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Summary: The information below is based on the 2011 report of the Secretary-General to the Security Council (A/65/820-S/2011/250) issued on 23 April 2011. More information is available in the report.
Scroll down for UN documents on Children and Armed Conflict in the Central African Republic. The Union des forces démocratiques pour le rassemblement (UFDR) and the Convention des patriotes pour la justice et la paix (CPJP) reportedly continued to use children in the north of the country. Children were seen fighting for both armed groups during the attack on Birao in Vakaga prefecture by CPJP in November. The presence of children within the Front démocratique du peuple centrafricain (FDPC) near Kabo (Ouham prefecture) and the Mouvement des libérateurs centrafricains pour la justice (MLJC) in Vakaga prefecture was also reported. Further, while hundreds of children have been demobilized from APRD since 2008, reports have confirmed that children, including girls, remain associated with the armed group in Ouham, Ouham-Pendé and Nana-Gribizi. APRD commanders have denied using children, and have explained that children voluntarily joined APRD elements for food and protection. The United Nations has not been able to confirm the number of children still present in the ranks of APRD. The abduction of children by LRA, especially in the south-east of the country (Mbomou and Haut-Mbomou prefectures), remained of concern, along with reports that self-defence militias supported by local authorities had mobilized children into their ranks, principally in the north-west. Attacks on villages in the north and north-west of the Central African Republic resulting in civilian casualties, including children, were documented during the year. In particular, in February, APRD attacked a campsite of members of the Peuhl ethnic group in Taley (near Markounda in Ouham prefecture), killing 18 people, including 4 children. CPJP attacked Kpata village (near Ndélé in Bamingui-Bangoran prefecture) in October, killing one girl. Multiple LRA attacks in which children were killed were reported in Haut-Mbomou and Mbomou prefectures by survivors. Incidences of rape and other sexual violence against children by armed elements continued to be of grave concern in 2010, even though they remain severely underreported. Of the hundreds of cases reported to the United Nations, approximately 10 per cent of victims were children, with CPJP and zaraguinas (coupeurs des routes) among the perpetrators. In the east, the abduction of young girls by LRA for use as sex slaves was reported by several victims who were able to escape. Weak law enforcement systems, compounded by the absence of protective measures to separate victims of sexual violence from their known aggressors in the community, have contributed to a high level of impunity for such crimes. The education system, especially in the east of the country, was considerably affected by insecurity owing to the presence of armed groups. While schools were not specifically targeted by LRA or other armed groups present in the east, the atmosphere of fear of incursions by armed groups, including LRA, have prevented parents from sending their children to school. From mid-May to September 2010, schools in several villages of Mbomou (Rafai and Dembia in particular) and Haut-Mbomou (i.e., Obo and Zemio) prefectures were closed owing to LRA activities. In addition, it was reported to the United Nations that CPJP occupied several schools in villages near Bria (Haute-Kotto prefecture) between May and July; while in October, schools in Ippy (Ouaka prefecture) were temporarily closed owing to the occupation of the town by CPJP. During the year, there were cases of lootings of health centres in the east and north of the country during attacks on villages by CPJP (in Bamingui-Bangoran prefecture) and by LRA (in Mbomou, Haut-Mbomou, Haute-Kotto and Vakaga prefectures), which adversely impacted access to health care by the population, including children. Humanitarian access was a major challenge in several parts of the north and east (including Bamingui-Bangoran, Vakaga, Haute-Kotto, Mbomou and Haut-Mbomou prefectures) owing to sporadic fighting between armed groups and FACA, as well as increased rebel group attacks throughout the year. Incidents linked to armed attacks and banditry, including kidnappings and killings of humanitarian workers, resulted in a substantial decrease of activities by humanitarian organizations in these areas, especially in Vakaga. Widespread insecurity in the LRA-affected prefectures of Mbomou and Haut-Mbomou considerably limited humanitarian aid and protection activities, especially to the displaced rural population. Restrictions on the passage of humanitarian convoys by the Government on major routes around Ndélé (Bamingui-Bangoran) until July 2010, as well as attacks on convoys by armed groups and looting of premises of NGOs by UFDR and FDPC, compounded the challenges associated with aid delivery to affected populations. On several occasions, negotiations for humanitarian access were complicated by a lack of clarity in the chain of command, in particular with FDPC in Kabo (Ouham prefecture). In June, the Government of the Central African Republic signed the N’Djamena Declaration to end the recruitment and use of children within its armed forces. The Government’s commitment to protect children affected by armed conflict was restated at the African Union ministerial meeting on LRA, held in Bangui in October. Other efforts led by the Government to protect children included the signing in September of the two Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict and on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. In January, the revised Penal Code, which includes a section on crimes against children under discussion since 2003, was promulgated by presidential decree. Moreover, the Government decided, with the support of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, to revise its existing law on the protection of women against violence in the Central African Republic to include the protection of children against all forms of sexual and gender-based violence. At the time of writing, the bill was still under review. Information on progress made by parties to conflict on dialogue and action plans to halt the recruitment and use of children, patterns of killing and maiming of children or rape and other forms of sexual violence against children in armed conflict Between 2009 and 2010, 525 children, including 37 girls, were separated from the ranks of the Armée populaire pour la restauration de la république et de la démocratie (APRD). Of the 525 children, 417 were separated in Paoua (Ouham-Pendé) in 2009 and 2010, and 108 in Kanga-Bandoro (Nana-Gribizi) in 2010. At the end of the reporting period, all these children were reunified with their families and communities. It should be noted that towards the end of 2008, 775 children had been separated from APRD, bringing the total number of separated children to date to 1,300. * Parties that recruit and use children. UN documents on Children and Armed Conflict in the Central African Republic:Parties in the Central African Republic
pdf: http://www.un.org/children/conflict/english/central-african-republic.html