Mr. Speaker, the Central African Republic is in free fall, and we must act now, together and decisively.
The United Nations ranks it among the top three humanitarian emergencies and warned of the following:
It has all the elements that we have seen elsewhere, in places like Rwanda and Bosnia. The elements are there, the seeds are there, for a genocide.
Approximately 4.5 million people have been affected, half of them children, and 838,000 have been displaced. Attacks against children have sunk to atrocious, indefensible levels. Such attacks violate international humanitarian and human rights laws, and they must stop immediately.
Concrete action is urgently needed to prevent further violence. A recent UN appeal received only 11% of a $551-million target.
What we do now, or fail to do, will have an impact on society for years to come, and we will be judged on how we choose to act.