GENEVA (27 July 2021) - A UN expert called on authorities in the Central African Republic to thoroughly investigate the
killing of 13 individuals whose bodies were found by UN peacekeepers north of the capital, Bangui, last week.
“I deplore the killing of these individuals, and call for justice to be served for the victims and their families,” said
Yao Agbetse, UN Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Central African Republic.
The 13 people were killed on 21 July in the vicinity of Bongboto village, 12 km from Bossangoa (Ouham Prefecture -
Bossangoa Sub-Prefecture) on the Bossangoa-Nana-Bakassa axis, some 300 kilometres north of the capital.
The UN peacekeeping mission, MINUSCA, sent a joint patrol of UN Police (UNPOL) and MINUSCA Force to the
Bossangoa-Nana-Bakassa axis and dispatched a joint mission composed of UNPOL and its Human Rights Section to investigate
and establish the facts.
“I appeal to the Central African authorities to shed light on this alarming incident as soon as possible,” said Agbetse.
“Impartial and diligent investigations must be carried out, the facts established, the perpetrators and all their
accomplices must be identified.
“The CAR Government must keep on its promise – made in a statement issued the same day the bodies were found – to open a
judicial investigation to identify the perpetrators of these heinous crimes and their accomplices and bring them to
justice. The victims and their families deserve no less.”
ENDS
Mr. Yao Agbetse (Togo), Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Central African Republic, is a human rights lawyer, researcher and teacher who has devoted the last 25 years of his life to justice and human
rights, including the rights of the child. He has implemented human rights programs at the national level and has
provided legal and technical advice for the development and monitoring of national human rights laws and policies,
particularly in Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali and Togo. He has created a space and
tools for dialogue and joint efforts by state actors and CSOs. In the DRC, Côte d'Ivoire and Mali, it has implemented
DDR programs, trained army and police chiefs, and provided support to mandate-holders and United Nations operations,
including participating in the interactive dialogue under item 10 during sessions of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
He provided first-hand and factual information to UN experts to help them assess human rights challenges in different
countries and made specific and workable recommendations to ensure accountability and access to Justice.
The mandate of the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Central African Republic was established by the Human Rights Council on 27 September 2013.