UN, EU, France call for urgent humanitarian action in Central African Republic

Source:Xinhua Published: 2013-9-26 9:15:24

Top officials from the United Nations, the European Union (EU) and France on Wednesday called for urgent action to meet humanitarian needs in the Central African Republic (CAR) as the war-torn country is grappled with "a desperate humanitarian crisis."

The appeals came as EU Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva, UN Under-Secretary-General Valerie Amos and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius met at a High-Level Meeting on the CAR on the sidelines of the annual high-level debate at UN Headquarters in New York.

The participants agreed that the humanitarian situation is catastrophic, with the entire population of 4.6 million people affected. Over recent weeks, the number of internally displaced people in the CAR has almost doubled to 400,000.

At the meeting, the officials said a significant increase in humanitarian funding was essential, and that a rapid improvement in security was a precondition for getting urgently-needed assistance to the worst-affected people.

"The conflict in the Central African Republic has created a desperate humanitarian crisis in a country where people already face a daily struggle to feed themselves," said Georgieva. "There are consequences for the region as a whole. The CAR is at the center of an immensely fragile region of Africa. Neighboring countries all have a stake in what is happening in the CAR."

"This year the European Commission has given 20 million euros of humanitarian aid to CAR -- a 150 percent increase from last year in response to the deterioration brought about by the fighting," Georgieva said. "This has been the world's most forgotten crisis. I am confident that the world is finally waking up to a crisis which has been ignored for too long."

"There is a real opportunity for the international community to make a difference in the CAR," Amos said. "We must invest in stability and recovery now. Failure to act will prolong and exacerbate the appalling conditions people are enduring and lead to additional threats to peace and security in this very fragile region."

Earlier this month, nearly 100 people were killed in days of fighting in the CAR between supporters of former President Francois Bozize and forces loyal to President of Transition Michel Djotodia, reports said.

Djotodia overthrew Bozize in March and was sworn in on Aug. 18 as head of the transition government. The takeover was condemned as a coup. The Economic Community of Central African States has provided for a transitional period of 18 months pending an election to end the crisis.

A 1,400-strong peacekeeping mission is deployed in the country, which has witnessed repeated coups since its independence from France in 1960.

In early September, African Union Commissioner for Peace and Security Ramtane Lamamra said the mission will soon be expanded to include 3,600 personnel.

Posted in: Africa

blog comments powered by Disqus