On 6 February 2019, following peace talks that were held in Khartoum, Sudan, the Central African Republic (CAR) government and 14 armed groups convened in the capital city, Bangui, and signed an African Union-sponsored accord known as the Political Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation. As part of the Peace Agreement, a new government was formed, with several members of armed groups being appointed to senior positions within the government. However, some of the appointees included leaders of armed groups that were implicated, by credible evidence, in committing atrocities during the conflict. The Peace Agreement was the sixth such accord to have been signed since the crisis started in late 2012 and represented, according to a Human Rights Watch report of 2019, the greatest effort by both international and national actors to include all relevant parties that were involved in the crisis. This Policy Brief will provide an analysis of the events leading up to the December 2020 polls and will assess the dynamics behind the crisis that unfolded during the electoral period. This Policy Brief will also analyse the post-electoral landscape and propose some policy recommendations to stabilise the country and promote the re-engagement with peace and reconciliation processes.
