A/HRC/39/70 United Nations General Assembly Distr.: General 13 August 2018 English Original: French Human Rights Council Thirty-ninth session 10–28 September 2018 Agenda item 10 Technical assistance and capacity-building Report of the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Central African Republic Note by the Secretariat The Secretariat has the honour to transmit to the Human Rights Council the report of the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Central African Republic, Marie-Thérèse Keita Bocoum, prepared pursuant to Council resolution 36/25. The report covers the period from July 2017 to June 2018 and describes the overall evolution of the human rights situation in the Central African Republic and the major developments affecting it. The period was marked by constant human rights violations and abuses linked to continuing attacks by various armed groups in the south-west of the country in 2017, and in Bangui and the centre of the country in 2018. Most of the abuses were the work of antiBalaka and ex-Séléka armed factions and criminal gangs controlling districts of Bangui or mining areas. They continued to target civilians, humanitarian workers and United Nations peacekeepers, but also homes, public buildings, hospitals and places of worship, worsening the humanitarian situation and restricting access to economic and social rights. These incidents also show contempt for the rules of international humanitarian law on the part of the perpetrators of these attacks, Unacceptable cases of sexual violence and cruel, degrading and inhuman treatment still go unprosecuted. Despite the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, serious violations of the rights of children persist. The African Union launched the African Initiative for Peace and Reconciliation in the Central African Republic in July 2017, and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) has strengthened its involvement in the stabilization of the Central African Republic and regional security. Doubts nonetheless remain as to the sincerity of the armed groups regarding their commitments to this process and the disarmament, demobilization, reintegration and repatriation programmes. The population is demanding greater participation in this process. Crucial steps have been taken in transitional justice regarding the pillars of justice, the right to truth and guarantees of non-recurrence, but they lack coordination and coherence. The appointment of the members of the National Commission on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms certainly represents progress in the construction of an institutional human rights framework, but it requires consolidation through evaluations and an adequate budget. GE.18-13342 (E) 290818 