Central African Republic Sees Decline in Extrajudicial Killings

Following a recent visit to the Central African Republic (CAR), UN Special Rapporteur Phillip Alston reported a dramatic decrease in summary executions after Human Rights Watch brought the issue into the international spotlight six months ago. Our September 2007 report, based on extensive on-the-ground research, charged government troops, notably the elite Presidential Guard, with killing hundreds and burning thousands of civilian homes since mid-2005 in their counterinsurgency campaign in northern CAR. Our report shocked government officials in the capital, Bangui, and motivated international donors, particularly France, to condition their aid to CAR on demonstrated improvements in respect for human rights. Furthermore, the Belgian Foreign Minister, citing our report, recently refused a prestigious award from CAR President François Bozizé in opposition to the president's complicity in human rights abuses. Bozizé, after witnessing in person the remains of villages destroyed by his troops that we documented in our report, withdrew his troops from the north and called on them to stop scorched-earth tactics and attacks on civilians. While the incidence of extrajudicial killings has decreased, the lack of accountability measures encourages soldiers to continue to perpetrate abuses with impunity. Human Rights Watch continues to call on the government to investigate abuses and prosecute those responsible.