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Sangaris soldiers and five soldiers of the
African-led International Support Mission to
the Central African Republic (MISCA), AU
troops, and peacekeepers, were allegedly
involved. The Prosecutor’s decision was that
the victims’ testimonies did not sufficiently
establish the facts.
REFUGEES AND INTERNALLY
DISPLACED PEOPLE
The number of people seeking refuge in
neighbouring countries increased due to an
escalation of violence in April and May. By
the end of the year, at least 538,000 people
had fled the country for neighbouring
countries Chad, Cameroon, DRC and
Republic of the Congo; while 601,000 were
internally displaced, living in poor conditions
in makeshift camps with inadequate access
to food, water, health care and sanitation.
IMPUNITY
Many suspected perpetrators of human rights
abuses and violations, including armed
groups and security forces, were not
investigated or tried. Impunity was
exacerbated by the collapse of the national
justice system and its slow reconstruction.
On 26 February, MINUSCA arrested six
FPRC and MPC members. Central African
authorities detained them from 1 March and
opened investigations. Suspects had not
been brought to trial by the end of the year.
Between November and December, eight
Anti-balaka members were sentenced in four
cases, in a court in the western town of
Bouar, to up to 20 years’ imprisonment for
crimes including criminal association,
unlawful possession of homemade arms,
murder and theft. Others were sentenced in
their absence.
The Central African authorities failed to
implement an asset freeze which was
extended by the UN Security Council on 27
January until 31 January 2018 along with an
arms embargo and travel ban. Several listed
individuals continued to collect their state
salaries.
Between April and December, the US
imposed financial sanctions including against
Abdoulaye Hissène, a leading FPRC member,
and Maxime Mokom, an Anti-balaka leader.
In June, Chad announced that it had frozen
Abdoulaye Hissène’s assets and banned him
from crossing the Chadian borders.
INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE
Progress was made in operationalizing the
Special Criminal Court (SCC) which will try
individuals suspected of serious human
rights violations and crimes under
international law committed since 2003. The
SCC Special Prosecutor took office in May
after which five national magistrates and two
international magistrates were nominated,
and a committee to select judicial police
officers was created.
The ICC investigations on the “Central
African Republic II situation” continued but
no arrest warrants were issued. In March, the
ICC increased Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo’s
18-year prison sentence to 19 years after he
and his legal team were convicted of
attempting to bribe witnesses in 2016.
NATURAL RESOURCES
On 20 July, the General Court of the
European Union upheld the asset freeze
against the Belgium-based diamond
companies BADICA and KARDIAM, which
had procured diamonds from the Central
African Republic despite a ban.
RIGHT TO AN ADEQUATE STANDARD
OF LIVING
The UN reported that nearly half the
population (2.4 million) needed humanitarian
assistance, and 1.4 million were food
insecure.
The health system collapsed due to the
conflict and the population depended almost
entirely on humanitarian organizations for
basic services. Escalating violence led
humanitarian organizations to temporarily
withdraw staff from cities and villages.
The UN said that about a third of the
population had access to safe drinking water
and adequate sanitation facilities.
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CHAD
Republic of Chad
Head of state: Idriss Déby Itno
Head of government: Albert Pahimi Padacké
The armed group Boko Haram continued to
commit abuses around Lake Chad. Chadian
authorities repeatedly banned peaceful
assemblies and arrested and prosecuted
human rights defenders, activists and
journalists, some of whom became
prisoners of conscience. The right to
freedom of association was violated with
unlawful restrictions on the right to organize
freely, including the criminalization of
certain citizens’ associations. More than
408,000 refugees continued to live in dire
conditions in camps including in Baga Sola.
BACKGROUND
Revisions to the Criminal Code were
promulgated by President Déby, repealing
the death penalty except for “terrorism”, and
increasing the minimum age for marriage to
18 years.
New powers, including the power to arrest,
were provided to the National Security
Agency (ANS).
A severe economic crisis, following a sharp
drop in the price of petrol in recent years, led
to austerity measures, public discontent and
strikes in sectors including health, education
and justice.
ABUSES BY ARMED GROUPS
The armed group Boko Haram continued to
kill, abduct and injure civilians, and to
destroy property.
On 5 May, Boko Haram members killed at
least four civilians and burned 50 houses in
Kaiga Kindjiria. On the night of 25 May, a
Boko Haram attack on Kirnatchoulma village,
in the west of Kaiga Kinjiria, resulted in at
least three people being killed and three
wounded. On 26 and 27 May, Boko Haram
carried out several attacks on the villages of
Konguia, Wangui and Kagrerom, in the area
of Tchoukoutalia.
On 30 May a woman was abducted by Boko
Haram about 4km from Kaiga Kindjiria.
Similar attacks were reported in May and
June in other areas including Bodou-Doloum
in the Baga Sola sub-prefecture, which
resulted in the killing of three people and the
abduction of three others.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
During the year, the authorities banned at
least six peaceful assemblies, and those
organizing and participating in protests were
arrested.
On 6 and 15 April respectively, Nadjo Kaina
and Bertrand Solloh, leaders of the citizen
movement IYINA (“We are tired”), were
arrested by ANS agents for calling on citizens
to wear red on the anniversary of the 2016
presidential election as a protest against
corruption and impunity. They were detained
by the ANS without access to their families or
lawyers, before being handed over to the
judicial police. They were charged with
attempted conspiracy and organizing an
unauthorized gathering and given a six-
month suspended sentence. The two men
reported being tortured while in detention,
including by being suffocated with plastic
bags containing chili.
On 12 April, Dingamnayal Nely Versinis,
president of the organization Collectif
Tchadien Contre la Vie Chère, was arrested
by ANS agents at the city hall in the capital,
N’Djamena. He had called on traders at the
N’Djamena Millet Market to strike in protest
at an increase in market fees. He was
detained without access to his family or
lawyer and charged with fraud and using a
false identity, before being released on 27
April by the Public Prosecutor on the grounds
that he had committed no offence.
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
Certain social movements and civil society
platforms were banned and the right to strike
was restricted in contravention of
international law.
The citizens’ movement IYINA remained
banned and, on 6 January, the Minister of
Territorial Administration banned the activities