Zentralafrikanische Republik

The UN Secretary-General has strongly condemned an attack on a UN peacekeeping patrol in the northeast Central African Republic (CAR) on Monday which left one Rwandan ‘blue helmet’ dead. 

In May, Central African President Faustin-Archange Touadéra announced a constitutional referendum for 30 July 2023. This announcement was the culmination of a process that started much earlier and has drawn the ire of opposition parties, civil society and rebel movements. The constitutional referendum project is largely viewed as aiming to lift the presidential term limit, allowing Touadéra to run for a third term and possibly more.

Despite deteriorating border security, humanitarian and human rights challenges, the Central African Republic (CAR) is committed to a constitutional referendum and local elections, the Security Council heard on Tuesday. Valentine Rugwabiza head of the UN peacekeeping mission in the country (MINUSCA) briefed ambassadors on important progress which has been made in the implementation of a key 2019 peace agreement between the Government and armed groups.

The UN on Friday announced that following serious allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse, an entire unit of 60 peacekeepers from Tanzania formerly based in the western part of the Central African Republic (CAR), is to be repatriated.

The humanitarian situation in the Central African Republic (CAR) remains critical, with more than half the population, 3.4 million people, requiring assistance and protection, the top UN aid official in the country said on Monday. 

President Faustin-Archange Touadera has set July 30 as the date for a proposed referendum on a new constitution for the Central African Republic that would allow him to seek a new term in 2025.

In an interview with the Russian daily Izvestia, Léon Dodonu-Punagaza, the Central African ambassador to Moscow, opened the door to a considerable increase in military aid to his country, speaking of building a “military base” on Central African soil.

En mars 2013, les rebelles de la Séléka déclenchaient une guerre civile en République centrafricaine. Une décennie plus tard, des fortes tensions internes et externes font craindre un nouveau transfert violent du pouvoir. Dans ce Q&A, l’experte de Crisis Group Enrica Picco décrypte la situation.

Upcoming local elections — the first planned in the Central African Republic since 1988 — present the “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to advance the country’s peace and political process, senior officials told the Security Council today, as members highlighted the deteriorating security and socioeconomic situations and their heavy toll on civilians.