Children and armed conflict in the Central African Republic - Report of the Secretary-General (S/2021/882)

Summary

The present report, submitted pursuant to Security Council resolution 1612 (2005) and subsequent resolutions on children and armed conflict, is the fifth report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in the Central African Republic and covers the period from July 2019 to June 2021. The report addresses the effect of the cycles of violence on children in the country, highlighting trends and patterns of the six grave violations committed against children and contains information, where available, on the perpetrators. The progress made by parties to the conflict in terms of dialogue, action plans and other child protection commitments is also outlined. The report provides a series of recommendations addressed to all parties to the conflict aimed at ending and preventing grave violations against children and strengthening child protection in the Central African Republic.

I. Introduction

1. The present report, submitted pursuant to Security Council resolution 1612 (2005) and subsequent resolutions on children and armed conflict, is the fifth report on the situation of children affected by armed conflict in the Central African Republic and covers the period 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2021. The report provides an overview of political and security developments in the Central African Republic, describes trends and patterns of grave violations against children since the previous report (S/2019/852) and presents progress and challenges in improving the situation of children since the adoption of the conclusions of the Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict in June 2020 (S/AC.51/2020/3). Perpetrators of grave violations are, where possible, identified in the present report. In the annexes to the most recent report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict (A/75/873– S/2021/437), the Front populaire pour la renaissance de la Centrafrique (FPRC), the Mouvement patriotique pour la Centrafrique (MPC) and the Union pour la paix en Centrafrique (UPC) as part of the former Séléka coalition are listed for recruitment and use, killing and maiming, rape and sexual violence, and attacks against schools and hospitals among the parties that have put in place measures to improve the protection of children. The local defence militias known as anti-balaka are listed for recruitment and use, killing and maiming, and rape and sexual violence among the parties that have not put in place measures to improve the protection of children. The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) is listed for recruitment and use, killing and maiming, rape and sexual violence, and abduction among the parties that have not put in place measures to improve the protection of children.

2. The violations outlined in the present report were verified by the country task Force on monitoring and reporting, co-chaired by the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Grave violations against children were committed mostly by armed groups. Government forces and bilaterally deployed and other security personnel also perpetrated violations, particularly in the first half of 2021. The monitoring and reporting of violations were hampered by security and logistical constraints that limited access throughout the reporting period. The spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and related restrictions, the electoral and post-electoral violence at the end of 2020 and in the first half of 2021 and outages of communication networks accompanied by the use of explosive ordnance also negatively affected the ability of the country task force to monitor and report on grave violations. The information presented in the report therefore does not represent the full extent of grave violations committed against children in the country