The Central African Republic (CAR) has undergone a surge of violence since March 2013. With almost 900,000 people forcefully displaced since then, the crisis has become one of the worst humanitarian disasters of our time according to UN reports. There are more than 460,000 CAR refugees in neighboring countries and 436,000 are internally displaced. Intra-religious and interreligious division affects the stability of the country, causing clashes between and within the different religious communities and ethnic communities and weakening reconciliation potential. 

Due to the magnitude of this displacement, the country risks becoming divided between a Muslim north and a Christian south. According to various sources, Christians represent 80% of the population (55% protestant, 25% Catholic) and Muslims approximately 15%. 

The Bangui Forum on National Reconciliation conference was organized in May 2015 by the transition government that led to the adoption of the Republican Pact for Peace and Reconciliation. In October 2015, the UN Security Council called “upon the international community to continue to support the CAR by addressing critical priorities articulated by Central Africans during the Bangui Forum on National Reconciliation” and “commended the joint action of religious leaders in the CAR in pursuing intercommunal peace.” Therefore it is imperative that international and local actors continue to support dialogue, including between the religious leaders to pave the way for peace and reconciliation.