GENEVA, 26 January 2007 - The humanitarian and human rights conditions of some 150,000 people internally displaced as a result of recurrent fighting between several rebel groups and the regular army in the northern Central African Republic may turn into a catastrophe unless significant efforts are made to address the needs of the displaced, warns a report published today by the Norwegian Refugee Council's Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre.
The report, "Internal displacement in Central African Republic: a protection crisis" documents the plight of Central Africans displaced by violence and human rights abuses, and raises concern over the near absence of any systematic national response to the protection and humanitarian needs of the affected populations. International efforts to fill this gap have not sufficiently succeeded so far.
"Forced displacement in the Central African Republic - along with deaths, physical injuries and material destruction - is one of the main consequences of more than a decade of political instability caused by a series of mutinies, military coup attempts and armed conflicts", said Tomas Colin Archer, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council.
Roaming bandits and livestock thieves also plague the north, where the state presence - as in much of the rest of the country outside the capital - is weak or non-existent.
Although the majority of people displaced who took refuge in the bush are extremely vulnerable as they live on wild leaves and in open sky and are exposed to diseases, there are still too few aid professionals in the conflict areas and the level of funding for protection and humanitarian assistance has yet to match the needs on the ground.
"Donors support for UN and NGO plans to increase their presence in the affected areas is crucial for limiting the disastrous consequences the current conflict has for the civilian population and the overall recovery process in the country", said Mr. Archer.
The report calls on the government must put an end to human rights violations committed by the security forces, reinforce attempts to find political solutions to the ongoing conflicts, and seek increased international support for the process of recovery if the country is to break out of the current cycle of violence and instability.
For more information, please contact Jens-Hagen Eschenbächer, NRC IDMC, Geneva, +41-22-799 07 03, or 41-79 79 79 439.sh are extremely vulnerable as they live on wild leaves and in open sky and are exposed to diseases, there are still too few aid professionals in the conflict areas and the level of funding for protection and humanitarian assistance has yet to match the needs on the ground.
"Donors support for UN and NGO plans to increase their presence in the affected areas is crucial for limiting the disastrous consequences the current conflict has for the civilian population and the overall recovery process in the country", said Mr. Archer.
The report calls on the government must put an end to human rights violations committed by the security forces, reinforce attempts to find political solutions to the ongoing conflicts, and seek increased international support for the process of recovery if the country is to break out of the current cycle of violence and instability.
