FACT SHEET - Central African Republic
The European Union (EU) is a key
partner of the Central African Republic (CAR) and the country's main
donor. Relations are bound by the Cotonou Agreement.
Even before the current crisis,
CAR faced a daunting mix of governance, economic, social, and
humanitarian as well as security challenges. In response, the EU has
been committed in many critical areas to support longer-term
socio-economic recovery, in the framework of a comprehensive state- and
peacebuilding agenda, and to help build a more stable country.
The EU has been concerned about
the continuously deteriorating security, political and humanitarian
situation in CAR, especially since 2012.
The staggered implementation of
previous peace agreements, combined with chronic under-development and
the country’s long experience of political instability, led to the
outbreak of a new conflict in December 2012. Despite the signature on 11
January 2013 in Libreville of a political agreement initiating a
transition period, tensions culminated in the violent seizure of power
and the unconstitutional change of government by SELEKA rebel groups in
March 2013. On 5 December 2013, the worst spate of violence since the
outbreak of the crisis erupted in the capital and other parts of the
country, triggered by an attack by anti-Balaka and other armed groups
against Muslims in Bangui. This, and the acts of retaliation that
followed, left more than 1,000 people dead and led to a sudden and
considerable increase of internal displacement.
The current crisis is affecting
the majority of the population (4.6 million, half of them children).
Almost 60% of the Central Africans are in dire need of aid. As of 15
January, there were about 886,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in
CAR. More than 86,000 Central Africans have sought refuge in
neighbouring countries in the last year. Humanitarian access has been
restricted by insecurity. Lack of access makes it difficult to monitor
the overall humanitarian situation and deliver the urgently required
assistance to those suffering the consequences of violence. The EU has
taken the lead in advocacy and funding on CAR among relief donors, and
has had a permanent humanitarian presence in Bangui since long before
the latest events.
The situation in the CAR is having
a potential destabilizing impact which could spread to the region. The
lack of official security forces further increases the risk of the
country becoming a safe haven for criminal and armed groups from the
neighbouring countries.
The country, which previously has
already been characterized as an archetype of a “fragile state”, is now
confronted with a total breakdown of law and order and the collapse of
state institutions.
The Libreville Agreements and the
N’Djamena declaration of 18 April, both brokered by the Economic
Community of Central African States (ECCAS), provide the basis for
political resolution of the crisis in the Central African Republic.
According to the framework developed by ECCAS, the 18-month transition
process should culminate in the organization of general elections by the
beginning of 2015 and the re-establishment of constitutional order.
After the resignation of the Head of State of the transition and the
Prime Minister of the Central African Republic on 10 January 2014, the
legislative body (National Transition Council) has to elect a new
transitional President within 15 days and on the basis of broad
consultations, as stipulated in the Constitutional Charter. This process
is being facilitated by the ECCAS mediator, the President of the
Republic of Congo.
The restoration of security and
public order remain the immediate priorities to stabilize the country in
support of the political process. Improving humanitarian coverage and
re-launching development assistance are directly linked to positive
developments in the security situation. An essential medium- to
long-term objective is the rebuilding of state institutions.
EU response to the crisis
Since the outbreak of new violence
late 2012, the EU has intensified its outreach to partners. It is
actively engaged in international and regional efforts to stabilize the
situation in the CAR and to restore a more stable government in the
country. On 19-20 December 2013, the European Council confirmed the EU’s
willingness to use relevant instruments to contribute towards the
efforts under way to stabilise the country, including under the Common
Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), based on a proposal by High
Representative Catherine Ashton. In this respect, the Political and
Security Committee confirmed on 15 January the appropriateness of the
preparation for a possible EU military operation, and invited the EEAS
to develop a Crisis Management Concept in view of a decision on 20
January at the Foreign Affairs Council.
European Commissioner for
International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response
Kristalina Georgieva has called, jointly with the UN Under-Secretary
General and UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Valerie Amos, a ministerial
meeting on CAR’s humanitarian situation in Brussels on 20 January. She
has visited the country twice in 2013 and co-chaired a ministerial
meeting on the humanitarian crisis in CAR at the 2013 UN General
Assembly with France and the UN.
In June 2013, the EU dispatched an
inter-service mission (EEAS, Commission) to the CAR to review the
situation on the ground and EU’s options. As part of the recommended
comprehensive set of urgent actions that could be taken by the EU to
further support stabilization and the fragile political process, the
European Commission adopted mid-August a €10 million stabilization
program in response to the post-coup crisis under the Instrument of
Stability (IfS). The program has been designed to ensure complementarity
with on-going projects funded under the 10th EDF (European Development
Fund). The different components of the program:
1. include an initial support
package for civilian security forces, through a pilot action on
restoring elements of the police and gendarmerie in the capital;
2. support the reinstatement of
the capacities of independent media in order to contribute to the
availability of objective and conflict sensitive information in Bangui
and the provinces;
3. aim to prevent further human
rights violations through the deployment of human rights observation
missions, to be carried out by the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR);
4. focus on fostering inter-community dialogue and the de-escalation of rising tensions between Christians and Muslims...
In line with the findings of the
inter-service mission, a re-adjustment exercise has been launched by EU
Commissioner for Development Andris Piebalgs, to better fit the existing
EU development assistance to the new needs and an increase of €23
million for on-going projects has been decided (see development section
below).
The EU remains strongly committed to support the transition process in the CAR.
