Central African Republic: UN considers sending peacekeepers

Through its fact-finding activities and its advocacy, FIDH contributed substantially to the 10 October 2013 adoption by the U.N. Security Council of a resolution condemning the serious violations of human rights in Central African Republic (CAR) and considering the possibility of sending peacekeepers to protect the civilian population.

The Security Council resolution confirms the support of the United Nations for the International Support Mission for the Central African Republic (MISCA) and considers converting MISCA into a peacekeeping operation. The resolution is complementary to the mandate of the U.N. Integrated Peace-building Office in CAR (BINUCA) with regard to the protection of human rights. This arrangement should ensure greater protection for the civilians who have been victims of the war crimes committed by the ex-Séléka rebels since the government overthrow on 24 March 2013: murders, sex crimes, abductions, arbitrary detention, plundering, racketeering and property destruction.

The FIDH fact-finding mission and its report on the situation in the CAR have contributed to reversing the relative indifference of the international community to the international crimes perpetrated in CAR. By advocating before the African Union, the European Union, the French authorities, and the United Nations in Geneva and New York, FIDH has helped convince the Security Council to adopt this resolution.

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