The civil conflict that has engulfed the Central African Republic for more than two years has displaced nearly a quarter of the 4.6 million population, both internally and in neighboring countries. In the past year, certain parts of CAR have stabilized, including the capital, Bangui, and international donors have begun to turn their attention toward early recovery programs and planning for national elections. But the crisis is not over. Areas of conflict and volatility have simply shifted as rebel groups and militias relocate throughout the country. A number of towns and villages that were at the center of the conflict a year ago are now calm, whereas some that were once calm are now the scenes of massive population movements. Strong humanitarian support from donors is essential to mitigate the impact of continuing violence, and aid agencies must take steps to ensure that the aid systems in place are as effective as possible.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Donors, particularly the United States and the European Union, must ensure high levels of financial support to respond to the continuing humanitarian emergency and to shrink the gap between needs and available resources.
The U.S. should establish a permanent Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance staff presence at its Embassy in Bangui as soon as security conditions allow.
Donors must provide financing for the UN Refugee Agency and the International Organization for Migration to expand the establishment of designated internal displacement camp managers throughout the country in order to improve coordination and delivery of aid in the camps.
The Protection Cluster, supported by donors, should deploy the use Joint IDP Profiling Service tools at displacement sites throughout the country to gather more accurate and detailed information about internally displaced people (IDPs).
The United Nations Emergency Response Coordinator should consider appointing a Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for CAR to improve communication between and amongst humanitarian agencies working with IDPs in CAR and refugees in neighboring countries, as well as to advocate for the continuing humanitarian needs throughout the region.
Mark Yarnell traveled to the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo in May 2015 to assess the humanitarian situation for CAR’s displaced.