Central African Republic: Rampant Abuses After Coup | WPN World People News

Members of the Seleka rebel coalition, which ousted President François Bozizé of the Central African Republic on March 24, 2013, have committed grave violations against civilians, including pillage, summary executions, rape, and torture, Human Rights Watch said.

Fighters for the Seleka rebel alliance stand guard in front of the presidential palace in Bangui, Central African Republic on March, 25 2013.

When the Seleka took control of Bangui, the rebels went on a looting spree, killing civilians, raping women, and settling scores with members of the Central African Armed Forces (FACA), Human Rights Watch found. Many of these killings occurred in urban areas in broad daylight.

“If the Seleka coalition, as it claims, wants to undo the wrongs of the previous government, it should immediately end its horrific abuses,” said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “The government should show it is committed to the rule of law by investigating and prosecuting attacks by Seleka troops against civilians.”

Seleka means “alliance,” in Sango, Central African Republic’s principal language. It represents a coalition of several rebel forces that came together to address human rights abuses and poverty in the northeastern part of the country. Human Rights Watch previously reported that President Bozizé’s armed forces in this region in 2007 engaged in summary executions, unlawful killings, beatings, house burnings, extortion and unlawful taxation, the recruitment and use of children as soldiers, and many other human rights violations.

Over a 10-day research investigation in Bangui in late April 2013, Human Rights Watch spoke with about 70 witnesses, victims, local human rights defenders, journalists, authorities from the previous and new governments, and other sources. Human Rights Watch uncovered scores of killings committed by Seleka forces in Bangui, the capital, after the March 24 coup and received credible information about further killings by Seleka troops throughout the country between December 2012 and April.

Authorities in the new government told Human Rights Watch that the abuses documented had been carried out by former members of the Bozizé government or by “fake Seleka.” Noureddine Adam, state minister of public security, said that the Seleka maintain control over their troops.

But Human Rights Watch interviewed multiple witnesses who provided compelling evidence, including eyewitness accounts, that Seleka forces were responsible for the majority of abuses against civilians both immediately before and after the coup. In addition, Seleka commanders appear not to maintain discipline within their ranks, as Human Rights Watch documented numerous cases in which Seleka rebels killed their own members.

Human Rights Watch believes that the statements from witnesses establish that the rebels were, on a local level, taking orders from their immediate commanders. As one witness to the killing of a fleeing unarmed civilian told Human Rights Watch, “The [local commander] gave the order and then she fired.”

“The government has an obligation to control the rebels who brought it to power, to prevent abuses, and punish those who commit them,” Bekele said. “Without security, the government will not be able to govern effectively or protect civilians.”

Human Rights Watch calls on the Government of the Central African Republic and the Seleka leadership to:
• Restore law and order in the 15 provinces under its control by urgently deploying zone commanders under the leadership of the Public Security and Defense ministries;
• Reinstate institutions in the entire territory, including the police, the gendarmerie, and the regular army;
• Publicly declare that the government does not tolerate attacks on civilians and will bring to justice those responsible for pillage, murder, rape, and other serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law;
• Provide access to health and other services for victims of human rights violations, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls who have survived sexual violence;
• Investigate and prosecute all persons deemed responsible for the recent abuses, including Seleka members, in fair and credible trials that comply with international standards; and
• Establish the National Commission of Inquiry announced by Presidential Decree n° 13.040 on April 26, 2013, and enable it to promptly, thoroughly, and independently investigate allegations of human rights abuses by all parties, including, but not limited to, the Seleka rebels.

In addition, Human Rights Watch calls on the United Nations (UN) to urgently address the following:
• The United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in the Central African Republic (Bureau intégré des Nations Unies pour la consolidation de la paix en République centrafricaine, BINUCA) should ensure that its Human Rights and Justice Unit effectively monitors and reports on past and ongoing human rights abuses in the Central African Republic;
• The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) should deploy a monitoring mission to the Central African Republic to document, investigate, and report on human rights violations committed since December. The mission should include investigators that are trained to document sexual violence;
• The Human Rights Council should consider the report of the OHCHR investigation and appoint an independent expert on human rights in the Central African Republic at the council’s session in June;
• The UN Security Council should bolster the mandate of the peace support mission’s Human Rights and Justice Section when the mission’s mandate is discussed this year; and
• Relevant UN bodies, including OHCHR and BINUCA, should provide assistance to the National Commission of Inquiry and urge the government to move forward with bringing to justice those responsible for abuses.

Finally, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Fatou Bensouda, should continue to closely monitor developments in the Central African Republic. Her office in 2007 opened an investigation in the country, following a referral by the Central African Republic government, which is a state party to the ICC. On April 22, Bensouda said that she was closely scrutinizing “allegations of crimes under the Court’s jurisdiction, including attacks against civilians, murder and pillaging in the Central African Republic.” Pillage, rape, and murder, including by summary execution, all constitute war crimes under the statute of the ICC.

source:Human Rights Watch