Human Rights

Security Council Resolution 1778 established in 2007 in eastern Chad and North-East of Central African Republic the most recent of the UN Peacekeeping Missions, assigning to its Human Rights component the following mandate:

 
- To contribute to the monitoring and to the promotion and protection of human rights in Chad, with particular attention to sexual and gender-based violence, and to recommend action to the competent authorities, with a view to fighting impunity;
- To support, within its capabilities, efforts aimed at strengthening the capacity of the Government of Chad and civil society through training in international human rights standards, and efforts to put an end to recruitment and use of children by armed groups;
 
With regards to monitoring, particular attention is paid to monitoring and investigating on cases and incidents of sexual and gender based violence, the recruitment and use of children as combatants by the various armed groups. At field as well as at national level, the human rights section’s strategy has been to systematically bring cases of violation and abuse directly to officials, including the judiciary, prosecution and police in order to request that investigations be conducted in order to identify the perpetrators and prosecute them, and where possible to get remedy and corrective actions in favor of the victims and survivors. This is seen as the main way to fight impunity which has so far been one of the main challenges of the human rights section in eastern Chad.
 
The section, through its capacity building activities works with civil society organizations and governmental entities to strengthen their capacity. A series of training activities has been planned for human rights organizations operating in eastern Chad and a series of projects, through the mission’s Quick Impact Projects program have been developed with some key local organizations.
 
The human rights section has also been providing technical support to the Chadian Ministry of Human Rights and Promotion of Liberties. The section is supporting the Ministry’s efforts to organize a national Human Rights Forum which will result in the development and adoption of a human rights plan for Chad. The section is also supporting the Ministry in the deployment of their human rights delegates in eastern Chad.
 
MINURCAT Human Rights Section, initiated its activity in April 2008 and counts, to date, four regional offices (field offices) in Abéché, Farchana, Iriba and Goz Beida and a liaison office in N’Djamena, for a total of 24 human rights officers, coordinated by the section’s leadership based in Abeche.
 
Activities between April and December 2008:
  • Carried out the human rights training module for 500 officers of the Détachément Intégré de Sécurité
  • Conducted the human rights induction for newly arrived United Nations Police (UNPol) officers to the mission;
  • Actively assisting the Chadian Ministry of Human Rights and Promotion of Liberties to prepare a National Human Rights Forum for the development of a National Human Rights Work Plan;
  • Conducted two presentations of the Human Rights Section’s mandate and plan of activities for UN agencies, and International NGOs operating in eastern Chad, as well as the ICRC;
  • Conducted 3 sensitization sessions on gender, SGBV and women’s rights targeting men and women from the IDP, refugee and host communities;
  • Conducted 85 visits in IDP sites, refugee camps and villages in eastern Chad;
  • Regularly reporting on the human rights situation in eastern Chad through daily, weekly and monthly reports.
  • Finalizing the mission’s 1st Public Periodic Human Rights report to cover the period April-October 2008.
  • Active participation to the Task Force on Children and Armed Conflict in Chad, working in accordance with Security Council resolution 1612 (2005) on children and armed conflict;
  • Organized promotional activities to mark the human rights day and the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Goz Beida, Farchana, N’Djamena and Iriba.
  • Active participation to the Protection cluster and sub-clusters’ activities in Abeche and N’Djamena and works closely with other UN agencies and NGOs involved in protection activities, including UNHCR, UNICEF, OCHA, UNFPA, etc.
  • Facilitated the first Rights Assessment mission to eastern Chad of the Minister of Human Rights and Promotion of Liberties Human in August 2008; 
  • Contributed to the July 2008 report on Children and Armed Conflict of the Special Representative of the Secretary General, in coordination with UNICEF;
  • Regularly conducting visits to detention facilities in Iriba, Farchana and Goz Beida;
  • Disseminated Human Rights promotional materials including French and Arabic copies of the Universal Declaration Human Rights and of the speeches delivered by the United Nations Secretary General and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to refugee and IDP leaders.
  • Developed a project to support the operations of 2 legal aid clinics of the local human rights NGO “association pour la Promotion des Libertes Fondamentales au Tchad” –APLFT in Abeche and GozBeida.  

Contacts:

Abeche:

 
Innocent Balemba Zahinda
Chief, Human Rights
United Nations Mission in CAR and Chad
Ext: 194 – 6958, Ext: 194 - 6120
Tel: +235 – 6900210/Tel: +39-083 125 6958/Tel: +39-083 125 6120
 
Anne-Marie DONGUI
Team Leader, Abeche Field Office
Ext: 6877/Intermission: 194- 6877
 
Anne Marie Diabaté
Administrative Assistant
Human Rights Office - MINURCAT
Intermission: 194-6439
Mobile: 235-690-0005
 
Farchana
 
Augustin Kounkine SOME
Team Leader, Farchana Field Office
Deck-Phone: 194 – 7795/Mobile:+235 305 19 88
 
Iriba
William M. Lifongo
Team Leader, Iriba Field Office
Ext: 194 7796/ Mobile: +235 302 47 41
 
Gozbeida
 
Angele K. Ndoundou
Team Leader, Gozbeida Field Office
 
N’Djamena
 
Juliette Razafimahatratra
Team Leader, Liaison office ; N’Djamena
Tel : +235 645 54 62/ Ext. 194 7779