Central African Republic sliding into chaos, warns UN
UNITED NATIONS - The UN Security Council has warned that the Central African Republic (CAR) poses a "serious threat" to regional stability, following a rebel takeover in March and urged new measures to restore stability. There has been "a total breakdown in law and order" the Council said and urged new measures to restore stability. Aid agency Save the Children on Tuesday warned that more than 100,000 children faced sexual abuse and recruitment into armed groups in the country. CAR has gold and diamond deposits but has been unstable since independence. Uganda's rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has taken advantage of years of unrest in CAR to set up bases in the country. CAR also shares borders with the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad, Sudan and South Sudan - all of which are plagued by numerous armed groups. A unanimous declaration of the 15 council members did not specify what these new options could be, but a recent report by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon recommended sanctions against officials from the Seleka coalition suspected of committing atrocities. According to UN Special Representative Babacar Gaye, the threat of sanctions is a form of pressure to improve the human rights situation in the Central African Republic. The Central African Republic has been sliding into chaos since Seleka rebels took over in March, with reports of executions, looting and epidemics. After ousting Francois Bozize from power, the international community granted the Seleka rebel alliance de facto recognition and a shot at steering the nation through a transition period leading to fresh polls. But on Wednesday Security Council members "expressed deep concern at the security situation in CAR, characterized by a total breakdown in law and order, and the absence of the rule of law." "They stressed that the armed conflict and crisis in CAR pose a serious threat to the stability of the CAR and the region," it said, highlighting "grave concern" about a deterioration in the humanitarian situation. It cited "reports of widespread human rights violations, notably by Seleka elements, including those involving arbitrary arrests and detention, sexual violence against women and children, torture, rape, extrajudicial killings, recruitment and use of children and attacks against civilians." Top UN officials earlier called on the international community to act to keep the crisis-torn Central African Republic from becoming a "failed state." "The Central African Republic is not yet a failed state but has the potential to become one if swift action is not taken," UN under-secretary-general and emergency relief coordinator Valerie Amos said. According to the United Nations, 1.6 million people in the Central African Republic are in need of urgent help. The crisis has forced 60,000 people to flee to neighboring countries and has displaced 206,000. Charles-Armel Doubane, CAR's ambassador to the UN, appealed for international help to build "a modern state: one of peace, security and stability, where simply living is good". The 15-member UN security council said after Wednesday's meeting in New York that it was willing "to consider all potential options to stabilise the CAR". "The members of the security council expressed deep concern at the security situation in CAR, characterised by a total breakdown in law and order, and the absence of the rule of law," it added. "They stressed that the armed conflict and crisis in CAR pose a serious threat to the stability of the CAR and the region." Earlier this week Boziz, now in Paris, said he had formed a political organisation called the Front for the Return of Constitutional Order in CAR. Its objective is to "follow and denounce everything that is happening in the country and inform the international community, which does not yet seem to have realised the grave crisis, the drama, unfolding in Central African Republic," he told Radio France International. Asked if the formation of a new political entity meant he aimed to return to power, Boziz said: "Yes, return to power. If the occasion arises, I will do it." - See more at:
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