Central African Republic

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is increasingly alarmed at the plight of thousands of Central African refugees who have fled to southern Chad since late 2017.  The influx is the biggest since 2014, and is overwhelming the ability of humanitarian agencies to respond.

The Secretary-General told the Security Council today that, despite passing resolution 2401 (2018), there had been no cessation of hostilities in Syria.  Violence continued in eastern Ghouta and beyond, and humanitarian aid continued to face blockages, with the humanitarian and human rights situation becoming more desperate by the day.

On 23 February 2018, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 2127 (2013) concerning the Central African Republic held informal consultations to consider the progress update of the Panel of Experts, which was submitted in pursuance of paragraph 28 (d) of resolution 2339 (2017).

The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the heinous and cowardly attack against education workers near Markounda in the north‑western part of the Central African Republic (Ouham prefecture) on 25 February 2018 by unknown assailants, which resulted in the killing of one United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) education consultant, two officials of the Ministry of Education of the Central African Republic and three members of a UNICEF national partner organization, Bangui Sans Frontières.

The United Nations Children’s Fund expressed deep sadness over the killing of its colleague, along with five other education workers, on 25 February in the north-western region of the Central African Republic, near Markounda, a remote area close to the Chadian border.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Mansour Ayyad Sh. A. Alotaibi (Kuwait):

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is calling for calm and restraint after reports of a refugee protest turning violent in Rwanda’s Kiziba refugee camp.  The camp hosts over 17,000 refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, around 77 per cent of which are women and children.

Widespread violence and a lack of humanitarian aid in the Central African Republic had put half the population at risk, but Government efforts to restore State authority and protect civilians were laying the groundwork for peace, the United Nations top official in the country told the Security Council today.

The Secretary-General said that he was deeply saddened by the terrible suffering of the civilian population in eastern Ghouta in Syria, noting 400,000 people lived in hell on earth.  He appealed to all those involved for an immediate suspension of all war activities in the region.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and humanitarian colleagues express concern about persistent forced displacement of indigenous people and farming communities in rural Colombia. Since 19 January, violence in Caceres has displaced at least 822 people; in Bajo Cauco murders have increased.