Preamble
The Central African People
Proud of their national unity, linguistic [unity] and of their ethnic, cultural and religious diversity which contribute to the enrichment of their personality;
Convinced of the urgent necessity to preserve the national unity, social cohesion and the peace, guarantees [gages] of economic and social progress;
Animated by the desire to assure to Man his dignity within respect for the principle of “ZO KWE ZO” declared by the Founding Father of the Central African Republic, Barthélemy BOGANDA;
Conscious that only the persistent work as well as the rational, rigorous and transparent management of public affairs [chose] and of the environment can assure a harmonious and durable development;
Resolved, in accordance with International Law, to preserve and to defend the integrity of the territory of the Central African Republic as well as its inalienable right to the full exercise of sovereignty on its soil, its subsoil and its airspace;
Determined to proscribe any familial, clanish, patrimonial and partisan administration [gestion] of public affairs [chose];
Resolved to build a State of Law founded on a pluralistic democracy, the respect for the separation and the equilibrium of the powers to [en vue de] guarantee the security of persons and of property [biens], the protection of the most weak, notably vulnerable persons, the minorities, and the full exercise of the fundamental freedoms and rights;
Convinced that universal suffrage is the sole source of the legitimacy of public power;
Firmly opposed to the conquest of power by force and by any form of dictatorship and oppression, as well as any act of division and maintenance of hatred;
Conscious that tolerance, inclusion, consultation and dialogue constitute the foundation [socle] of peace and of national unity;
Convinced that only a State of Law can guarantee the protection of the Rights of Man;
Conscious that the representation of all the regions in the public institutions must be a permanent preoccupation of the authorities of the State;
Convinced of the necessity for political, economic and social African integration at the subregional and regional levels;
Desirous to forge ties of amity with all peoples on the basis of the principles of equality, of solidarity, of reciprocal interests and of mutual respect of national sovereignty as well as of territorial integrity;
Reiterating their will to cooperate in peace and amity with all States, to work for the African unity in accordance with the Constitutive Act of the African Union adopted on 12 July 2000, to promote the peaceful regulation of differences between States with respect for Justice, for Equality, for Freedom and for the Sovereignty of Peoples;
Reaffirms their adherence to the Charter of the Organization of the United Nations, to the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Man of 10 December 1948, to the International Pacts of 16 December 1966 concerning economic, social and cultural right on the one hand and civil and political rights on the other;
Reaffirms its commitment to the African Charter of the Rights of Man and of Peoples of 27 June 1981 and to the African Charter of the Democracy, of the Elections and of the Governance of 30 June 2007;
Reaffirms its adherence to all International Conventions duly ratified, notably those concerning the prohibition of all forms of discrimination with regard to women, to the protection of the rights of the child and those relative to the autochthonous and tribal peoples;
Solemnly adopts this Constitution, supreme law of the State to which it owes respect, loyalty and fidelity and of which this Preamble is [an] integral part.
