Central African Republic: The Resurgence of Conflicts Puts the Dividends of Peace at Risk

Since October 2016, inter-communal tensions fueled by armed groups have continuously increased. In the absence of an effective judicial system and of the delivery of State services, armed groups have continued perpetrating violent and destabilizing acts, of which the civilian population is the main victim. The targeting of ethnic and religious minorities, including women and children, has resurfaced. Killings and attacks against communities have been multiplying. Today, CAR is on the brink of sliding back into the same level of violence that led to the last conflict. At present, more than 1.1 million persons suffer forced displacement.

THE HUMANITARIAN CRISIS INTENSIFIES

The crisis continues to strike communities that were already in critical condition. Today, the CAR is one of the few countries in the world where almost one person out of two depends on aid to survive and nearly one family out of four has been forced to flee their homes. In July 2017, the number of internally displaced people exceeded 600,000. This level had not been reached since August 2014, and represents an increase of almost 50 per cent since January 2017. The number of CAR refugees in Cameroon, Chad, Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo also increased by 13 per cent this year and now exceeds 500,000. The succession of crises over the last 20 years has wiped out the resilience of the population. Similarly, the prospects of return for internally displaced persons and the refugees are fading.

HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE

In order to respond to the new humanitarian needs, prevent their further increase, and avoid that the CAR slips back into a severe crisis affecting the stability of region, the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) revised its Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for 2017. Following the revision, the financial requirements for life-saving assistance increased by 24 per cent reaching $497.3 million. However, as of October, the HRP is only 30 per cent funded, which is severely impacting the response.