Central African Republic
The Central African Republic (CAR) exhibits low-range performance across all four categories of the Global State of Democracy framework, registering scores in the bottom 25 per cent of countries in all four categories. Compared to 2018, it has experienced significant declines with respect to Representation and the Rule of Law. Despite significant mineral wealth (especially diamonds), the country suffers from widespread poverty and the economy is heavily dependent on aid. Agriculture is the largest sector. CAR’s economic development has been impeded by political instability, limited transportation infrastructure and persistent armed conflict that has displaced large parts of its population.
CAR was colonized in the late nineteenth century by France, whose exploitative rule left the country largely without infrastructure and ill-prepared for independence in 1960. Since then, it has experienced prolonged periods of authoritarian rule, during which successive presidents relied on patronage to govern and neglected to construct a viable state, particularly outside of the capital Bangui, beyond which there remains little state presence. This state weakness has been compounded by long-term political instability, in part a consequence of several cycles of military interventions that have entrenched a culture of coups (it has experienced five coups and seven attempted coups). The coups have in turn fuelled the proliferation of armed rebel groups, with which CAR’s army has been engaged in a decade’s long armed conflict. In recent years, the army has been aided in its counterinsurgency efforts by Rwandan troops and Russian mercenaries, whose governments have become increasingly influential in the country.
Several peace agreements have failed to bring an end to the fighting and while the election of President Faustin-Archange Touadéra in 2016 raised hopes of reconstruction and democratisation, CAR’s democratic institutions remain weak. Recent elections have been hampered by insecurity, procedural irregularities, and disputed results, while civil society activists, journalists and opposition politicians face arrest and harassment. The performance of courts has been constrained by limited resources, security threats and executive interference. Noteworthy too were the institutional changes brought about by Touadéra’s 2023 constitutional reforms, which removed the presidential term limit, granted the government the power to appoint the majority of judges on the Constitutional Council and removed parliament’s control over mining contracts.
Religious and ethnic identities have long been important in CAR, where the political elite have generally come from ethnic groups in the Christian south and Muslims in the north have suffered exclusion and discrimination. Politicization of these identities by political leaders and rebel groups has imbued them with an enduring political salience, but this has been heightened by the ongoing conflict, which has been marked by extreme sectarian violence. Despite efforts to build social cohesion, trust between Christians and Muslims is low and Muslims, who make up nine per cent of CAR’s population, continue to be subject to societal discrimination and abuse by state security forces, including arbitrary arrest and religious profiling.
Women too are marginalised, with very limited political representation, few opportunities for civic engagement (including in peace processes) and a comparatively higher unemployment rate. They are also more vulnerable to the impacts of the severe humanitarian crisis that the conflict has engendered.
Looking ahead, it will be important to watch Rights and the Representation in connection to the growing restrictions placed on opposition parties, civil society and the media (particularly in the lead up to the 2025 general election). The Rule of Law should also be monitored, both for progress in the ongoing prosecution of atrocity crimes in the country’s hybrid Special Criminal Court but also the independence of the Constitutional Council, following the 2023 constitutional reforms.
Last updated: July 2024
https://www.idea.int/democracytracker/
January 2025
Parliament passes law protecting human rights defenders
On 27 December, the Central African Republic’s (CAR) National Assembly passed a law protecting human rights defenders (HRDs), which it defines as, ‘individuals, journalists, activists, lawyers, organizations and institutions working to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms’. Among the law’s provisions are a series of HRD rights and state obligations, which are intended to enhance HRD security and facilitate their work. These include the right to receive financial and other support to achieve their human rights objectives, protections against searches and surveillance, and state obligations to prevent and protect HRDs against reprisals. Journalists and civil society activists in the country have been subjected to human rights abuses by both state security forces and armed rebel groups, and the passage of the law was welcomed as an important development in CAR’s democracy by UN expert, Yao Agbetse.
Sources: Loi portant promotion et protection des défenseurs des droits de l’Homme, United Nations, Front Line Defenders, Human Rights Watch
July 2023
Referendum approves new constitution that extends presidential terms
A lengthy process to replace the constitution in the Central African Republic concluded with a referendum held on 30 July. The official results indicated that 95 per cent of those who voted supported ratification of the new constitution, with turnout reported as 57 per cent of registered voters. Opposition parties dismissed the referendum as a ‘farce.’ The most widely discussed changes in the new constitution concern presidential terms. Under the new constitution the length of the president’s term will be seven years (up from five) and there will be no limit on the number of terms a president may serve. Current President Faustin Archange Touadera had pushed for this new constitution, and is widely expected to make use of the new provisions on presidential terms to seek to extend his time in office.
Sources: AfricaNews, Radio France Internationale, Associated Press, British Broadcasting Corporation
November 2022
Special Criminal Court delivers its first verdict on crimes against humanity
A Special Criminal Court with jurisdiction over war crimes committed in the Central African Republic (CAR) since 2003 has delivered its first verdict. The court was established in 2015 with the assistance of the United Nations and is staffed by both national and international prosecutors and judges. In this case, three members of an armed group called Retour, Réclamation et Réhabilitation (3R) had been charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity for their role in killings and other atrocities committed in May 2019. These atrocities took place in the context of a series of diffuse conflicts across the country. 3R has controlled territory in the north-west since 2016. Two of the defendants were found guilty of “murder, inhumane acts and humiliating and degrading treatment,” and sentenced to 20 years in prison, while the more senior defendant was additionally found to be culpable for rapes committed by his subordinates and sentenced to life in prison. The defendants have appealed the verdict.
Sources: Radio France Internationale, Deutsche Welle, United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Human Rights Watch
October 2022
President Touadéra retaliates against Constitutional Court
Following the Constitutional Court’s annulment of presidential decrees to establish a constitutional reform process in September, inter-branch conflict in the Central African Republic escalated in October. By law, justices of the Constitutional Court cannot be removed during their term unless they suffer a “definitive incapacity.” Chief Justice Danièle Darlan was appointed to fill one of the constitutionally defined seats on the court for members of a faculty of law. The government therefore sought to force her off the Court by issuing a decree to lower the retirement age for university faculty, thus requiring her to retire from the law faculty at the University of Bangui. The government decreed on 25 October that the appointments of Chief Justice Danièle Darlan and Justice Trinité Bango Sangafio were annulled because of a “definitive incapacity.” In a letter to the President, Darlan has argued that her removal from the Court contravenes the constitution.
Sources: Reuters, Radio France Internationale, Jeune Afrique
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