Central African Republic: independent expert to assess the human rights situation

French

GENEVA / BANGUI (11 January 2019) - The UN Independent Expert on the human rights situation in the Central African Republic (CAR), Marie-Thérèse Keita Bocoum, will visit the country from 15 to 25 January 2019.

This visit follows the recent violence in the towns of Batangafo (North-West) and Alindao in November when armed groups attacked displaced person camps, killing civilians, destroying and looting homes, and the overall deterioration of the human rights situation.

She will assess efforts by the CAR government and international partners to protect human rights, following the recent mandate renewal of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Central Africa. She will focus on the protection and promotion of the rights of children, youth, women and victims, and assess the level of their consultation in the peace and reconciliation process.

Ms. Keita Bocoum will also evaluate any achievements in the area of transitional justice since her last visit in June. She will pay particular attention to the coordination of activities related to prosecution and truth seeking, reparations and institutional reforms.

During her 10-day mission to Bangui and inland, Ms. Keita Bocoum will meet with government, legislative and judicial authorities, civil society and victims' associations, non-governmental organisations, the diplomatic corps and the United Nations.

The Independent Expert will speak about her visit during an interactive dialogue in Geneva in March, on the topic of, "The participation of civil society, in particular women's organisations and victims' representatives, in peace and reconciliation process".

ENDS

Ms Marie-Thérèse Keita Bocoum is the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Central African Republic. The mandate was established by the UN Human Rights Council on 27 September 2013. Ms Keita Bocoum, a former professor at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire, has held various positions both in Côte d’Ivoire and in the UN. She was Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Burundi, Representative of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to UNOWA, as well as Director of the Division of Human Rights and the Representative of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Darfur.

The Independent Experts and Working Groups are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

UN Human Rights, country page – Central African Republic

For more information and media requests, please contact: Rosalie Billault (+41 22 9179577 / rbillault@ohchr.org) or write to ie-car@ohchr.org

For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts please contact: Jeremy Laurence, UN Human Rights – Media Unit (+41 22 917 9383 / jlaurence@ohchr.org)