The Central African Republic

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Order Code RS22751

November 2, 2007

The Central African Republic

Ted Dagne

Specialist in African Affairs

Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division

Summary

In March 2003, a rebellion led by former Army Chief of Staff Francois Bozize

ousted  President Ange Patasse from power.  In 2005, the Bozize government organized

presidential and legislative elections.  In May 2005, Bozize defeated former Prime

Minster Martin Ziguele and his ruling party won 42 out of the 105 seats in the National

Assembly.  The Central African Republic (CAR) has been impacted by the crisis in the

Darfur region of Sudan and suffers from internal rebellion.  Fighting between rebel

groups and government forces has displaced more than 70,000 people in northeastern

CAR. In September 2007, the European Union approved the deployment of a 4,000 man

peacekeeping force to Chad and CAR.  This report will not be updated.

Background

The Central African Republic (CAR), a landlocked country of 4.3 million people,

became independent in 1960.  David Dacko became the first President under a one-party

system.  On December 31, 1965, Dacko was ousted from power in a military coup led by

his cousin, Colonel Jean-Bedel Bokassa.  In 1966, Bokassa dissolved the legislature and

rescinded the Constitution.  In 1972, Bokassa became “Life President” and later named

himself “Marshall of the Republic.”  In December 1976, Bokassa renamed the CAR the

Central African Empire and later had himself crowned emperor in a lavish ceremony

attended by thousands of guests.  Human rights violations and rumors of bizarre practices

helped prepare the way for Bokassa's 1979 ouster by David Dacko in a coup backed by

French troops.  Dacko, in turn, was overthrown in 1981 by General André Kolingba,

whose authoritarian regime lasted until 1993, when elections were held.  This democratic

transition followed a long period of unrest, including recurrent strikes and opposition

protests, sparked in part by the country's economic stagnation.  The election was won by

Ange Patassé, who had once served Bokassa as prime minister, but later became a leading

opponent of the former Emperor.

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Central African Republic in Brief

Population: 4.3 million 

Growth Rate: 1.5 % (2007 est.)

Size: slightly smaller than Texas

Literacy: 51%

Religion: indigenous beliefs, 35%; Protestant,

25%; Roman Catholic, 25%; Muslim, 15%;

Note: animistic beliefs strongly influence

Christian community

Economy: dependent on subsistence

agriculture; exports primarily timber (16%) and

diamonds (40%), also cotton, coffee.

GDP (purchasing power parity): U.S.$4.9

billion (U.S. $340 per capita). (2006 est.)

Sources: U.S. Central Intelligence Agency,

World Factbook 2007.

Current Political Situation

In April and May 1996, the CAR army mutinied; and only the intervention of French

troops kept President Patassé in power.  While the mutineers returned to base, the

rebellion was by no means crushed, and a further outbreak occurred in November.  The

mutinies resulted in part from the dissatisfaction of soldiers over salary delays, but there

was an ethnic dimension as well, since most of the soldiers were from former President

Kolingba's Yakoma ethnic group, while Patassé is from another ethnic group, the Sara.

A regional mediation effort followed the November 1996 clashes, but in January

1997, two French soldiers were assassinated, and heavy fighting broke out between

French troops and the mutineers.  Nonetheless, mediation efforts undertaken by the heads

of state of Gabon, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Mali continued, leading to the convening of

an all-party  conference in Bangui, the capital, at the end of the month.  The Bangui

Agreements reached at this conference called, among other measures, for the

establishment of a government of national unity; amnesty for the mutineers; the

disarmament of mutineers, militias, and the civilian population; and the convening of a

National Reconciliation Conference in February 1998.

M e a n w h i l e ,   s e v e r a l

francophone states created the Inter-

African Mission to Monitor the

Implementation of the Bangui

Agreements (MISAB), sending in

800 peacekeeping soldiers.  This

operation was endorsed by the

United Nations Security Council.

MISAB made significant progress in

implementing the disarmament

p r o v i s i o n s   o f  t h e  B a n gu i

Agreements. It also took on general

security functions in Bangui  in order

to suppress a crime wave.  In March

1998, MISAB was replaced by a

stronger United Nations force -- the

United Nations Mission in the

C e n t r a l   A f r i c a n   R e p u b l i c

(MINURCA)  -- consisting of nearly

1,400 African troops.

The National Reconciliation Conference concluded on March 5, 1998, with an

agreement among all political parties to accept the ballot box as the only means of taking

power, and to refrain from using the army to destabilize the country.  In November 1998,

legislative elections, contested by 29 parties,  were held. The Movement for the Liberation

of the Central African People (MLCP) won 47 of the 109 seats in the National Assembly.

