On May 1, the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations held a hearing, “The Central African Republic: From Pre-genocide to Genocide.” The subcommittee held a related hearing in November 2013 (see The Source, 11/22/13).
Madeline Rose, policy and advocacy advisor, Mercy Corps, said, “Mercy Corps collaborates with our local partner, the Central African Women’s Lawyers Association, to provide holistic services to survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) in Bouar, which includes psycho-social counseling, community-based mediation, and paralegal assistance. Prior to this current conflict, the program included an ‘access to justice’ element, which supported survivors of GBV [seeking] judicial recourse for abuses committed against them, while helping to build judicial and governance capacities. During this most recent conflict, however, CAR’s judicial systems have ground to a halt.” Ms. Rose continued, “I met with a judge with whom we’ve partnered, and asked what challenges he faced and how the international community could be helpful. His response was simple: He asked for replacement pencils and paper, resources that had been looted and destroyed during the conflict, so that he could get back to work documenting and processing rape cases. Pencils. Conflict waged all around us. Across the street, civilians prepared convoys to flee to Cameroon. Yet, his primary request was for a pencil to go back to work and restore a semblance of justice in his community.”
The following witnesses also testified during the hearing:
