The information below is based on the Report of the Secretary-General to the Security Council (S/2015/203) issued on 23 March 2015.
During the reporting period, 2,527 cases of conflict-related sexual violence were documented in the Central African Republic, including rape perpetrated to terrorize civilians, with many victims being assaulted in their homes, during door-to-door searches and while sheltering in fields or the bush. Women and girls have been systematically targeted. There have also been cases of conflict-related sexual violence against men and boys. Alleged perpetrators are associated with armed herders from Fulani Mbarara communities and members of ex-Séléka, anti-balaka, Révolution et justice and the Front démocratique du peuple centrafricain armed groups. On 5 May, my Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict briefed the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 2127 (2013) on the situation in the country, noting that all parties have used sexual violence to subjugate and humiliate opponents.
Conflict-related sexual violence in the prefectures of Ombella-Mpoko, Ouham, Ouham-Pende, Nana-Mambere, Lobaye and Mambere-Kadei are of particular concern. Sexual violence occurred at alarming rates during and in the immediate aftermath of hostilities. Currently, the number of rapes seems to be declining in the main towns owing to the combined security presence of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), Sangaris and EUFOR. However, violence persists on the outskirts of towns, with the breakdown of social services creating extreme hardship for civilians, especially those in mining and border areas. Medical care, including post exposure prophylaxis to prevent HIV transmission, remains largely out of reach. The Transitional Government is in the process of adopting a decree to establish a joint rapid response unit to combat sexual violence. In April 2014, the authorities created a special investigation unit for the prosecution of serious human rights violations. Efforts are also under way to draft a law to establish a special criminal court that would have jurisdiction over grave violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, including conflict-related sexual violence. Sexual violence was taken into account in the cessation of hostilities agreement negotiated in July 2014 in Brazzaville and has been identified as a violation to be monitored in the implementation of the agreement.
Recommendation
I urge the authorities of the Central African Republic to ensure that efforts to restore security and the rule of law take into account the prevention of sexual violence and that monitoring of the ceasefire and peace agreement explicitly reflects this consideration, in line with the joint communiqué of the Government and the United Nations on the prevention of and response to conflict-related sexual violence signed in December 2012. I further encourage the authorities to make the rapid response unit to combat sexual violence operational and to establish a special criminal court.