR on 17-19 March 2014, heard testimonies of atrocities committed against civilians, including ‘recurring instances [of] rape and gang rape, forced marriage, sexual mutilation, abduction and sexual slavery’.[43] The UN has noted that ‘[a]t present, medical and police authorities lack adequate training on caring for and protecting survivors of sexual violence, leaving women and girls vulnerable to stigmatisation and reprisal’, and that survivors are also deterred from reporting crimes ‘because of the continuing presence of alleged perpetrators and the lack of a functional judicial system’.[44]

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'Humanitarian crisis'

The UN has called the situation in the CAR ‘a humanitarian crisis of unprecedented proportions’, with more than half of the country’s population in need of humanitarian assistance, as of February 2014.[45] It has reported the internal displacement of 760,000 persons and the presence of 300,000 refugees in neighbouring countries.[46] It has also reported the ‘systematic and widespread recruitment and use of children’, as well as indicators that ‘sexual violence is employed as part of systematic attacks against civilian populations’.[47] The UN has estimated that ‘as many as 6,000 children could be associated with armed groups’.[48]

An April 2014 report from the World Food Programme (WFP) estimated that 1.6 million people, or 35 percent of the total population, were in need of urgent food assistance.[49] The WFP had put in place an assistance project designed at delivering food supplied to 1.25 million people between January and August 2014, which as of March 2014 was severely underfunded with only about a third of the needed resources secured.[50] On 12 February, the WFP ‘was forced to open an air bridge from Douala, Cameroon, to Bangui, resulting in an almost eightfold increase in the cost of getting assistance to those in need.’[51] Outside of Bangui, the situation is marked by ‘the near-total absence of State administration and services’.[52] The UN has noted that ‘insecurity impedes aid workers from reaching all those in need’.[53]

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Impact on civil society

The Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice has been monitoring the situation and working in the CAR since 2006, and has been issuing regular updates on the country and on Bemba’s trial. Within the CAR, together with partner organisations, the Women’s Initiatives has held consultations, training workshops, and advocacy activities. Women’s Initiatives partners from the CAR have also been involved in a number of regional and international workshops and meetings advocating for gender justice.[54]

In 2011, the Women’s Initiatives co-produced a gender justice video on the impact of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) on the south eastern provinces of CAR. The interviews for this film were conducted by Jeunesse Unie pour la Protection de l’Environnement et le Développement Communautaire (JUPEDEC), one of the local partners of the Women’s Initiatives within the CAR. The film, developed and co-edited by the Women’s Initiatives and JUPEDEC in collaboration with WITNESS, was recently screened at the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict held in London, June 2014.

Since the start of the recent conflict, the Women’s Initiatives has monitored developments within the CAR, liaised with partner organisations and monitored harassment targeting human rights defenders. During 2013, JUPEDEC reported that some of the organisation’s field staff were kidnapped and tortured, and a guide was arrested and shot by Séléka near Nzako.

In December 2012, civil society organisations in the CAR released a statement deploring ‘the abuses committed in cities occupied by the Séléka coalition, including the pillage of public and private property, the systematic disruption of means of communication in occupied cities, and cases of physical and sexual violence enacted on the civilian population’.[55] The statement noted that these acts constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity within the jurisdiction of the ICC. It further stated concern ‘about the position of the international community and its reductive approach to the resolution of the crisis by privileging armed groups, governments, and political parties, excluding civil society and victims’. It called for a number of measures including the immediate and unconditional signing of a ceasefire; the immediate convening of an inclusive dialogue on the national territory with the support of the international community; the involvement of civil society organisations in the peaceful resolution of the crisis; the opening of humanitarian corridors; and that urgent measures be taken to protect the civilian population.

A memorandum released by a number of civil society organisations in April 2013, during the period of Séléka’s control of the government, condemned ‘the means used by the State to attain power’ and put forward a long list of contributing causes for the current conflict, which included: ‘the fragility of State institutions from the country’s independence to this day’; ‘the exploitation and manipulation of ethnic differences by consecutive regimes’; ‘the lack of open and truthful dialogue between the government, the opposition and civil society since 1992’; ‘the blatant poverty and misery of populations’; ‘a feeling of being abandoned and/or excluded by northern populations’; and ‘the centralisation and concentration of State powers’.[56]

The memorandum described a number of violations of international law, and called for number of actions, including: a meeting to define the outlines of the transition; the appointment of key figures in transition bodies based on criteria ‘emphasising issues of gender, competence, moral integrity and the geopolitical balance of the country’; the creation of a compensation fund for victims of armed violence; the prompt implementation of a DDR programme that insists on the involvement and active participation of civil society; and the prosecution of all alleged perpetrators of human rights violations and acts of pillaging ‘in a spirit of justice that is fair and impartial and not one of punishment’.

