Antonio Guterres to mark UN day in conflict-riven Central African Republic
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres will travel to the Central African Republic on the 72nd UN day to visit the 12,500 UN peacekeepers in the country.
The blue helmets have struggled to staunch 4 years of fighting between a variety of militias that has displaced roughly a quarter of the country’s 4.5 million residents. Despite a new 2015 constitution, fighting has dragged on as newly elected as newly elected President Faustin-Archange Touadéra is unable to control the country without the help of the international peacekeeping operation.
Aside from the precarious security situation, the country suffers from persistent economic malaise, ranking dead last in the UN’s Human Development Index. An upsurge of violence in May forced a number of aid agencies to reduce or remove their presence in the country, threatening the 2.3 million who depend on humanitarian assistance.
As long as UN forces remain in the country, they may be able to prevent an outright collapse of the new government. But without a sustainable solution to the conflict, expect the violence to continue.
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