High Commissioner’s visit to highlight worsening humanitarian crisis in the Central African Republic

Please be advised that the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres will be visiting the Central African Republic on 11 and 12 February 2014. He will be visiting IDP sites, meeting with displaced communities as well as authorities and actors of the humanitarian community.

A press conference is scheduled at the end of his visit on Wednesday 12 February, at 2 pm, at UNHCR Office in Bangui (Avenue Barthelemy Boganda, in front of BINUCA).
Journalists who would like to be part of the site visits are kindly invited to confirm their presence with:

• Dalia Al Achi, +236 72675186, alachi@unhcr.org [2]
• Hugo Reichenberger, +236 72745069, reichenb@unhcr.org [3]

Insecurity and inter-communal violence has forced more than one million Central Africans to flee. Today, there are an estimated 245,000 refugees in neighbouring countries and 840,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs). Most IDPs have lost their livelihoods and properties, and some have also lost family members. They are very vulnerable to attack, disease, sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and child recruitment.

UNHCR is extremely concerned about the safety of refugees and displaced people, particularly with access being affected by the ongoing fighting and insecurity.

For more information on this topic, please contact:
• In Bangui, Dalia Al Achi on mobile +236 72 675186
• In Geneva, Fatoumata Lejeune on mobile +41 79 249 34 83