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■ Read statements from civil society on the situation in CAR as of December 2012 and April 2013

■ Read more about our programmes in the CAR in our eLetter Women’s Voices and in In Pursuit of Peace I À la poursuite de la paix

■ Read the December 2009 issue of Women’s Voices to learn more about the ‘Women Peace Justice Power’workshop and march organised by Women’s Initiatives with partner organisation OCODEFAD

■ View the gender justice video Our Plea: Women and Girls from the Central African Republic call for justice, co-produced by the Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice and Jeunesse Unie pour la Protection de l’Environnement et le Développement Communautaire (JUPEDEC), a local partner, in collaboration with WITNESS

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Footnotes

1   For background on this period of CAR history see ICC-01/05-01/08-395-Anx3.
2   Gender Report Card 2011, p 234. See also, ‘Central African Republic’, American Non-Governmental Organizations Coalition for the International Criminal Court, available here.
3   ‘Central African Republic: New constitution adopted, 15 to vie for Presidency’, IRIN News, 20 December 2004, available here, last visited on 14 July 2014. See also ‘November 2005 Monthly Report Central African Republic’, Security Council Report, 28 October 2005, available here, last visited on 14 July 2014.
4   The Séléka Coalition comprises the Union des forces démocratiques pour le rassemblement (UFDR), the Convention patriotique du salut du Kodro (CPSK), the Convention des patriotes pour la justice et la paix (CPJP – Fondamentale) and the Union des forces républicaines (UFR). A/HRC/24/59, para 8.
5   S/2013/261, paras 3, 22, 26.
6   S/2013/261, para 3.
7   ‘Rebel Chief Suspends Constitution for 3 Years’, New York Times, 26 March 2013, available here, last visited on 16 January 2014.
8   ‘Rebel Chief Suspends Constitution for 3 Years’, NewYork Times, 26 March 2013, available here, last visited on 16 January 2014.
9   ‘Centrafrique: Nicolas Tiangaye, un Premier ministre depuis longtemps sous les projecteurs’, Radio France Internationale, 28 March 2013, available here, last visited on 16 January 2014.
10   S2013/261, paras 12-13. The establishment of a National Transitional Council (NTC) was recommended by the ECCAS Heads of State on 3 April 2013. The NTC was to serve as the country’s parliament for a transitional period of 18 months, extendable to a maximum of 24 months, during which presidential, legislative, and local elections were to be held. The NTC ‘would comprise the five entities that signed the Libreville Agreements, and would also be extended to religious leaders and the diaspora.’ The NTC would elect a ‘Head of Transition, who would serve as Head of State’ as well as its own President and Vice President. S/2013/261, paras 9-10.
11   ‘Central African Republic: Leader Turns Against Rebels Who Put Him in Power’, New York Times, 13 September 2013, available here, last visited on 16 January 2013.
12   S/2013/261, para 7.
13   ‘Central African Leader’s Exit sets off Rejoicing in the Streets’, New York Times, 10 January 2014, available here, last visited on 22 January 2014.
14   ‘Centrafrique : comment la France a précipité la fin de Djotodia’, LeMonde, 10 January 2014, available here, last visited on 29 January 2014.
15   S/2013/261, para 8.
16   ‘CAR conflict: Ex-president ‘heads to exile’ in Benin’, BBC, 11 January 2014, available here, last visited on 29 January 2014.
17   ‘‘Central African Republic: Catherine Samba-Panza seeks troops’ , 21 January 2014, BBC, available here, last visited on 23 January 2014.
18   ‘André Nzapayéké, new Prime Minister of CAR: "We must roll up our sleeves."‘, 26 January 2014, Radio France Internationale, available here, last visited on 30 January 2014.
19   ‘Centrafrique: le gouvernement de transition compte vingt ministres dont sept femmes’, 27 January 2014, Radio France Internationale, available here, last visited on 30 January 2014.
20   ‘C. African Republic premier calls for voluntary disarmament next week’, 1 June 2014, Reuters, available here, last visited on 4 July 2014.
