Save the Children (Central African Republic)

In December 2013, extreme violence rippled through the Central African Republic (CAR), forcing hundreds of thousands of people to leave their homes in search of refuge, and overwhelming the already weak State’s capacity to respond. The violence caused deep social fractures and huge rifts between communities –rifts which were relatively new to the country and left many communities traumatised. Ten months later, the country remains in the grip of a major humanitarian crisis affecting 2.5 million people in CAR itself (over half of the population), half of them children. Half a million people remain displaced within the country, while more than 400,000 people have sought refuge in neighboring States.

As the UN Peacekeeping Force MINUSCA officially comes into force, hopes are high that it will start to bring about real change, improve security and the protection of civilians, and begin the long process of healing the fractures caused by the violence. Its mandate –the most innovative and ambitious of any peacekeeping mandate yet– goes beyond stabilising the country and disarming factions, and includes protecting human rights, engaging and strengthening civil society to find long-term solutions, while supporting the Government to restore vital services.