The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) joined a broad range of faith and civic leaders in a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urging him to increase diplomatic, peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance to the Central African Republic (CAR). These efforts will help achieve a lasting resolution to the conflict that has devastated the CAR for the past seven years.

The Central African Republic is a large, landlocked country about the size of Texas with a population of only 4.6 million of whom one in four has been displaced from their homes. In 2017 it was the poorest country in the world, and ranked last among the 188 countries on the Human Development Index. More than 80 percent of the population is Christian — most of whom are evangelicals.

“The Central African Republic has gone from one of the most peaceful countries in Africa to one of the most troubled,” said Leith Anderson, NAE president. “The United States can stop the violence that is approaching genocide by immediately partnering with France, African and European nations, the United Nations and the government of CAR.”

In April 2014, Anderson traveled to the Central African Republic at the invitation of the State Department to meet with evangelical, Catholic and Muslim leaders and to support their efforts to end a cycle of violence that had taken on a religious dimension, despite a long history of peaceful coexistence and religious tolerance.

With the signing of a peace accord this month, there is renewed hope that the country can begin the long process of rebuilding. The NAE calls on American evangelicals to pray for peace in the Central African Republic and to generously support organizations that are providing humanitarian relief and helping communities reconcile, recover from trauma and rebuild after years of violent conflict.