Enough Project Non-Resident Senior Fellow Christopher Day explores how in ending the hideous civil war in the Central African Republic, sanctions against leaders may help, but it is also imperative to stop the illicit trade in gems and ivory that is funding the warlords.
Following the announcement that President Obama is authorizing the imposition of sanctions against five individuals for fueling violence in the Central African Republic, Kasper Agger, field researcher at the Enough Project, issued the following statement.
On May 1, 2014, Enough Project Field Researcher Kasper Agger testified before the the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations, which convened to hear experts from the State Department and NGOs discuss "The Central African Republic: From 'Pre-genocide' to genocide?."
Since December 2013, the Central African Republic (CAR) has experienced extreme instability and violence, resulting in the death of at least 2,000 people, roughly 643,000 internally displaced persons, and an additional 100,000 refugees to the more than 200,000 that were already living in neighboring countries.
The Enough Project has been closely following the violent conflict in Central African Republic, where mass killings and human rights abuses continue at an alarming rate. This new report authored by Field Researcher Kasper Agger explores the underlying drivers of the conflict, including regional dynamics and natural resource exploitation. Additionally it identifies ways the international community can support sustainable peace and stability.
As violence grows in the Central African Republic, with fears of intensifying divisions and northern secession, the Enough Project released its first report on the conflict, “Behind the Headlines: Drivers of Violence in the Central African Republic.” In the report, author Kasper Agger, field researcher at the Enough Project, draws upon extensive interviews in CAR with combatants and leaders to document the ties between CAR’s natural resources and armed groups, including Anti-Balaka, Séléka, and Janjaweed. Featuring satellite images, the report finds that the illicit trade in diamonds and elephant ivory is supplying armed groups, and regional oil interests are at the heart of the conflict. A comprehensive peace process is critical.
Reporting from the heart of Bangui and the barracks of a key armed group, Enough Project Field Researcher Kasper Agger shares his insights from three weeks of field research on the drivers of violence and the prospects for a sustainable peace process in the Central African Republic.
Washington, D.C. -- The Enough Project's Field Researcher Kasper Agger will testify tomorrow, May 1, at 10:00 am at the House Foreign Relations Committee hearing, "The Central African Republic: 'Pre-genocide' to Genocide?" along with a high-level panel of CAR experts including The Honorable Robert P. Jackson, The Honorable Anne Richard, Sean Callahan, Madeline Rose, and The Honorable Robin Renee Sanders.
(New York, March 13, 2014) – The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) should immediately authorize the deployment of a strong UN peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic(CAR), nine leading African and international human rights groups said today in a joint letter to the foreign ministers of security council member states. Such a mission, as envisioned in the report UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon submitted to the council on March 3, 2014, is urgently needed to protect civilians in the country.
Over two dozen humanitarian organizations and NGOs have issued a joint appeal to Secretary of State John F. Kerry and Director of Office of Management and Budget Sylvia M. Burwell in advance of President Obama’s FY2015 Budget request to Congress, asking them to fulfill existing U.S. commitments in South Sudan and anticipate growing needs in the Central African Republic.
Our partner Invisible Children documented recent LRA activity in Obo, Central African Republic. IC's Bridgette Bugay gives a timeline constructed from information gathered from IC staff through interviews with victims and civilians in Obo.
In recent weeks, conflicts in South Sudan and the Central African Republic have intensified regional turmoil. A new Enough Project report, “Counter-LRA Mission Challenged by Regional Turmoil,” analyzes the effect of intensifying conflict in the region and its impact on the counter-LRA mission.
U.S. military advisors and African partner forces face difficulties in their mission to end the Lord’s Resistance Army, or LRA, and to capture rebel leader Joseph Kony, because of heightened regional instability and insufficient helicopter support, argues a new Enough Project report.
The Central African Republic’s interim president and rebel leader, Michel Djotodia, was forced to resign today at a two-day summit in the Chadian capital, Ndjamena.
As the security situation in the Central African Republic worsens, a coalition of NGOs including the Enough Project urges a comprehensive U.S. government strategy to halt violence, protect civilians, and defend human rights.
Washington, D.C. --- Today, as the U.N. Security Council meets to discuss the status of the counter-Lord’s Resistance Army, or LRA, mission, the Enough Project released a new report, highlighting gaps in the fight to eliminate the LRA.
This week's post in the series Enough 101 offers an overview of the Central African Republic, and contextualizes current events in the state.
In response to the rapidly deteriorating security situation in the Central African Republic, the Enough Project has signed on to a press statement calling attention to the crisis and urging swift international action.
Central African Republic — or CAR — baring an improbably simple name and lacking much in the way of resources and population. The country is not only real, it’s in the middle of a spate of lawlessness that has left the population terrorized and the government nearly non-existent.
The Ugandan army, or UPDF, earlier this month had a major confrontation with the Lord’s Resistance Army, or LRA. The location of the reported firefight is significant in that it could provide clues about where Kony is currently hiding.