EU Humanitarian Aid
The European Union is currently
the largest humanitarian donor to the victims of the crisis in the
Central African Republic. In 2013, the European Commission and 14 EU
Member States provided over €76 million (compared to €20 million in
2012) in humanitarian assistance to CAR. The Commission's initial
humanitarian envelope of €8 million for 2013 was gradually increased to
€39 million. These funds are being used to support protection, access to
health care, food and nutrition assistance, drinking-water
distribution, sanitation services, logistics and humanitarian
coordination. EU humanitarian aid also contributes to enhance the
capacity for emergency humanitarian response of UN agencies and NGOs.
In 2014, the European Commission
will maintain a substantial envelope to finance humanitarian activities
in the country. The allocation may be revised upwards based on the
situation on the ground.
Due to difficult access to people
in need of relief assistance in CAR, the European Commission has
deployed ECHO Flight, its humanitarian air service, to establish a
humanitarian air bridge with daily rotations between Bangui and Douala
(Cameroon) in order to transport humanitarian goods and staff into CAR
at the onset of the current emergency. In addition, the European
Commission has funded a plane carrying relief supplies from Europe to
CAR and a flight from Nairobi bringing emergency shelter for around 100
000 displaced people.
A team of EU humanitarian experts
is on the ground and monitoring the situation, assessing needs,
overseeing the use of EU funds, and working closely with EU Member
States, other donors and those relief organizations that are best placed
to deliver assistance in CAR.
The EU has been supporting
life-saving activities in CAR since 2001 and has been leading efforts to
raise the profile of a humanitarian crisis that has been 'forgotten'
for many years.
EU Development Assistance.
The EU has also provided over the
years development assistance to meet the basic needs of the most
vulnerable people. With the events in December 2012 and March 2013, EU
development assistance has not been suspended but has been partly put on
hold for security reasons. EU priorities are being adapted in the light
of the situation on the ground. Priority will now be given to
labour-intensive infrastructure programs in Bangui area to provide
direct support to the population and to technical assistance to help
restore the administration.
Between 2008 and 2013, around €225
million have been allocated for the whole country through the different
financial instruments (€160 million through the 10th European
Development Fund (EDF) and €65 million through the EU budget).
On top of this, since the
immediate needs are so huge, the EU decided today (December 16) to
mobilise an extra €10 million from the European Development Fund for
humanitarian support to CAR. The objective is to provide immediate
support and relief to the people who are suffering from a crisis which
has affected the country's entire population.
The current situation in the CAR,
whether political, security, humanitarian or socio-economic, makes it
impossible to conduct in the coming months a conventional programming
exercise of the development activities under the 11th EDF. Thus, at
short term, the framework of cooperation will be the 18-month transition
period which should lead to elections early 2015. Interventions could
cover support to the Electoral process,, response to the basic needs in
an approach linking relief and rehabilitation efforts (LRRD), support to
public finance management, and possibly "Disarmament, Demobilization
and Reintegration" activities for disbanding former combatants and
reintegrating them in order to build a lasting peace throughout the
country. Most of the funding will come from the Bridging facility that
ensures the transition between the 10th and the 11th European
Development Funds.
Additional measures to support
civil society organizations and local authorities, democracy and human
rights related activities but also to contribute to forestry governance
are funded under several thematic instruments coming from the EU budget.
EU Support for the African-led
International Support Mission in the Central African Republic through
the EU African Peace Facility (APF)
In the past, CAR hosted several
regional peace-support operations. The MICOPAX operation, deployed since
July 2008, falls under the responsibility of the Economic Community of
Central African States (ECCAS). MICOPAX was expected to be phased out
until the new crisis erupted at the end of 2012. It played an important
stabilization role, but given its limited troop numbers, it was however
unable to stop SELEKA rebels from entering the Capital, Bangui.
As a result of the new crisis, the
ECCAS Heads of States decided to reconfigure MICOPAX with a higher
number of troops (from 700 to 2,000 military troops) and a new mandate
to restore stability, protect civilians, support the restructuration of
the CAR security forces and the organization of elections.
The EU has supported MICOPAX and
its predecessor (FOMUC) with an amount of €90 million through the
African Peace Facility (APF – which is part of the European Development
Fund or EDF). The APF is the main EU instrument to support African-led
Peace operations the European Development Fund (EDF). Following the
crisis, APF’s support was extended until July 2013.
On 18 July 2013, the African Union
Peace and Security Council approved the deployment of the African-led
International Support Mission in the Central African Republic (MISCA or
AFISM-CAR). On 13 December, it authorized an additional troop increase
up to a total strength of 6,000 personnel. MISCA operates under a
Chapter VII mandate provided by UN Security Council Resolution
21217(2013). It has been tasked to contribute to: (i) the protection of
civilians and the restoration of security and public order; (ii) the
stabilization of the country and the restoration of the authority of the
central Government; (iii) the reform and restructuring of the defence
and security sector; and (iv) the creation of conditions conducive for
the provision of humanitarian assistance to population in need.
The transfer of authority between ECCAS/MICOPAX and the AU/MISCA took place on 19 December 2013.
On 5 December 2013, the EU
Political and Security Committee agreed on the political appropriateness
of providing EUR 50 million through the African Peace Facility to
MISCA. This new support to the AFISM-CAR announced by EU Commissioner
for Development for Development Andris Piebalgs aims to contribute to
the stabilization of the country and the protection of local
populations, creating conditions conducive to the provision of
humanitarian assistance and the reform of the security and defence
sector.
This new support should cover the
costs of allowances, accommodation and feeding the troops deployed in
the field. The salaries of civilian AFISM-CAR personnel and various
operational costs such as transport, communication or medical services
should also be supported by the Facility. This support will be essential
for the proper functioning of the mission.
