Testimony
Robert P. Jackson
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of African Affairs
House Foreign Affairs Committee Subcommittee on African Affairs, Global Health, Human Rights and International Organizations
Washington, DC
November 19, 2013
Thank you very much Chairman Smith, Ranking Member Bass, and Members
of the Subcommittee for the opportunity to testify before you today on
this most important subject. We are deeply concerned about the
continuing insecurity, humanitarian crisis and human rights violations
across the Central African Republic (C.A.R.). We are working closely
with our European allies, the United Nations, and the African Union to
press for stability, the respect of human rights and the restoration of
democratic governance in C.A.R.
The crisis in the Central African Republic began in December 2012
when Seleka forces, a loose coalition of four rebel groups, under the
command of Michel Djotodia, began their violent trek from the northeast
region of the country toward the capital city of Bangui, which I had
been following from neighboring Cameroon. After rejecting the
power-sharing arrangement that had been brokered in January in
Libreville, Gabon, by the Economic Community of Central African States
(ECCAS), Seleka rebels were able to take the capital Bangui, by force on
March 24. President Bozize fled the country, and Djotodia declared
himself president, suspended the constitution, and dissolved the
national assembly. After significant pressure from the region, Djotodia
chose to abide by the ECCAS-brokered arrangement with opposition
leaders. This agreement and a second ECCAS summit in April led to a new
power-sharing arrangement, the drafting of an interim constitution, and
the swearing-in of Djotodia as interim President of the Transition in
August. In accord with agreements brokered by ECCAS, Djotodia also
promised to hold elections by February 2015.
Djotodia has never had strong command and control of his own Seleka
forces and has been unable to sustain them in the field with salaries
and stipends. With the collapse of the former national armed forces, the
Central African Armed Forces (FACA), and the absence of any other
meaningful government authority outside of the capital, relatively
autonomous Seleka commanders – including Chadian and Sudanese militia
leaders with groups of loyal fighters under them — have become criminal
enterprises preying on local populations. Seleka’s targeted violence –
including murders, rapes, robberies, looting and burning of villages has
created inter-religious tensions in a country that had previously
enjoyed excellent Christian-Muslim relations. These Seleka abuses, in
turn, have given rise to primarily Christian self-defense groups that
have sought to kill both Seleka fighters and C.A.R. Muslims, creating a
dangerous dynamic of inter-religious hatred and tension that risks
spiraling out of control. For example, fighting in Bossangoa and
Bangassou between Seleka and local defense militias in September and
October 2013, although primarily an anti-Seleka backlash, has the
potential to lead to large-scale atrocities.
The United States, along with others in the international community,
have publicly condemned Seleka’s overthrow of the government from the
very beginning. In early April, as a matter of policy, the United States
Government decided to suspend direct assistance to the C.A.R. central
government, but allowed support for programs operated by nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs). These programs provide for humanitarian
assistance throughout accessible areas in C.A.R., and combat trafficking
in persons, and civilian protection in support of the counter-Lord’s
Resistance Army campaign.
So far, the conflict in the C.A.R. has internally displaced nearly
400,000 people and forced approximately 68,000 new refugees into the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (D.R.C.), the Republic of the Congo,
Cameroon, and Chad. This has brought the total number of C.A.R. refugees
in neighboring countries to over 220,000. During Seleka’s advance on
Bangui, hospitals, schools, and warehouses were looted and entire
villages destroyed. Today, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) have
little to no access to clean water, schools, or health services. The
ongoing conflict and displacement raises particular concern for the
protection of civilian populations. Food security is a growing concern
as many farmers missed the planting season due to the violence. U.S.
Government partners continue to try to reach these populations with
life-saving assistance, but are constrained by lawlessness and banditry.
In Fiscal Year 2013, the U.S. Government provided more than $24 million
in humanitarian assistance in C.A.R. to support programs providing food
and non-food items, health services, access to clean water, and more.
The UN Humanitarian Air Service, supported by USAID and the State
Department, continues to provide access to affected populations that are
otherwise inaccessible. On September 25, the State Department announced
an additional $6.2 million contribution to respond to the needs of new
refugees in neighboring countries.
