The ongoing civil war in the Central African Republic (CAR) has produced a range of human rights abuses, including the use of child soldiers, extrajudicial killings, torture, and rape, the latter perpetrated both by armed groups and by UN peacekeepers.
In efforts to combat these abuses, PHR’s Program on Sexual Violence in Conflict Zones has collaborated with the United Nations Development Program and the office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict to host training sessions in Bangui on documenting sexual violence and mass crimes. The program also participated in training for magistrates from the Special Criminal Court for CAR.
Currently, PHR is working to strengthen victim and witnesses protections of international crimes, including sexual and gender-based violence, when they testify in the Central African Republic. PHR is collaborating with local partners to pilot two innovative tools for the protection of witnesses and victims in the prosecution of sexual violence, the Child Interview Recording Kid and the ViVoMo voice modification system.
PHR’s work in CAR is funded in part through a grant by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs – Crisis and Support Centre.