In March 2003, a rebellion led by former Army Chief of Staff Francois Bozize

ousted President Patasse from power.  Bozize declared himself President, suspended the

Constitution, and dissolved the National Assembly.  In December 2004, a new

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1

 [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2006/78725.htm]

2

 [http://hrw.org/reports/2007/car0907/2.htm#_Toc176766508]

Constitution was approved by referendum.  In March 2005, presidential and legislative

elections were held.  In May 2005, Bozize defeated former Prime Minster Martin Ziguele

in a second-round election.  In the legislative elections, Bozize’s Convergence Kwa na

Kwa party won 42 of the 105 seats in the National Assembly, while the former ruling

MLCP won 11 seats.

Human Rights Conditions

Human rights conditions in the Central African Republic are poor, according  to

human rights groups.  According to the State Department, there were improvements in

some areas, although “the government’s respect for human rights deteriorated overall.”

According to the State Department’s Country Report on Human Rights Practices for

2006:

Reports of extrajudicial killings by the Central Office for the Repression

of Banditry (OCRB) decreased, but reports of the military killing civilians

increased sharply due to government counteroffensive operations against

rebels in the north. Acts of torture, beatings, rape, and other abuses of

suspects and prisoners by security forces continued to be a problem.

Impunity, particularly military impunity, worsened.  Conditions in prisons

and detention centers remained harsh and life threatening.  The

government's use of arbitrary arrest and detention increased significantly,

particularly following fighting in the north between rebels and the military,

which contributed to an increase in political detainees.  Prolonged pretrial

detention, denial of a fair trial, and judicial corruption continued to be

problems. The government restricted freedom of the press, although to a

lesser extent than in the previous year. Freedom of movement deteriorated

greatly because of actions by security forces, armed bandits, and rebels.

1

According to Human Rights Watch, government security forces routinely target

civilians they suspect of being supporters of rebel groups.  According to a September

2007 Human Rights Watch report “since mid-2005, hundreds of civilians have been

killed, more than 10 thousand houses burned, and approximately 212,000 persons have

fled their homes in terror to live in desperate conditions deep in the bush in northern

Central African Republic (CAR).”

2

  Rebel groups have also been engaged in human rights

abuses against civilians, including beatings, kidnappings for ransom, and looting.  Human

rights advocates argue that the civilian population, especially those in conflict areas and

near the border with Sudan, need protection.

The Darfur Conflict and Impact on CAR

The crisis in Darfur continues to affect Chad and the Central African Republic, in

large part due to rebellions supported by the Government of Sudan against the

governments of Chad and CAR, according to officials in the region and human rights

groups. Indeed, the conflicts in Chad and CAR are largely internal political disputes

between the respective governments and a number of armed groups.

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In the Central African Republic, the fighting between rebel groups and government

forces has displaced more than 70,000 people in northeastern CAR. Over the past several

months, the CAR government has recaptured towns taken by rebel groups.  The CAR

armed forces, supported by French troops and a multinational force from the Central

African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) have largely succeeded in

containing rebel advances.  Meanwhile, negotiations between the government of President

Francois Bozize’ and several rebel groups have led to some agreements.  In February

2007, in negotiations mediated by Libya, two rebel leaders, Abdoulaye Miskine and

Andre’ Ringui Le Gaillard, signed an agreement with the CAR government.  However,

the agreement was rejected by the military chief of one of the rebel groups.

The United Nations has been working toward the deployment of a peacekeeping

force to Chad and CAR over the past several months.  The United Nations has  concluded

two technical assessment missions to Chad and CAR.  The mandate of the proposed U.N.

multidimensional presence would include the protection of civilians and internally

displaced persons, maintenance of law and order, the facilitation of the free movement of

humanitarian assistance, and coordination with African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS)

and the U.N. Mission in Sudan (UNMIS).  In August, the United Nations made important

adjustments to the proposed multidimensional force in a report submitted to the United

Nations Security Council.  Instead of a United Nations military presence, the European

Union (EU) will deploy an estimated 4,000 peacekeeping troops to Chad and CAR.  In

September 2007,  the EU approved the deployment of a peacekeeping force.

U.S.-CAR Relations

Relations between the United States and CAR are good, although there are areas of

serious concerns.  The Bush Administration has expressed concerns about poor human

rights conditions and lack of political and economic reform by the CAR government.  In

March 2007, at a hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Subcommittee

on Africa, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State James Swan stated that CAR “has a history

of violence and unrest. It has experienced four coups, additional failed coup attempts, and

many years of undemocratic rule since its independence in 1960. Rebels, including some

members of the political opposition, emerged in the northwestern part of the country in

late 2005. Still other groups with alleged links to Sudan took over four northeastern towns

in October and November 2006.”

The United States closed its embassy in CAR due to security concerns in the mid-

1990s and in 2003.  The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the

Peace Corps did not return to CAR after the U.S. embassy closed in 1996-1997 and

reopened in 1998.  In FY2007, the United States provided $20 million in humanitarian

assistance to CAR.