Opening remarks by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay at a press conference during her mission to the Central African Republic -- DisplayNews
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Opening
remarks by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay at a press
conference during her mission to the Central African Republic
Bangui, 20 March 2014
Sadly, the situation in the Central African Republic is very
different from when I last visited the country in February 2010. I will
not attempt to run through all the very grave human rights problems
facing CAR. Instead, I will focus on a few of the key issues that have
emerged during my two days of discussions here in Bangui with, among
others, the Head of State of the Transition, the Prime Minister,
Minister of Justice, civil society organizations, and the humanitarian
agencies who are here in force trying to deal with the complex emergency
afflicting much of the country. I also met with a number of diplomats,
and with the Head of the African Union peacekeeping force MISCA, as well
as the force commanders of both MISCA and the French military force,
known as Sangaris.
The situation in the Central African Republic is dire. Although
large-scale killings of the type that took place in December and January
appear to have halted for the time being, primarily because of the
presence of the MISCA and Sangaris in known hot spots, people continue
to be killed on a daily basis, especially by the anti-Balaka groups.
Around 15,000 Muslims are reportedly trapped in Bangui and other areas
in the North, North-West and South of the country, protected by
international forces, but nevertheless in an extremely dangerous and
untenable situation.
The inter-communal hatred remains at a terrifying level, as evidenced
by the extraordinarily vicious nature of the killings. This has become a
country where people are not just killed, they are tortured, mutilated,
burned and dismembered – sometimes by spontaneous mobs as well as by
organized groups of armed fighters. Children have been decapitated, and
we know of at least four cases where the killers have eaten the flesh of
their victims. I was shown gruesome photographs of one of those cases
yesterday by one of the civil society organizations that have been
courageously attempting to document violations.
According to both civil society organizations and UN agencies, rape
and sexual violence is on the increase, especially in the camps for the
internally displaced. Two districts of the capital – PK 5 and PK 12 –
remain no-go zones, with trapped Muslim populations. The other Muslims
who used to live in Bangui have virtually all fled, as have the
inhabitants of many other towns and villages – many of them partially or
totally destroyed – across the western half of the country. There
remain many tens of thousands of non-Muslim internally displaced persons
(IDPs) as well, mostly victims of the Seleka. The anti-Balaka, who
originally came into existence as a reaction to the depredations of the
Seleka, are now metamorphosing into criminal gangs who, in addition to
continuing to hunt down Muslims, are also starting to prey on Christians
and other non-Muslims.
