On 29 May 2014, UNHCR’s Office in Paoua organized a workshop on the guiding principles of international protection, on international legal instruments and on UNHCR's mandate in the Central African Republic. The workshop was attended by approximately forty people, including local authorities, officers of Misca (Cameroon), as well as civil society representatives, of all religious denominations.

The workshop’s objective was capacity-building on protection issues, facilitating durable solutions for the internally displaced (IDPs) and helping the local authorities to train other officials at the municipality level.

In the region of Paoua, UNHCR is working to assist the displaced, in cooperation with other UN agencies (OCHA, WFP) and NGOs (DRC, Mentor, MSF, COOPI). Since the beginning of May, the security situation in the prefecture of Ouham Pendé, where Paoua is located, remains precarious. More than 2,400 people have suffered attacks by armed groups, mainly in the villages surrounding Nana Barya. The displaced were physically abused, their
properties were looted and their homes were burned. The population was forced to flee in the bush, where it lived in precarious conditions posing significant health risks. Besides, infrastructures in the region often cannot respond to the protection needs of the population.

In the area of Paoua there are no sites for the internally displaced. UNHCR engages in monitoring, provides individual assistance to cases with protection needs and references them to the relevant humanitarian and local actors. The Agency also supports the population by distributing non-food items. Since 2 June, two UNHCR staff members participate at a joint mission in the area north of Paoua, for the multisectoral assessment of the situation in the villages affected by the attacks in May.

More UNHCR workshops are planned for the second semester of 2014.