| CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC Central African Republic Republique Centrafricaine Joined United Nations: 20 September 1960 Human Rights as assured by their constitution Updated 09/22/10 |
TITLE I: FOUNDATIONS OF SOCIETY
Article 1
The human person is sacred. Every agent of public power has the absolute obligation to respect it and to protect it. No one may be
arbitrarily detained. Every accused person is presumed innocent until his culpability is established at the end of a procedure which offers
him the indispensable guarantees of his defence. The Republic recognises the existence of human rights as the basis of every human
community, of peace and of justice in the world.
Article 2
The Republic proclaims the respect and the inviolable guarantee of the development of personality. Everyone has the right to the free
development of his or her personality so long as he or she does not violate the rights of others, nor infringe the constitutional order.
Article 3
Everyone has the right to life and to bodily integrity. Liberty of the person is inviolable. These rights may only be affected by application
of a law. No one will be submitted to torture or to inhuman, cruel, degrading or humiliating brutalities or treatment. Every individual and
every agent of the state which is found guilty of such acts will be punished according to the law. No one may be condemned if it is not
by virtue of a law in force before the committed act. The rights of the defence shall be freely exercised themselves before all the
jurisdictions of the Republic. Every person being the object of a measure depriving liberty has the right to be examined and treated by a
doctor of his or her choice if possible.
Article 4
Freedom of movement, of residence and establishment throughout the territory are guaranteed to all within the conditions fixed by law.
Article 5
All human beings are equal before the law without distinction of race, ethnic origin, region, sex, religion, political affiliation and social
position. The law guarantees to men and women equal rights in all the domains. There are in the Central African Republic neither
subjugated persons, nor privileges of place of birth, of person or of family. No one may be forced into exile. No one may be the object of
assignment of residence or of deportation if it is not by virtue of a law.
Article 6
Marriage and the family constitute the natural and moral basis of the human community. They are placed under the protection of the state.
The state and the other public collectivities together have the duty to strive for the physical and moral health of the family and to socially
encourage it by appropriate institutions. The protection of the youth against violence and insecurity, exploitation and moral, intellectual and
physical abandonment is an obligation for the state and the other public collectivities. This protection is assured by appropriate measures
and institutions of the state and the other public collectivities.
Parents have the natural right and primordial duty to raise and educate their children with the end to develop in them good physical,
intellectual and moral aptitudes. They are supported in this task by the state and the other public collectivities. Children born out of
wedlock have the same rights to public assistance as legitimate children. Legally recognised natural children have the same rights as
legitimate children. The state and the other public collectivities have the duty to create prerequisite conditions and public institutions
which guarantee the education of children.
Article 7
Everyone has the right to have access to the sources of knowledge. The Republic guarantees to children and adults access to instruction,
to culture, and to professional training. The education and instruction of the youth must be provided for by public establishments. The
creation of these are incumbent upon the state and the other public collectivities. Private establishments may be opened with the
authorisation of the state. This is only accorded when these private establishments by their curriculum and their organisation, as well as
the matter of the development of their instruction, fulfil sufficient conditions to dispense an instruction of a quality conforming with
official programmes or authorised within the conditions fixed by a specific law. They are placed under the control of the state.
Article 8
The freedom of conscience, of assembly and the free exercise of worship are guaranteed to all within the conditions fixed by law. Any
form of religious fundamentalism and intolerance is forbidden.
Article 9
The Republic guarantees to each citizen the right to work, to rest and to leisure with respect to the demand of national development. The
Republic assures to them favourable conditions to their blossoming by an efficient employment policy. Every citizen is equal before
employment. No one may be prejudiced in work or employment by reason of origin, sex, opinion or belief. Every worker participates, by
intermediary of his or her representatives, in the determination of the conditions of work. Laws will fix the conditions of assistance and of
protection accorded to workers, and more particularly to the young, the aged, the handicapped as well as to those who have health
problems due to their conditions of work.
Article 10
The right to form trade unions is guaranteed and is freely exercised within the limits of the laws which regulate it. Every worker may
adhere to the trade union of his or her choice and defend his or her rights and interests by industrial action. The right to strike is
guaranteed and is exercised within the limits of the laws which regulate it and may not in any case undermine the freedom of work, or the
free exercise of the right of ownership.
Article 11
The freedom of enterprise is guaranteed within the limits of the laws and regulations in force.
Article 12
Every citizen has the right to freely constitute associations, groups, societies, and establishments of public utility under reservation of
conformity to laws and regulations. The associations, groups, societies and establishments, of which the activities are contrary to public
order as well and the unity and the cohesion of the Central African people, are prohibited.
Article 13
The freedom to inform, to express and diffuse opinions by speech, the pen and image, under reservation of respect of the rights of
others, is guaranteed. Privacy of correspondence as well as that of postal, electronic, telegraphic and telephonic communications are
inviolable. Restrictions may only be prescribed for the above by application of a law. Freedom of the press is recognised and guaranteed.
