I have raised our serious concern at the appalling situation in the Central African Republic at a number of recent meetings of the Foreign Affairs Council. At the Council meeting of December last, I highlighted the impact the crisis was having on the civilian population and reports by the UN and others of widespread human rights violations, including killings, rapes, kidnappings and recruitment of child soldiers. At that meeting, I expressed the clear view that a UN-led peacekeeping operation was required given the seriousness of the situation and the impact on innocent civilians. I made the point that an insufficient or delayed response by the international community could allow the situation to deteriorate further with the risk of civil war and genocide. Ireland has also consistently raised the situation in the Central African Republic at the Human Rights Council. On 26 March we drew attention to the atrocities cited by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights following her visit to the country.
Ireland condemned these large-scale human rights violations,
in particular those perpetrated against children, and called on all parties to refrain from the deplorable practice of recruiting and using children in armed groups. Our Permanent Mission to the UN in New York participated in discussions at the Security Council on 8 April, focusing on the need to restore law and order and to increase policing capacity.
The EU and the international community have agreed a series of responses to the crisis in the Central African Republic, including the launch on 1 April of an EU military operation to support existing efforts by French and African Union forces to contribute to a secure environment, as authorised by the UN Security Council. Last week, on 10 April, the Security Council unanimously adopted Security Council Resolution 2149 establishing the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic. The objective is to provide up to 10,000 military personnel and 1,800 police personnel, by September next. The Mission will focus on protecting civilians, restoring law and order, supporting humanitarian access, monitoring human rights abuses and fighting impunity.
Ireland has consistently provided humanitarian assistance to the people of the Central African Republic, even when it was a so-called ‘forgotten crisis’. We have provided a total of €14.5 million to UN-administered Common Humanitarian Fund for the Central African Republic since 2008, enabling the UN and NGOs to undertake life-saving work with the most vulnerable communities.
So far this year, Ireland has provided €3 million for relief efforts in the country. €2 million has been provided for the UN’s work on the provision of food, water, shelter, healthcare and education to vulnerable communities. A further €500,000 has been allocated to the World Food Programme and €460,000 to the NGO Médecins Sans Frontières. We have also deployed two members of the Irish Aid Rapid Response Corps to support the work of the UN agencies on the ground.
