Education under Attack 2014 - Central African Republic

Most attacks took place after the Séléka rebellion in late 2012 and during 2013. More than 100 schools were damaged, destroyed or looted, two dozen were used for military purposes and there were reports of students and teachers being killed. By early 2013, one in two schools had closed.

Context

The Central African Republic (CAR) has experienced decades of political unrest, including two conflicts in the past ten years and ongoing violence, particularly in the north.^[499] Various armed rebel groups, including the Popular Army for the Restoration of the Republic and of Democracy (APRD), the Union of Democratic Forces for Unity (UFDR), and the Convention of Patriots for Justice and Peace (CPJP), fought government forces between 2004 and 2011.^[500] The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a rebel group originally from Uganda, spread its operations into south-east CAR after 2008.^[501]

In late 2012, renewed conflict broke out when a group of rebel forces known as Séléka (meaning 'coalition' in Sango), comprised primarily of UFDR and CPJP dissidents and members of the Patriotic Convention for the Salvation of Kodro (CPSK), accused President François Bozizé's government of failing to abide by previous peace agreements.^[502] Séléka's military campaign from the north to the capital Bangui in the south-west culminated in a coup d'état on 24 March 2013 and the formation of a new transitional government.^[503] However, for months after the coup, law and order broke down and Séléka forces committed serious human rights abuses against civilians.^[504] In October 2013, a UN Security Council Resolution was unanimously approved to deploy an African Union (AU) peacekeeping force and to support a possible UN peacekeeping mission.^[505] By early December 2013, amid escalating violence, French troops were additionally deployed to CAR after the Security Council authorized their temporary intervention and the use of 'all necessary measures' to support the AU-led peacekeeping force in protecting civilians and restoring order.^[506]

The education system suffered as teachers and students were displaced and schools were shut, damaged or destroyed.^[507] By April 2013, nearly half of CAR's schools had closed^[508] and more than 650,000 children were out of school.^[509]

Net enrolment at primary level was estimated at 69 per cent in 2011, and 14 per cent at secondary level, while gross tertiary enrolment was only 3 per cent. The estimated adult literacy rate was 57 per cent.^[510] In the northern conflict-affected regions, net primary enrolment was only 48 per cent in 2012.^[511]

Attacks on schools

No attacks on or looting of infrastructure were reported in 2009 or 2010 but due to fear of fighting in the eastern part of the country, including LRA raids, parents kept many students out of school.^[512] In 2011, according to the UN, 12 schools were used, attacked or destroyed in fighting between CPJP, UFDR and FPR.^[513] In 2012, fewer attacks were reported on schools and hospitals than in 2011.^[514]

Attacks on school students, teachers and other education personnel

Teachers were abducted and killed in 2010, but it was not clear whether this was related to their work.^[515] In 2011, the UN reported teachers in Bria, the capital of Haute-Kotto prefecture, being assaulted by armed groups because their schools were in areas under the control of rival groups.^[516]

Military use of schools

CPJP elements used schools in villages in Haute-Kotto between May and July 2010,^[517] while in 2011, more were used during confrontations between CPJP and UFDR, as well as during attacks by the Chadian rebel group the Popular Front for Recovery (FPR).^[518] In January 2012, a Chadian army helicopter landed on a school in Ouadango (Nana Grébizi prefecture), destroying the building; also, two schools were used as outposts by CPJP in Yangoudrounja (Haute-Kotto prefecture) and Miamani (Bamingui-Bangoran prefecture).^[519]

Attacks on education in 2013

Attacks spiked at the time of the Séléka rebellion in late 2012 and heightened insecurity in 2013. An assessment conducted by the Education Cluster in CAR, which surveyed some 176 schools in conflict-affected areas, reported that at least 108 of the schools had been looted or vandalized by rebels, soldiers and local populations; 14 were hit by bullets (in four cases intentionally, two of which occurred while school was in session) and two were specifically targeted by shells; and three were intentionally set on fire.^[520]

There were numerous alleged attacks on students and teachers during the fighting in late 2012 and in 2013 that occurred at or near schools.^[521] According to the Education Cluster, at least two teachers were reportedly killed intentionally; the wife of a school director was killed at school; and a school student was shot dead. It also reported allegations of 'many atrocities' committed at schools in Haute-Kotto, including the rape of girls and the killing of one teacher.^[522] Séléka members reportedly robbed or assaulted two teachers, and entered at least one school and told students if they returned to class they would be taken hostage.^[523] In another case, a child soldier entered his former school and threatened to detonate a grenade if schooling continued.^[524]

