République
centrafricaine : l'ONU préoccupée par la prévalence de la violence sexuelle dans
le nord (environ 15% de femmes et de filles)
« Des cas de viol sont rapportés
chaque semaine dans le nord de
Dans cette région déchirée par un
conflit interne, il s'agit, dans certains cas, de violences dirigées contre des
jeunes filles de 12 ou 13 ans.
« Nous devons nous assurer que les
responsables sont traduits en justice », a insisté John Holmes, le Coordonnateur
des secours d'urgence de l'ONU.
OCHA rapporte que sur les 20.000
personnes déplacées dans le nord du pays, plus de 1.000 survivants de viol ont
été secourus par les agences qui fournissent des soins physiques,
psychologiques, y compris des tests pour le VIH/SIDA.
Toby Lanzer, le Coordonnateur
humanitaire des Nations Unies pour le pays, a souligné la nécessité de
multiplier ces programmes de soutien et d'aide aux communautés, afin de prévenir
ce type de violence.
Le plan d'action 2008 pour
Reports coming in on
a weekly basis describe such incidents as two 12-year-old girls being raped
while searching for firewood in the bush and a 13-year-old girl assaulted on her
way to sell palm oil at a market.
“Sexual violence is
a disturbingly common feature of the insecurity in the north of the Central
African Republic,” said UN Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes. “We must
ensure that those responsible are brought to justice.”
Over 1,000 rape
survivors among 20,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the region have
received medical and psychological care, including HIV testing and counselling,
in the past six months from aid groups.
“There is a dire
need to expand the programmes that support the survivors of sexual violence and
help communities to prevent it in the future,” noted Toby Lanzer, UN
Humanitarian Coordinator in the country.
This year’s joint
aid programme between the UN and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating
in the CAR – for which there has been an appeal for over $90 million – will
include seven projects to assist those who have endured sexual violence.
Earlier this month,
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that some 6,000 to 7,000
Central Africans have fled their homeland for southern Chad since late January
because of the increasing risk of bandit attacks in their home country.
Mostly women and
children, the refugees are in poor condition, arriving with no possessions and
relying on the generosity of locals, the agency said. There are now an estimated
50,000 Central African refugees living in Chad.
Both Chad and the CAR have been plagued by violence, instability and impoverishment and last year the Security Council authorized the establishment of a multi-dimensional UN presence – including a peacekeeping mission known as MINURCAT – to try to remedy the situation.
Over 15% of women and girls subjected to sexual violence in the
Central African Republic's crisis zones
New York/Geneva/Bangui, 22 February 2008:
Several thousands of women and young girls have endured rape and other
sexual violence in the conflict-torn north of the Central African Republic
(CAR). Research suggests that sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) strikes
well over 15 percent of women and girls in the region.
Rape cases are
being reported in northern CAR on a weekly basis. The most recent reports
mention two twelve-year old girls, who were raped while searching for firewood
in the bush near their shelter. A local newspaper also described the ordeal of a
thirteen-year old girl assaulted earlier this month on her way to sell palm oil
at a market. Health workers in the western province of Nana-Mambéré have
expressed shock at the increasing number of rapes of women and girls.
'Sexual violence
is a disturbingly common feature of the insecurity in the north of the Central
African Republic,' said John Holmes, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for
Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. 'We must ensure that
those responsible are brought to justice,' he added.
Aid groups in
the country are providing rape victims with medical and psychological care,
including HIV testing and counselling. Among 20,000 displaced persons in the
north of the country, more than 1,000 rape survivors have been assisted in the
last six months. Networks of victims of sexual abuse are being supported by
providing small amounts of money for productive activities.
'There is a dire
need to expand the programmes that support the survivors of sexual violence and
help communities to prevent it in the future,' affirmed Toby Lanzer, United
Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in the country. 'The joint (non-governmental
organisation) NGO - United Nations aid programme for 2008 includes seven
projects extending services to survivors of sexual violence in crisis zones,' he
added.
The 2008 action
plan for CAR, as outlined in the Common Appeal Process (CAP), asks the
international community to contribute $92.6 million in assistance funds. So far
this year, some $7.4 million, or close to 8 percent of the amount required, has
been received.
For further
information, please call: Christina Bennett, OCHA-NY, +1 917
367 8059; Stephanie Bunker, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367 5126, mobile +1 917 892
1679; Elisabeth Byrs, OCHA-Geneva, +41 22 917 2653, mobile, +41 79 473 4570;
Nancy Snauwaert, OCHA-CAR, +236 75 54 2278 or snauwaert@un.org.
OCHA press releases are available at http://ochaonline.un.org or www.reliefweb.int.
Actions
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