We continue to call on all armed groups in this conflict – primarily
the Seleka and an increasing number of self-defense groups — to refrain
from violence, including attacks against innocent women and children.
Establishing civilian protection in Bangui and the countryside is a
prerequisite to a more substantial international presence in addressing
the ongoing humanitarian, human rights, and political crisis. In order
to help restore peace and ensure civilian protection throughout the
country, we strongly supported the adoption on October 10 of UN Security
Council resolution 2121, which expressed the Council’s support of the
African Union-led International Support Mission in the Central African
Republic (MISCA).
We believe MISCA is the best mechanism for quickly addressing the
ongoing violence in the C.A.R. Establishing a secure environment is
necessary for the provision of humanitarian assistance and for an
eventual political transition to take place. To help MISCA deploy in as
rapid and effective a manner as possible, the Department of State has
identified and is now in the process of notifying Congress of our
intention to provide logistical, nonlethal equipment, training, and
planning assistance to MISCA. We are closely coordinating with our
international partners who are supporting MISCA. We continue to urge
countries in the region, as well as the broader international community,
to assist in facilitating the mission’s rapid deployment.
While we continue to receive credible reports of human rights abuses
against civilians, we know that these reports, alarming as they are, are
almost certainly not comprehensive. The lack of access to significant
parts of the country is deeply concerning. We continue to receive
reports from credible international human rights NGOs that humanitarian
workers in the C.A.R. assisting victims of the crisis have been
physically harassed, intimidated, beaten, and killed by Seleka rebels.
Individuals suspected of committing these crimes are unlikely to face
justice while insecurity and instability reign. It is important that all
reports of human rights violations be investigated and violators be
brought to justice. Therefore, we have supported the UN Security Council
decision to reinforce the mandate of the UN Integrated Peacebuilding
Office in the Central African Republic (BINUCA) in order to monitor and
report on the human rights situation.
We support the Council’s decision for BINUCA, as part of its mandate
to investigate human rights abuses, to report to the UN Security Council
regularly on individuals or groups who are responsible for serious
human rights abuses. Furthermore, we also strongly support the UN Human
Rights Council’s decision in September to establish an Independent
Expert to monitor the human rights situation. The State Department along
with USAID is examining potential assistance for monitoring, atrocity
prevention and/or transitional justice.
Furthermore, we believe the international community must continue to
demand that the transitional C.A.R. Government end any and all support
to the Seleka rebels; exclude rebels responsible for human rights abuses
from the reconstituted military, gendarmerie, and police; and abide by
the agreements that established the transitional government, including
abiding by the electoral timeline of February 2015 and the ban on
members of the transitional government contending for office. The United
States also co-sponsored a September 2013 resolution with African
nations in the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) that called for adherence
to the electoral timeline. The Department of State will seek
opportunities to express support for this timeline both bilaterally and
multilaterally, understanding that security needs to be restored
throughout the country and the new constitution needs to be completed in
order for elections to be feasible.
We also continue to work to address the crisis in C.A.R. with our
regional and international partners through the International Contact
Group (ICG) for C.A.R. On November 8, as part of our continued
commitment to working with the international community to find an
immediate solution aimed at ending the violence and creating stability
in the C.A.R., the State Department Senior Advisor for C.A.R. traveled
to Bangui for the first time to participate in the third meeting of the
ICG. The African Union chaired the third Contact Group meeting in
Bangui, with more than 40 countries represented, including many regional
states and a handful of non-African countries. The Contact Group
released the Bangui Declaration, which calls for the international
community to strengthen the AU-led MISCA military mission and support
the C.A.R. political transition roadmap. It also expresses alarm over
the current humanitarian crisis and calls for robust international donor
support. During the meeting, Republic of the Congo President Sassou,
who has led ECCAS’ efforts to respond to the crisis in C.A.R. and
restore stability, stated his strong opposition to delaying national
elections beyond 2015 and voiced his support that transitional
government officials not be allowed to stand for elections.
The United States led the discussion calling for President Djotodia
to reverse his plan to integrate 3,500 former Seleka rebels into the
C.A.R. security forces and another 1,500 additional Seleka rebels to be
recruited as law enforcement officers and park rangers. We emphasized
that Djotodia’s plan to include large numbers of unvetted and
functionally illiterate Seleka fighters was a clear violation of United
Nations Security Council Resolution 2121, which calls for a
professional, balanced, and representative (by ethnic group, region, and
religion) national military force. We strongly oppose the trend of
authoritarian leaders in the C.A.R. using the military as an instrument
of personal power instead of an instrument of national defense for all
citizens.
