Human Rights abuses in CAR detention centres need urgent response: UN experts

The report highlights torture of inmates, ill-treatment, arbitrary and illegal arrest and detention, malnutrition and poor healthcare.

Thousands are being held in overcrowded facilities across CAR with little access to basics like food, water, sanitation and healthcare. This alarming situation is detailed in the report by the UN human rights office (OHCHR) and the UN Stabilisation Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA).

‘Crucial opportunity’ to reform

High Commissioner Volker Türk said he was deeply troubled by the report’s findings and called on national authorities to take urgent and concrete action. 

He noted “ongoing reforms in the penitentiary system present a crucial opportunity for the Central African Republic to address these human rights violations.”

Covering the period from January to December 2023, the report lists numerous shortcomings, including non-compliance with legal custody time limits, excessive pre-trial detention and dire conditions prison conditions overall. It also notes the challenges faced by the judiciary – although it acknowledges some progress has made by the authorities.

The report reveals a troubling pattern of illegal and arbitrary arrests and detentions by army and security forces in CAR with over 1,500 people affected in 2023 alone. 

By the end of the year, 1,749 people were in detention awaiting trial, some for nearly six years. It raises concerns that detention orders were issued without sufficient examination of whether incarceration was necessary and proportionate to the crimes many were charged with, the report highlighted.

Disease outbreaks

Malnutrition, poor healthcare and hygiene conditions have led to disease outbreaks in prisons. The report calls for sufficient resources to meet detainees’ basic needs.

The report further urges authorities to respect legal time limits for detention and that pre-trial detention should be the exception, not the rule, and justified by principles of necessity and proportionality alone.

Mr Türk also called for prompt and independent investigations into all cases of torture and ill-treatment and for those responsible to be held accountable. He appealed to all partners to support the Government in improving detention conditions.

Both the High Commissioner and Head of MINUSCA Valentine Rugwabiza acknowledged the Government’s efforts on human rights in detention. 

These include more frequent court sessions, the renovation and reopening of three prisons in 2023 and the recruitment of additional prison staff.

In support of these efforts, they pledged continued UN assistance to the Government to enhance respect for human rights and the rule of law in CAR, particularly relating to the detention system.