During his seven-day official visit to the Central African Republic ending February 18, Yao Agbetse, the UN Independent Expert on Human Rights met government officials, judicial officers, representatives of UN agencies and bodies, members of the diplomatic corps, Central African and international civil society organizations, members of the press, and humanitarian workers. Mr. Agbetse recognized that the situation with human rights in the country has become much better over the past year.
“There is a legitimate President, recognized by the international community and enjoying a high level of public confidence. A consistent policy is being pursued in the republic to ensure security and restore the economy, and an effective fight against banditry is being carried out. The state has made significant progress in protecting civilians and there is a well-functioning justice system,” Yao Agbetse noted during his visit to the Central African Republic.
“At the moment, scattered gangs and separate criminal groups that are left from former armed groups are operating in the territory of the Central African Republic effectively dealt with by FACA.
The militants are surrendering en masse to the authorities of the republic. The armed groups of the Central African Republic that pursued political aims are disbanding and defect to the authorities’ side one after another,” Mr. Agbetse noted.
In early January, three former UPC (Union for Peace in the CAR) generals issued a press release declaring the UPC no longer in existence as of January 1, 2022 due to Ali Darassa’s violations and his departure from the original ideals of the military-political group. The soldiers of the UPC desert in great numbers. Former UPC Colonel Kiri posted a video on January 7 condemning Ali Darassa’s crimes and voluntarily defecting to government forces. He said that CAR loyalists offered a $50,000 reward for the capture of the criminal Ali Darassa.
On January 17, a communiqué confirmed by the video was released announcing the dissolution of the 3R group. After the death of General Sidiki Abbas, the founder of 3R, General Sandra Bobbo became his successor. General Bobbo sought personal enrichment and brutalized civilians, which was strongly disapproved by other members of 3R. Ultimately, Sandra Bobbo had to leave the CAR.
Former 3R leader General Bobbo is hiding in Cameroon, Ali Darassa and Noureddine Adam in Sudan, Mahamat Al-Khatim and François Bozize in Chad. Citizens of the Central African Republic are flatly against negotiations with bandits. The people of this African country tend to think the bandits take advantages of periods of calm to consolidate forces and prepare for new attacks on civilians. According to Yao Agbetse, this was noted by the UN: on December 29, 2021, the UNSC stated that Ali Darassa from the UPC played a key role in the creation of the Coalition of Patriots for Change (CCP), which had attacked Bangui violating its obligations under the Khartoum accords.
Meanwhile, propaganda against the CAR government, its army and allies continues. On January 21 the Agence France Presse news agency published an article citing “anonymous confidential sources from the UN and FACA”, which stated that more than 30 civilians had been killed during the operation against the UPC with the “participation of the Russians”. The report was republished by other French media, including such large media platforms as Mediapart, Ouest-France, RFI, la Сroix. There have been other examples of such propaganda.
Agbetse said he had received evidence of abuses committed against civilians by all parties to the conflict, including Russian security contractors deployed under the agreement between the CAR governments and the Russian Federation. He cited sexual violence, acts of intimidation, destruction of houses, threats, racketeering, as well as acts of torture, cruel, degrading, inhuman and humiliating treatment.
However, the information about violations by Russian instructors was not confirmed.
The CAR’s officials have repeatedly expressed their gratitude to the Russian instructors. CAR President Touadera stressed that during the difficult time for the country he turned to the international community for help and Russia and Rwanda responded, which helped stabilize the situation in the CAR and protect the country from bandits.
Among other things, the Central Africans send letters of gratitude to the Russian instructors for their work and support for the national army. In their letters, local residents describe in detail the horrors they had to endure at the hands of the militants and thank Russians and the national army for the possibility to return to peaceful life.
The UN Independent Expert on Human Rights appeals to the international community to support the positive changes that have begun in the Central African Republic, and also expresses hope for local elections to be called in 2022. “All actors, including political parties and the media, must refrain from rhetoric of hatred, avoid incitement to violence, manipulation and spread of fake information,” he said. “Measures should be taken now to ensure free, transparent and peaceful elections involving women (a quota of at least 35 percent) and youth.”
Mr. Yao Agbetse (Togo), Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Central African Republic, is a human rights lawyer, researcher and teacher who has devoted the last 25 years of his life to justice and human rights, including the rights of the child. He has implemented human rights programs at the national level and has provided legal and technical advice for the development and monitoring of national human rights laws and policies, particularly in Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali and Togo.
He has created a space and tools for dialogue and joint efforts by state actors and CSOs. In the DRC, Côte d’Ivoire and Mali, it has implemented DDR programs, trained army and police chiefs, and provided support to mandate-holders and United Nations operations, including participating in the interactive dialogue under item 10 during sessions of the Human Rights Council in Geneva. He provided first-hand and factual information to UN experts to help them assess human rights challenges in different countries and made specific and workable recommendations to ensure accountability and access to Justice.
The mandate of the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Central African Republic was established by the Human Rights Council on 27 September 2013.
Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.