Global Overview 2014: people internally displaced by conflict and violence - Central African Republic

Number of IDPs935,000
Percentage of total population20.3%
Start of displacement situation2005
Peak number of IDPs (year)935,000 (2013)
New displacement in 2013935,000
Causes of displacement✓ Armed conflict
✓ Generalised violence
✓ Human rights violations
Human development index180
Kampala ConventionRatified

There were at least 935,000 IDPs in the Central African Republic (CAR) as of the end of 2013, according to OCHA. The figure is seven times higher than at the end of 2012, and represents a fifth of the country's population. The vast majority were displaced by escalating conflict and political violence in 2013. More than 512,000 fled their homes in Bangui alone.

In March 2013, the Séléka armed coalition seized power after the failure of the peace agreement it had concluded with the government in January. Séléka's leader, Michel Djotodia, became the self-proclaimed head of state and was later confirmed as transitional president. Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee attacks and violence perpetrated by two main armed groups, the predominantly Muslim Séléka, and the mainly Christian anti-Balaka militias. The latter evolved from local self-defence groups fighting Séléka.

Both groups are reported to have committed serious human rights violations and abuses against the civilian population, including rape, arbitrary killings, torture, the destruction of property and looting. The perceived targeting of civilians based on their religion has contributed to rising tensions between Christians and Muslims generally.

The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) also continued its activities in south-eastern and eastern CAR, taking advantage of the vacuum left by the overthrow of François Bozizé's government. According to OCHA, 81,000 people who have fled LRA violence since 2009 remained displaced as of December 2013.

The focus of fighting and violence related to the 2013 crisis and the displacement it caused switched several times during the year. Most new displacement initially took place in the northern and north-central areas from where Séléka marched on the capital in December 2012 and March 2013. After March, it moved to north-western parts of the country, and since September it has been concentrated in urban and semi-urban areas in the west, particularly Bangui.

In the past, IDPs in CAR tended to take refuge with host families or in the bush, but from September many, especially in Bangui, fled to informal sites and public buildings. Christian and Muslim IDPs have tended to seek refuge separately, reflecting the increasing distrust between the two populations. While some returns have been reported, it is unlikely they were sustainable given that some were said to have been displaced again. Little is known about the 50,000 IDPs living in protracted displacement end of 2012 as a result of previous conflicts.

Women and children were exposed to a heightened risk of abuse and displacement during the 2013 crisis. Gender-based violence, particularly rape and forced marriage to members of armed groups increased, as did the recruitment of child soldiers. Half of CAR's IDPs are believed to be children, of whom an estimated 60,000 are unaccompanied and so more likely to be forcibly recruited. The reported presence of armed civilians and members of armed groups in displacement sites has fuelled concerns about forced recruitment, violence and reduced humanitarian access. Most IDPs are in dire need of food, shelter and health, water and sanitation services, especially in Bangui's overcrowded sites.

The government has struggled to fulfil its role as the primary provider of protection and assistance to IDPs. The state continues to be chronically weak, and absent in many parts of the country. Impunity and the absence of rule of law have allowed perpetrators of violence and abuses to act freely.

CAR is a party to the Great Lakes Pact and its protocols on internal displacement and to the Kampala Convention, but the development of a national framework on internal displacement, which had progressed in 2012, stalled in 2013 as a result of the crisis.

With all eyes turned towards other large-scale crises around the world, most notably Syria, the international community has been slow to provide an emergency response in CAR. Limited funding and capacity, restricted access and the looting of stocks and offices have further hampered efforts to assist the affected population.

In December, the UN categorised the situation in CAR as a level-three crisis, which led to better staffing for organisations on the ground. To respond to growing protection concerns, the UN Security Council also authorised the deployment of an African Union peacekeeping force (MISCA), supported by French forces, whose mandate includes the protection of civilians.

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