An independent UN expert on the situation of human rights in the Central African Republic, Yao Agbetse, spent seven days in the country, and during his visit called on the authorities to provide all necessary resources to ensure the functioning of the transitional justice institutions, namely the Truth, Justice, reconciliation and Reparation Commission and the Special Criminal Court. According to Yao Agbetse, it is important that these institutions have sufficient resources to carry out their mandate.
During the visit, the UN expert met with such important forces of the nation as representatives of the government, members of the judiciary, representatives of UN institutions and bodies, members of the diplomatic corps, representatives of the press and humanitarian workers.
An independent UN expert noted that over the past year the human rights situation has improved a lot, because there is a legitimate president recognized by the international community, and his support among the population is very strong. Among other things, the government of the Central African Republic has made considerable progress in the protection of civilians.
As for the security situation, UN expert Yao Agbetse noted that currently there are disparate criminal groups in the country, which are effectively neutralized by the soldiers of the national army and their allies. This leads to the mass capitulation of the militants. The other bandits flee to neighboring countries to try to recruit foreign mercenaries to then attack the Central African Republic.
Yao Agbetse reported that he was informed about the violations committed against civilians by all parties to the conflict, including Russian instructors deployed to ensure security under the agreement between the Government of the Central African Republic and the Russian Federation. However Yao Agbetse noted that no confirmation of violations by Russian instructors has been reported and the Central African government has asked the media to refute this claim and apologize for spreading false information.
Finally, the UN independent expert called on the international community to support positive changes in CAR. All actors, including political parties and the media, must refrain from hate speech, incitement to violence, manipulation and dissemination of false information.