It is exercised within the conditions fixed by law. The exercise of this liberty and equal access for all to the medias of the state are
assured by an independent organ, the status of which is fixed by law. The freedom of intellectual, artistic and cultural creation is
recognised and guaranteed. It is exercised within the conditions fixed by law.
Article 14
Every physical or moral person has the right to property. No one may be deprived of his property except for legally constituted public use
and under the condition of a just and prior indemnification. The home is inviolable. It may only be interfered with by a judge and if there is
a danger to the dwelling place by the other authorities designated by law, held to execute it within the forms prescribed herein. The
measures affecting the inviolability of the home or the restriction will be taken to avoid a public danger or to protect persons in peril.
These measures may be taken in application of the law in order to protect the public order against imminent dangers notably to fight
against the risks of epidemic, fire or to protect persons in danger.
Article 15
Every citizen is equal before public duties and notably before taxation that only the law may, within the conditions provided by the present
Constitution, create and rescind. They support in all solidarity the duties resulting from natural calamities or endemic, epidemic or
incurable illnesses.
Article 16
The defence of the homeland is a duty for every citizen. Every person inhabiting the national territory has the duty to respect in all
circumstances the Constitution, the laws and the regulations of the Republic.
Article 1
The human person is sacred. Every agent of public power has the absolute obligation to respect it and to protect it. No one may be
arbitrarily detained. Every accused person is presumed innocent until his culpability is established at the end of a procedure which offers
him the indispensable guarantees of his defence. The Republic recognises the existence of human rights as the basis of every human
community, of peace and of justice in the world.
Article 2
The Republic proclaims the respect and the inviolable guarantee of the development of personality. Everyone has the right to the free
development of his or her personality so long as he or she does not violate the rights of others, nor infringe the constitutional order.
Article 3
Everyone has the right to life and to bodily integrity. Liberty of the person is inviolable. These rights may only be affected by application
of a law. No one will be submitted to torture or to inhuman, cruel, degrading or humiliating brutalities or treatment. Every individual and
every agent of the state which is found guilty of such acts will be punished according to the law. No one may be condemned if it is not
by virtue of a law in force before the committed act. The rights of the defence shall be freely exercised themselves before all the
jurisdictions of the Republic. Every person being the object of a measure depriving liberty has the right to be examined and treated by a
doctor of his or her choice if possible.
Article 4
Freedom of movement, of residence and establishment throughout the territory are guaranteed to all within the conditions fixed by law.
Article 5
All human beings are equal before the law without distinction of race, ethnic origin, region, sex, religion, political affiliation and social
position. The law guarantees to men and women equal rights in all the domains. There are in the Central African Republic neither
subjugated persons, nor privileges of place of birth, of person or of family. No one may be forced into exile. No one may be the object of
assignment of residence or of deportation if it is not by virtue of a law.
Article 6
Marriage and the family constitute the natural and moral basis of the human community. They are placed under the protection of the state.
The state and the other public collectivities together have the duty to strive for the physical and moral health of the family and to socially
encourage it by appropriate institutions. The protection of the youth against violence and insecurity, exploitation and moral, intellectual and
physical abandonment is an obligation for the state and the other public collectivities. This protection is assured by appropriate measures
and institutions of the state and the other public collectivities.
Parents have the natural right and primordial duty to raise and educate their children with the end to develop in them good physical,
intellectual and moral aptitudes. They are supported in this task by the state and the other public collectivities. Children born out of
wedlock have the same rights to public assistance as legitimate children. Legally recognised natural children have the same rights as
legitimate children. The state and the other public collectivities have the duty to create prerequisite conditions and public institutions
which guarantee the education of children.
Article 7
Everyone has the right to have access to the sources of knowledge. The Republic guarantees to children and adults access to instruction,
to culture, and to professional training. The education and instruction of the youth must be provided for by public establishments. The
creation of these are incumbent upon the state and the other public collectivities. Private establishments may be opened with the
authorisation of the state. This is only accorded when these private establishments by their curriculum and their organisation, as well as
the matter of the development of their instruction, fulfil sufficient conditions to dispense an instruction of a quality conforming with
official programmes or authorised within the conditions fixed by a specific law. They are placed under the control of the state.
Article 8
The freedom of conscience, of assembly and the free exercise of worship are guaranteed to all within the conditions fixed by law. Any
form of religious fundamentalism and intolerance is forbidden.
Article 9
The Republic guarantees to each citizen the right to work, to rest and to leisure with respect to the demand of national development. The
Republic assures to them favourable conditions to their blossoming by an efficient employment policy. Every citizen is equal before
employment. No one may be prejudiced in work or employment by reason of origin, sex, opinion or belief. Every worker participates, by
intermediary of his or her representatives, in the determination of the conditions of work. Laws will fix the conditions of assistance and of
protection accorded to workers, and more particularly to the young, the aged, the handicapped as well as to those who have health
problems due to their conditions of work.
Article 10
The right to form trade unions is guaranteed and is freely exercised within the limits of the laws which regulate it. Every worker may
adhere to the trade union of his or her choice and defend his or her rights and interests by industrial action. The right to strike is
guaranteed and is exercised within the limits of the laws which regulate it and may not in any case undermine the freedom of work, or the
free exercise of the right of ownership.
Article 11
The freedom of enterprise is guaranteed within the limits of the laws and regulations in force.
Article 12
Every citizen has the right to freely constitute associations, groups, societies, and establishments of public utility under reservation of
conformity to laws and regulations. The associations, groups, societies and establishments, of which the activities are contrary to public
order as well and the unity and the cohesion of the Central African people, are prohibited.
Article 13
The freedom to inform, to express and diffuse opinions by speech, the pen and image, under reservation of respect of the rights of
others, is guaranteed. Privacy of correspondence as well as that of postal, electronic, telegraphic and telephonic communications are
inviolable. Restrictions may only be prescribed for the above by application of a law. Freedom of the press is recognised and guaranteed.
It is exercised within the conditions fixed by law. The exercise of this liberty and equal access for all to the medias of the state are
assured by an independent organ, the status of which is fixed by law. The freedom of intellectual, artistic and cultural creation is
recognised and guaranteed. It is exercised within the conditions fixed by law.
Article 14
Every physical or moral person has the right to property. No one may be deprived of his property except for legally constituted public use
and under the condition of a just and prior indemnification. The home is inviolable. It may only be interfered with by a judge and if there is
a danger to the dwelling place by the other authorities designated by law, held to execute it within the forms prescribed herein. The
measures affecting the inviolability of the home or the restriction will be taken to avoid a public danger or to protect persons in peril.
These measures may be taken in application of the law in order to protect the public order against imminent dangers notably to fight
against the risks of epidemic, fire or to protect persons in danger.
Article 15
Every citizen is equal before public duties and notably before taxation that only the law may, within the conditions provided by the present
Constitution, create and rescind. They support in all solidarity the duties resulting from natural calamities or endemic, epidemic or
incurable illnesses.
Article 16
The defence of the homeland is a duty for every citizen. Every person inhabiting the national territory has the duty to respect in all
circumstances the Constitution, the laws and the regulations of the Republic.
The Central African Republic is believed to have been settled from at least the 7th century on
by overlapping empires, including the Kanem-Bornu, Ouaddai, Baguirmi, and Dafour groups
based around Lake Chad region and along Upper Nile. Later, various sultanates claimed
present-day C.A.R, using the entire Oubangui region as a slave reservoir, from which slaves
were traded north across the Sahara. Population migration in the 18th and 19th centuries
brought new migrants into the area, including the Zande, Banda, and Baya-Mandjia.
Europeans arrived in 1885 with the French consolidating the region as part of their Congo
claim declaring it a French Territory in 1894. Following world War II, the French constitution
underwent a number of amendments intent on decolonization of western and equatorial
Africa. On September 1958, a French referendum dissolved the Federation of French
Equatorial Africa (A.E.F.) On 1 December of the same year the Assembly declared the birth of
the Central African Republic, promulgated a Constitution in 1959 and a Declaration of
Independence on 13 August 1960. On 4 December, 1976, the republic became a monarchy --
the Central African Empire -- with the promulgation of the imperial constitution and the
proclamation of the president as Emperor Bokassa I. A coup on 20 September 1979 restored
the republic and promulgated a new constitution. The present constitution was adopted on
28 December 1994 and promulgated on 14 January 1995. Human rights are enumerated
beginning with Title I (Foundations of Society) and conform with the 1948 Universal
Declaration of Human Rights of which Central African Republic is a signatory. For a full
English translation of Central African Republic's Constitution, click here.
by overlapping empires, including the Kanem-Bornu, Ouaddai, Baguirmi, and Dafour groups
based around Lake Chad region and along Upper Nile. Later, various sultanates claimed
present-day C.A.R, using the entire Oubangui region as a slave reservoir, from which slaves
were traded north across the Sahara. Population migration in the 18th and 19th centuries
brought new migrants into the area, including the Zande, Banda, and Baya-Mandjia.
Europeans arrived in 1885 with the French consolidating the region as part of their Congo
claim declaring it a French Territory in 1894. Following world War II, the French constitution
underwent a number of amendments intent on decolonization of western and equatorial
Africa. On September 1958, a French referendum dissolved the Federation of French
Equatorial Africa (A.E.F.) On 1 December of the same year the Assembly declared the birth of
the Central African Republic, promulgated a Constitution in 1959 and a Declaration of
Independence on 13 August 1960. On 4 December, 1976, the republic became a monarchy --
the Central African Empire -- with the promulgation of the imperial constitution and the
proclamation of the president as Emperor Bokassa I. A coup on 20 September 1979 restored
the republic and promulgated a new constitution. The present constitution was adopted on
28 December 1994 and promulgated on 14 January 1995. Human rights are enumerated
beginning with Title I (Foundations of Society) and conform with the 1948 Universal
Declaration of Human Rights of which Central African Republic is a signatory. For a full
English translation of Central African Republic's Constitution, click here.