Between December 2012 and August 2013, at least 24 schools were occupied or used by combatants in Bamingui-Bangoran, Kémo, Ombella-M'Poko, Bangui, Haute-Kotto, Nana-Grébizi and Ouaka prefectures, four of which by the military.^[525] Many of these schools reported looting and damage.^[526]

499 Siân Herbert, Nathalia Dukhan, and Marielle Debos, State fragility in the Central African Republic: What prompted the 2013 coup? Rapid literature review (Birmingham, UK: GSDRC, University of Birmingham, July 2013).

500 INEE, "EiE Crisis Spotlight: Central African Republic," accessed December 2013; Siân Herbert, Nathalia Dukhan, and Marielle Debos, State fragility in the Central African Republic: What prompted the 2013 coup? Rapid literature review (Birmingham, UK: GSDRC, University of Birmingham, July 2013).

501 Siân Herbert, Nathalia Dukhan, and Marielle Debos, State fragility in the Central African Republic: What prompted the 2013 coup? Rapid literature review (Birmingham, UK: GSDRC, University of Birmingham, July 2013).

502 AFP, "Three rebel groups threaten to topple C. African regime," Relief Web, 17 December 2012; Siân Herbert, Nathalia Dukhan, and Marielle Debos, State fragility in the Central African Republic: What prompted the 2013 coup? Rapid literature review (Birmingham, UK: GSDRC, University of Birmingham, July 2013).

503 Reuters, "C. African Republic rebel chief to name power-sharing government," Thompson Reuters Foundation, 26 March 2013; "Central Africa rebels form government," AFP, 1 April 2013.

504 HRW, "I Can Still Smell the Dead": The Forgotten Human Rights Crisis in the Central African Republic (New York: HRW, September 2013); and "Central African Republic is serious threat to region – UN," BBC News, 15 August 2013.

505 Rick Gladstone, "U.N. Backs Peace Effort for Central African Republic," New York Times, 10 October 2013.

506 "Central African Republic: Security Council approves new peacekeeping force," UN News Centre, 5 December 2013; Edith Lederer, "UN OKs Military Action in Central African Republic," AP, 5 December 2013; and "French troops in Central African Republic 'to avoid carnage'," BBC News, 11 December 2013.

507 HRW, "I Can Still Smell the Dead": The Forgotten Human Rights Crisis in the Central African Republic (New York: HRW, September 2013), 37, 40-41.

508 Megan Rowling, "Central African Republic Crisis leaves 1 million children out of school," Thomson Reuters, 24 April 2013.

509 UNICEF, Central African Republic Situation Report, 1-8 April 2013, 9 April 2013.

510 UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), "Education (all levels) Profile – Central African Republic," UIS Statistics in Brief (2011).

511 Save the Children, Attacks on Education: The impact of conflict and grave violations on children's futures (London: Save the Children, 2013), 12.

512 UNSC, Report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in the Central African Republic, S/2011/241, 13 April 2011, para 25.

513 UNSC, Children and Armed Conflict: Report of the Secretary-General, A/66/782 – S/2012/261, 26 April 2012, para 22.

514 UNSC, Children and Armed Conflict: Report of the Secretary-General, A/67/845 – S/2013/245, 15 May 2013, para 39.

515 UNSC, Report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in the Central African Republic, S/2011/241, 13 April 2011, para 27.

516 UNSC, Children and Armed Conflict: Report of the Secretary-General, A/66/782 – S/2012/261, 26 April 2012, para 22.

517 UNSC, Children and Armed Conflict: Report of the Secretary-General, A/65/820-S/2011/250, 23 April 2011, para 67.

518 UNSC, Children and Armed Conflict: Report of the Secretary-General, A/66/782 – S/2012/261, 26 April 2012, para 22.

519 UNSC, Children and Armed Conflict: Report of the Secretary-General, A/67/845 – S/2013/245, 15 May 2013, para 39.

520 Central African Republic Education Cluster, A step back: The impact of the recent crisis on education in Central African Republic – A joint education assessment (Central African Republic Education Cluster, September 2013), 19-23.

521 Ibid., 25.

522 Ibid.

523 Ibid.

524 Ibid., 26.

525 Ibid., 24.

526 Ibid.