In two separate statements released on 18 April, the Democratic Front of the Central African People (FDPC) and the group Retour, Réclamation, Réhabilitation (3R) committed to fully cooperate with health authorities, promote preventative measures against the virus and ensure the safety of humanitarian organisations.

They further urged armed groups to put down their weapons and cease committing atrocities against civilians, emphasising the need for peaceful coexistence.

Read the FDPC statement here

Read the 3R statement here

The FDPC and 3R are both signatories to the Political Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation (APPR) that officially ended the civil war in the Central African Republic on February 6, 2019.

Their recent statements reaffirm their commitment to peace during this turbulent period.

The Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue welcomes these gestures of goodwill and calls on all signatories of the APPR to commit to the fight against the pandemic, as well as to the stabilisation of the CAR.

Following the United Nations Secretary General’s call for a global ceasefire in response to the COVID-19 pandemic last March, the commitments announced by the FDPC and 3R add to the number of ceasefires and humanitarian pauses declared in Africa and worldwide.

Other notable ceasefires have included those declared by the Southern Cameroons Defence Forces (SOCADEF), the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) and the Movement of the Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC), among others.