UN humanitarian chief meets CAR president, urges protection

(Bangui, Central African Republic: 31 March 2007): United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes had a meeting with the President of the Central African Republic, François Bozizé, at the conclusion of his trip to the country and on the final leg of his ten-day, three-country mission to Africa.

"The President and I held useful talks on a range of issues, from the urgent and immediate humanitarian needs, to the problems caused by under-development," stated Mr. Holmes. "I emphasized my concern about reports of abuses by all parties against civilians, including the people in the bush with whom I had spoken. President Bozizé told me that any Government military abuses would be investigated and dealt with promptly and correctly."

While in the Central African Republic, the Under-Secretary-General visited several of the worst-affected areas in the country's northwest where civilians have been caught in the midst of the ongoing conflict between government and rebel forces. In the towns of Pendé and Paoua, he saw torched homes and entire deserted villages. The USG also met with some of the thousands of men, women and children who are living in the bush, out of reach of basic amenities such as clean water, medicines, food and proper shelter, because they are too afraid to return to their villages. Roughly 285,000 people in the Central African Republic have been forced to flee from their homes, 150,000 in the last six months alone.

"There is an urgent need for humanitarian assistance, and the international community must increase its financial support for aid agencies providing emergency relief. There is also a long road towards development in the Central African Republic, including reform of the security sector. These are priorities that I will raise on my return to New York," stated Mr. Holmes. "The United Nations is working with the government on these tremendous challenges. But we also recognise that humanitarian action cannot be a substitute for a political solution, which is why I urged the government to step up their efforts aimed at political dialogue."

The Emergency Relief Coordinator started his first official mission on 21 March in Sudan. After continuing on to Chad and finally the Central African Republic, he travels back to New York today and is expected to brief the Security Council on the conclusions and recommendations from his mission on Thursday, 4 April 2007

For further information, please call: Dawn Blalock, OCHA-Sudan, +249 912 174 454 (mobile), +88 216 5119 1670 (Thuraya); Cheikh Touré, OCHA-Chad, +235 670 4313 (mobile), +88 216 2120 6871 (Thuraya); Stephanie Bunker, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367 5126, +1 917 892 1679 (mobile); Kristen Knutson, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367 9262; Elisabeth Byrs, OCHA-Geneva, +41 22 917 2653, +41 79 473 4570 (mobile). OCHA press releases are available at http://ochaonline.un.org or www.reliefweb.int.