[JURIST] Chaloka Beyani, UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons, on Wednesday urged [press release] the international community to assist the approximately one million individuals who have been internally displaced by the ongoing violence in the Central African Republic (CAR) [BBC Backgrounder; JURIST news archive], by providing necessary resources to them. Beyani noted that the number of displaced civilians has drastically increased [UN News Centre report] in recent weeks, and approximately one-half of those displaced are from the capital city of Bangui. Beyani welcomed the attempts by various humanitarian agencies to provide support within the CAR, however stated that the international community must strengthen its support of displaced individuals, especially “women, children, and those with disabilities.”

There have been continued reports of gross human rights violations in the CAR since rebel forces, known as Seleka, seized the nation’s capital [BBC backgrounder] in March of last year. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) [official website] issued a report [JURIST report] in December describing horrific attacks against children that have occurred in the CAR during that month alone. In the same month, the UN Security Council (UNSC) [official website] voted unanimously to authorize deployment of peacekeepers [JURIST report] to the CAR, following escalating violence in the nation’s capital of Bangui. In November the UN Deputy Secretary-General urged the Security Council to vote in favor [JURIST report] of further military intervention. Earlier in November UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay warned [JURIST report] that continued violence between militias, rebels and government forces in the CAR threatened to lead the country into renewed conflict. Michel Djotodia declared himself the nation’s leader in March after the Seleka seized the nation’s capital and caused Bozize to flee the country. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned [JURIST report] the coup by the Seleka rebels and advocated for the “swift restoration of constitutional order.”