21   ‘Central African Republic: New Plan to End Conflict’, 6 June 2014, AllAfrica, available here, last visited on 4 July 2014.
22   ‘Cameroon: Surmounting a Legacy of Violence’ [sic], 18 June 2014, AllAfrica, available here, last visited on 4 July 2014. See also ‘L’atelier de concertation préparatoire à la reprise d’un dialogue politique national prévu pour le 10 juin’, Agence Centrafrique Presse, 7 June 2014, available here, last visited on 14 July 2014.
23   ‘Unspeakable horrors in a country on the verge of genocide’, 22 November 2013, The Guardian, available here, last visited on 16 January 2014; S/2014/142, para 5.
24   ‘Central African Republic: They must all leave or die’, June 2014, FIDH, p 58, available here, last visited on 4 July 2014.
25   S/2014/142, para 6.
26   S/2014/142, para 6.
27   S/2014/142, para 8.
28   S/2014/142, paras 7-8.
29   S/2014/142, paras 11-13.
30   Josh Lyons, ‘Dispatches: Satellite Images Reveal Systematic Destruction of Muslim Neighborhoods’, 6 May 2014, Human Rights Watch, available here, last visited on 7 July 2014.
31   ‘Central African Republic: Deadly Attack at Church’, 29 May 2014, New York Times, available here, last visited on 07 July 2014.
32   ‘C.African Republic’s Seleka rebels pick new commander, say to regroup’, 10 May 2014, Reuters, available here, last visited on 4 July 2014.
33   ‘Central African Republic’s Seleka rebels reorganise’, 20 May 2014, BBC News, available here, last visited on 4 July 2014.
34   ‘Cameroon: Surmounting a Legacy of Violence’ [sic], 18 June 2014, AllAfrica, available here, last visited on 4 July 2014.
35   ‘Central African Republic: They must all leave or die’, June 2014, FIDH, available here, last visited on 4 July 2014.
36   Kasper Agger, ‘Drivers of Violence in the Central African Republic’, May 2014, Enough Project, available here, p 1, last visited on 4 July 2014.
37   S/RES/2149, preamble.
38   S/RES/2149, preamble.
39   S/2014/142, para 14.
40   S/2013/787, para 52.
41   S/2014/181, para 15.
42   S/2014/181, para 15.
43   Central African Republic: sexual violence is constant threat, UN envoy warns’, 21 March 2014, United Nations, available here, last visited on 1 April 2014.
44   S/2014/181, para 16.
45   S/2014/142, para 16.
46   S/RES/2149, preamble.
47   S/2014/142, para 82.
48   S/2014/142, para 15.
49   ‘FAO/WFP markets and food security assessment mission to the Central African Republic’, 7 April 2014, United Nations, p 7, available here, last visited on 24 April 2014.
50   ‘FAO/WFP markets and food security assessment mission to the Central African Republic’, 7 April 2014, United Nations, p 12, available here, last visited on 24 April 2014.
51   S/2014/142, para 17.
52   S/2014/142, para 24.
53   S/2014/142, para 17.
54   In November 2009, the Women’s Initiatives and Organisation pour la compassion et le développement des familles en détresse (OCODEFAD) organised the ‘Women, Peace, Justice, Power’ workshop in Bangui. The workshop was attended by 40 women leaders, human rights advocates, and victims’ activists coming from all provinces of CAR. Discussions focused on the situation of victims/survivors of the 2002-2003 conflict and the status of women’s rights in CAR. The Women’s Initiatives and OCODEFAD organised a public march which took place in Bangui on 4 November 2009 and involved 2000 women’s and human rights organisations and networks who called upon national and international authorities to end impunity for perpetrators of gender-based crimes. Partners from the CAR participated as part of the Women’s Initiatives delegation to the ICC Review Conference of the Rome Statute in Kampala in June 2010, and gave testimony at the Women’s Court. A report on the Review Conference and Women’s Court is available here.
55   Informal translation of ‘Declaration of Civil Society Organisations on the Current Crisis in the Central African Republic’, January 2014, available here.
56   Informal translation of ‘Civil Society Memorandum on CAR Transition’, April 2013, available here.

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