UN to launch "culture of peace" campaign

A country-wide three-month campaign for engendering a "culture of peace" will be launched on Tuesday in the Central African Republic (CAR), the UN has announced. "Given the numerous resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council regarding the Central African Republic with regard to the need for a culture of peace, national unity, and democracy and good governance, such a programme should be considered a priority among priorities," the UN mission in CAR, known by its French acronym, BONUCA, said in a statement issued on Monday. The campaign will begin in the capital, Bangui, with a four-day training seminar for the CAR military that will address such themes as the republican and apolitical nature of the military, and the primacy of political power over military power; the role of the armed forces in engendering peace and confidence; international humanitarian standards and respect for human rights; peace as a prerequisite for foreign investment and sustainable human development. On Saturday, 16 March, a conference and debate will be held on "Tolerance and the Revival of Social Life in Bangui", in partnership with the Centre de Documentation, d'Information et de Formation pour le Developpement. Sunday, 24 March will see the launching of the "Regional Days for Engendering a Culture of Peace and for Consolidating Democratic Gains and National Unity", scheduled to be held in Sibut, Bambari, and Bouar, in cooperation with the Ministry of Parliamentary Relations. "The people of the Central African Republic want peace... It has become imperative to implement a national strategy and plan of action to make this a reality," the UN statement said. It noted that a similar campaign would be launched in the second half of the year. Following three army mutinies in 1996 and the signing of a peace accord - the Bangui Agreements - the following year, a UN peacekeeping mission, known by its French acronym MINURCA, was deployed in the CAR in April 1998. The mission closed in February 2000 and was replaced with BONUCA, but this was followed by another unsuccessful coup attempt in May 2001, led by a two-time former head of state, General Andre Kolingba. General Francois Bozize, the former Chief of Staff of the CAR armed forces, was subsequently implicated in the coup attempt and, following a clash with government forces, fled with his supporters to neighbouring Chad. Subsequent clashes occurred along the border. Despite an amnesty offered to Bozize and his supporters, he has not yet returned home, and the UN Development Programme estimates that 20,000 civilians and 1,000 soldiers remain in exile in neighbouring countries.