[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 67 (Wednesday, April 25, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2431-S2432]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I wish to call attention to what has 
been called the world's most neglected humanitarian crisis and call 
upon the administration to play an active leadership role in helping 
bring a sustainable peace to the Central African Republic, CAR. 
Diplomatic attention, especially from the United States, has waned over 
the past 2 years. If we fail to commit diplomatic attention to CAR, we 
risk increasing threats to regional stability, U.S. investments, and, 
most tragically, the lives and livelihoods of millions of Central 
Africans.
  CAR has long been beset by political and social upheaval. Since 
independence in 1960, the country has endured coups, military mutinies, 
rebellions, and incursions by the infamous Lord's Resistance Army. The 
most recent civil war accelerated in 2013 after rebels opposed to the 
government of Francois Bozize took over the capitol. Their campaign to 
seize the capitol and the response by resulting self-defense militias 
were characterized by widespread violence against civilians. France, 
the European Union, and the African Union all deployed troops to 
prevent further bloodshed, and in 2014, the U.N. deployed a 
peacekeeping mission mandated to protect civilians and prevent further 
intercommunal fighting. The State Department's Atrocities Prevention 
Board identified CAR as a country at risk, and the United States took 
action accordingly, working on the ground to support interventions to 
prevent mass atrocities.
  These vigorous diplomatic actions ushered in a period of relative 
calm. In the wake of Pope Benedict's visit in 2015 and peaceful 
elections in 2015-2016, the situation on the ground appeared to 
stabilize. President Faustin-Archange Touadera was elected in what was 
arguably the most competitive contest of any leader in the central 
Africa region. Donors pledged $2.2 billion to support stabilization and 
postconflict reconstruction in late 2016.
  However, in 2017, security in the country began to precipitously 
decline. Militia and criminal gangs in the north and eastern parts of 
the country began fighting each other in a quest for control over 
territory and resources, threatening the fragile peace. Entire villages 
have been destroyed, civilians targeted and killed. While the 
government and 13 armed groups signed a notional peace deal in June 
2017--the fifth disarmament agreement signed by armed groups in 4 
years--renewed fighting quickly followed.

[[Page S2432]]

  Some armed groups have targeted United Nations peacekeepers, a 
potential war crime under international law. On April 3, members of 
``anti-Balaka'' militias attacked a United Nations Multidimensional 
Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic, 
MINUSCA, base, killing 1 peacekeeper and injuring 11 others. On April 
8, MINUSCA troops came under fire as they were conducting a joint 
operation with CAR state security forces aimed at disarming and 
detaining the leaders of what they referred to as criminal groups in 
Bangui's last remaining Muslim enclave, the PK5 neighborhood. Two days 
later, armed groups levied a sustained attack against a MINUSCA base in 
downtown Bangui, resulting in the death of one peacekeeper.
  The resurgence of militia violence has made CAR one of the most 
dangerous countries in the world for humanitarian workers, leading aid 
agencies to reconsider their operations there. Six aid workers were 
killed in February this year alone, and attacks and threats continue. 
In November 2017, Doctors Without Borders shut down a major operation 
after a string of attacks and threats.
  Some may ask why the United States should care about what happens in 
a small landlocked country in Africa with a population of just under 5 
million. I give you three reasons.
  First, as members of the community of nations, we have a moral 
obligation to take action when we see mass violence and human 
suffering. United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian 
Affairs Stephen O'Brien warned in August 2017 that the renewed clashes 
were early warning signs of a possible move towards genocide. While 
thankfully that scenario has not unfolded, violence continues to play 
out along ethnic and sectarian lines, causing social profound 
cleavages. Armed groups of various stripes carry out atrocities, 
including widespread sexual violence, against innocent civilians. In 
2014, largely Christian anti-Balaka militia groups, waged a systematic 
campaign in 2014 forcing most of CAR's Muslim citizens to flee their 
homes. Many of those Muslim communities remain largely confined to the 
rebel stronghold of the northeast and small enclaves in the capitol and 
other population centers. We must do our part to bring this kind of 
horrific violence to an end. History offers brutal reminders of what 
happens when the international community fails to intervene on behalf 
of persecuted minorities.
  We must continue to help those in need. The number of internally 
displaced persons in CAR has increased by more than 70 percent over the 
past year. Of an estimated total population of 4 million, approximately 
681,000 Central Africans are internally displaced--the highest number 
reported since the height of the conflict in early 2014--while an 
estimated 568,000 more are sheltering as refugees in neighboring 
countries. Over 87,000 children are at risk of acute malnutrition. Yet 
the U.N. has received only 5 percent of the $515.6 million it has 
requested for its 2018 humanitarian response plan. The World Food 
Program was forced to cut rations in half for the most vulnerable 
families nearly a year ago, due to lack of funding. Earlier this year, 
U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy 
Emergency Relief Coordinator Ursula Mueller stated unequivocally: ``If 
we do not receive funding, people will die.''
  Second, lack of stability in CAR has implications for broader 
regional instability. CAR is located in a volatile and impoverished 
region with a long history of development, governance, and human rights 
problems. Violence in CAR only adds to the enormous human suffering in 
neighboring countries such as Democratic Republic of Congo and South 
Sudan. Other countries bordering CAR continue to struggle against the 
Boko Haram insurgency. We know that instability throughout the world 
can directly impact U.S. interests. It is in our interests to promote 
stability and peace throughout the region.
  Third, the U.S. has invested $1 billion in CAR in the past 2 years; 
promoting lasting stability and governance is the surest way for our 
investments to yield positive results. Our Permanent Representative to 
the U.N., Ambassador Nikki Haley, has spent considerable time focusing 
on cutting peacekeeping costs, and the administration has signaled its 
desire to limit funding for U.N. peacekeeping missions. However, it has 
spent precious little time investing in diplomatic strategies and 
initiatives to end the conflicts that have necessitated these missions 
and would support their success. Doing so would be more cost effective, 
as well as having a positive impact on those impacted by conflict.
  The situation is dire. In the absence of action by the 
administration, along with our partners in the international community, 
the risk of the CAR fully collapsing is high, but while it might be 
difficult to turn back the increasing tide of violence facing the 
country, it is not impossible. I urge the administration to take the 
following steps: fully staff senior leadership positions at the 
Department of State and USAID. It is well past time for this 
administration to put our foreign policy house in order to best advance 
American interests. The administration has not nominated an ambassador 
to CAR, leaving the post vacant for over 6 months. It also has not 
nominated an Assistant Secretary of State for Africa to coordinate 
policy and engage with counterparts in the region and among our 
partners in Europe and elsewhere. There is no Assistant Administrator 
for Africa at USAID at a time of unprecedented humanitarian needs on 
the continent. We need high-ranking diplomats and aid officials to 
bring fresh ideas and energy into policy discussions in Washington and 
galvanize action in capitols of other countries. Quickly filling 
vacancies is an easily accomplished task that would have a significant 
impact; formulate an updated strategy for CAR. Fully staffed or not, 
given the situation on the ground, the administration must act. Three 
years ago, the Obama administration put forward such a strategy in 
response to legislation. This administration should follow up and 
respond to changing conditions on the ground by putting in place a 
multiyear, comprehensive strategy to support greater peace and 
stability in CAR as a foundation for future development and prosperity. 
Such a plan should include humanitarian and development goals in 
addition to plans for diplomatic actions and engagement; work with 
other donors and the United Nations to incentivize greater progress on 
disarmament, demobilization and reintegration, and security sector 
reform. The 2015 ``Bangui Forum'' called for all combatants to give up 
their weapons prior to national elections in 2016. This process was 
never undertaken. A renewed effort a year ago has yet to yield 
significant results. We must continue support for rule of law and 
accountability. Financial and diplomatic support for CAR's nascent 
special criminal court is also critical to fulfilling this process.
  Finally, we must signal our intention to follow through with 
commitments to the people of CAR and to our international partners by 
sending a high-level delegation from Washington to CAR and inviting 
President Touadera to the United States for an official visit.
  None of the policy recommendations I am suggesting are particularly 
difficult. All it takes is time, attention, and, to be frank, an 
interest in being involved to devise a strategy and determine how to 
adequately fund it. I urge the administration not to let a tragedy 
occur due to indifference.

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