While in Bangui, the State Department’s senior advisor on C.A.R. made
it a priority to meet with local and international civil society
representatives, in addition to senior government officials. One local
NGO, for example, reported that ten women per day came to their Bangui
offices from April to August to report being raped; since September,
five women per day report being raped. Undoubtedly, the number of rapes
since Seleka started its advance is much higher as stigmatization causes
the majority of rapes to go unreported. This violence also continues
with total impunity since not one accused rapist has yet to be brought
to trial.
We have also received reports from local civil society
representatives of secret detention centers run in Bangui by the
so-called “Extraordinary Committee for the Defense of Democratic Gains.”
According to our contacts, torture is being carried out at the Roux
military camp and another location in Bangui, according to at least 15
victims of torture who have spoken to human rights groups in Bangui.
It was also obvious that fear and tension still pervades the capital
as Bangui’s streets at night were largely devoid of citizens. Djotodia’s
announcement in September that he had dissolved the Seleka force was
nothing more than a smoke screen as Seleka fighters continue to carry
weapons and deny the use of arms to “legitimate” law enforcement
authorities whose efforts are needed to end the lawlessness in the
C.A.R.
We are deeply concerned that Djotodia does not intend to abide by his
commitment to hold elections by February 2015, but will instead
continue to take other measures to delay them and further consolidate
his hold on power. His nomination on October 8 of Seleka fighters to
take command of 10 of 12 military regions of the country, was a worrying
indication of his real intentions. The commitment of Djotodia to even
the notion of a unified republic in the C.A.R. is also in doubt. On
multiple occasions in recent weeks, Djotodia has told foreign
interlocutors that if pushed too hard he might lead the north in
seceding from the C.A.R.
We will continue our diplomatic efforts to coordinate with our
partners and to highlight our own commitment to helping address the
issues facing the C.A.R. As our immediate priority, we will continue to
work assertively with the French and other members of the international
community to bolster efforts to establish security in the C.A.R. We will
continue to utilize these and other engagements, including constructive
consultations with the Government of France in Paris last week, as a
means to urge regional and international partners to provide troops,
additional funding, and other support necessary for MISCA to deploy
quickly into C.A.R. We also use these opportunities to press our
international partners to join us in looking for ways to bolster
responsible stakeholders in the transitional government, including Prime
Minister Tiangaye, so that governance can begin to be restored to the
country and we can begin focusing on holding elections by February 2015.
We hope these engagements will result in increased commitment by the
international community to be more engaged on issues facing the C.A.R.
Finally, let me also note that we remain concerned about the
continued activity of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in southeastern
C.A.R. This year, the LRA has continued to commit attacks against
civilians across the Mbomou, Haut-Mbomou and Haut-Koto prefectures of
the C.A.R. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), from January to September 2013, presumed
LRA fighters committed 21 attacks, resulting in 33 deaths and 128
abductions in the CAR. According to UNOCHA, an estimated 21,000 Central
Africans remain internally displaced and over 6,000 are living as
refugees as a result of the LRA threat. The United States continues to
support efforts by the regional forces of the AU Regional Task Force
(AU-RTF) to end the LRA threat and bring its top commanders to justice.
AU-RTF operations have resumed in the C.A.R., but remain limited by the
insecure environment. With the support of U.S. military advisors, we
believe the AU-RTF continues to make progress to degrade the LRA’s
capabilities and promote defections from the LRA’s ranks.
Chairman Smith and Members of the Committee, let me assure you that
we remain substantively engaged and will continue to address the ongoing
crisis in the C.A.R. There is no doubt that the international community
must act quickly. A wide range of U.S. departments and agencies are
working to bring to bear all of the appropriate policy tools at our
disposal, and we are committed to working with our international
partners to bring about peace and security for the people of C.A.R. We
also look forward to keeping you and the Committee informed regarding
our efforts in this regard. I would be glad to answer any questions you
may have.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment