UN to hold donor meeting next week to appeal for Central African Republic

Highlighting the humanitarian crisis in the Central African Republic (CAR), where more than one million people are highly vulnerable, the United Nations office for coordinating aid said today it will hold an international donors meeting on Monday to appeal for urgent assistance.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that the meeting would be held in neighbouring Cameroon, adding that most major donor Governments had already confirmed their attendance although organizers were not optimistic that pledges or commitments will be made at the event.

“Whether this looming humanitarian disaster will be averted, will ultimately be determined in major world capitals,” said Maurizio Giuliano, an OCHA spokesperson.

OCHA said that over a month ago, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, had described the deteriorating situation in the north of the Central African Republic as “the world’s most neglected crisis.”

“Nobody speaks about it, and it is becoming a huge problem and a major tragedy – right in the centre of the African continent,” Mr. Guterres warned, adding that unrest in the country could easily threaten regional stability, with implications for Chad and Cameroon.

OCHA said that increasing insecurity and violence in the north of the Republic since June 2005 had already left thousands homeless. Furthermore, 15,000 Central Africans had fled to southern Chad over the past 6 months, adding to the 30,000 already there since the 2003 civil war.

OCHA has already launched a new Appeal for $46 million this year to try and remedy the dire situation in the Central African Republic and today added that the UN was expected to use the 20 February meeting to “urge donors to generously fund the 2006 Appeal without delay.”

A ministerial representative from the Central African Republic is also expected to “echo this request in the strongest possible terms,” OCHA said.