BANGUI, CAR
At least 168,000 children were forced to flee their homes
following widespread violence and insecurity in the run-up to the Central
Africa Republic’s general election of last December, and during its aftermath.Liton village, in the commune of Begoua, north of Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, where 2,000 men, women and children have fled their villages since the clashes of January 2021
Around 70,000 of them have not been
able to return. This brings the total to 370,000 internally displaced children
across the country.
Displaced children are at risk of
exposure to sexual and physical violence, recruitment to armed forces and
groups, increasing rates of malnutrition and limited access to essential services.
Recruitment and use of children by
armed forces and groups, remains the most frequent grave child rights violation
in CAR, accounting for 584 out of a total of 792 cases of confirmed grave
violations documented in 2020.
UNICEF Representative
in CAR, Fran Equiza, told journalists in Geneva on Tuesday that in the last
three months of 2020 alone, the UN verified more grave violations than in the
entire first half of the same year - 415 incidents affecting 353 children were
carried out compared to 384 incidents involving 284 children.
"In June 2020, the government
of the Central African Republic adopted a national child protection code,
which, for the first time, explicitly prohibits the recruitment and use of
children by armed groups and forces, and clearly states that children formerly
associated with armed groups should not be treated as adults”, he said.
But UNICEF has received unverified
reports indicating that child recruitment and use, has continued over the first
four months of 2021.
Despite CAR generally registering a
relatively low number of COVID-19 cases, the
epidemic has had a severe impact, including a significant decrease of overall
immunization rates, and the closure and disruption of services for forcibly
displaced children, and victims of violence.
Incidents of gender-based violence
against children spiked at the height of the pandemic’s first wave and during
school closures.
The recent escalation of violence
has forced schools to be shut, occupied, or damaged in 11 out of the country’s
16 prefectures. "One in every four schools is not functional because
of fighting, and half the country’s children are out of school because of
conflict,” said Mr. Equiza.A woman and her young sons stand in front of their shelter in a camp for displaced people in Baboua, Central African Republic
At least 24,000 children under five,
across 14 of the Central African Republic’s 35 health districts, are at risk of
severe acute malnutrition following the recent spike in violence across the
country.
Out of these 14 districts, six
currently have no resources or capacity to respond to children’s acute needs.
This year, at least 62,000 children under five are expected to suffer from
severe acute malnutrition, a 25 per cent increase from 2020.
Humanitarian access remains a major
concern, with 115 incidents against aid workers recorded by OCHA in January and February 2021, vs.
46 in the same period of 2020.
This has contributed to the
suspension or reduction of humanitarian presence in most affected areas.
"CAR remains one of the most dangerous countries for humanitarian
workers,” said Mr. Equiza.
Limited food supplies in the local
market and the poor condition of roads are also important challenges when it
comes to quick availability and deployment of supplies.
UNICEF has continued to
strengthen its child protection activities across the country. This includes
the deployment of mobile child protection teams who can reach vulnerable
children, including those located in remote areas.
UNICEF and its partners are also
working to provide children with mental health and psychosocial activities
through child-friendly spaces and other community-based interventions.
“As part of the longer-term process
of reintegration to their families and in their communities, children formerly
associated with armed forces and groups are benefitting from specialized
programmes that allow them to go back to school or receive vocational
training,” said Mr. Equiza.
However, "approximately one in
five of these children has not yet been enrolled in reintegration programmes,
mainly due to funding constraints,” he added. In 2021, the organisation is
seeking $8.2 million to scale up its activities in support of children and
women affected by violence, exploitation, and abuse. - UN
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