Background

The current conflict in the Cote d’Ivoire erupted in September 2002, when a mutiny was staged in Abidjan by soldiers that were unhappy with plans to demobilize them in early 2003. This mutiny turned into a full scale rebellion with rebel groups seizing control of the Muslim areas north and west of the country. The rebellion reflected the unhappiness of northern Muslims at what they saw as discrimination by the government of President Laurent Gbagbo. During this time serious human rights abuses were committed by the rebel groups such as summary executions, torture and rape. In 2003 Linas-Marcoussis peace accords were signed in France and a power sharing government was agreed on which would include nine members from rebel ranks. However, despite this progress the three ex-rebel groups, called the Forces Nouvelles, pulled out of the agreement in September 2003 accusing the Cote d’Ivoire’s president, Gbagbo, of failing to honor the peace agreement. However they later rejoined the government of national unity in December.

Today

Currently, although officially hostilities in the country are over, the situation remains poor for thousands of civilians in the Cote d’Ivoire. Reports of armed robbery, looting and rape are still common where the Forces Nouvelles still hold power, mainly in the western and northern regions. Thousands of civilians, who were displaced by the fighting, are now unable to return to their homes and are currently living in squalled displacement camps. The United Nations Mission in the Cote d’Ivoire (MINUCI) was established on 13 May 2003 until 4 April 2004. The United Nations Security Council  established the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) for an initial period of 12 months which took over from MINUCI on 4 April. The UNOCI force consists of 6,240 blue berets to help restore peace to the country.

UNOCI’s mandate, in coordination with the French forces,  includes observing and monitoring the implementation of the comprehensive ceasefire agreement of 3 May 2003 and movements of armed groups; assistance in disarmament, demobilization, reintegration, repatriation and resettlement; protection of United Nations personnel, institutions and civilians; support for humanitarian assistance, implementation of the peace process; and assistance in the field of human rights, public information and law and order.

However, since the establishment of UNOCI mission, the violence in the region has not subsided. The Linas-Marcoussis peace accords signed in France in January 2003 have all but collapsed as the gap between north and south has continued to widen. Over the last few months President Gbagbo has come under increasing pressure from the UN Security Council to revive the stalled peace process, under the threat of sanctions made by a UN delegation that visited the Cote d’Ivoire in June.

On June 29, 2004, talks resumed for the first time in three months between Mr. Gbagbo and representatives from four of the major opposition parties. However, the talks were boycotted by three other parties who claimed they were not prepared to undertake face-to-face talks with Gbagbo unless the discussions were overseen by the United Nations. Djedje Mady, spokesman for the four opposition groups in attendance, says that the issues discussed concerned last years Marcoussis peace accords and the current security problems. Although talks were scheduled to continue at a later date, security problems in the country remain serious.

As the situation has deteriorated, Gbagbo has condemned attacks on UN and French forces by rebel factions. This situation is further complicated by the fact that these rebel forces are purportedly loyal to the President, and therefore such attacks on peacekeepers call into question his authority and control over the rebel groups. In June a member of the Ivorian army murdered French soldier Kevin Ziolkowski, apparently acting of his own accord in complete defiance of Gbagbo’s orders.

With peacekeepers continually targeted, UNOCI’s mission in Cote d’Ivoire has been further hampered by human rights atrocities committed against civilians at the hands of both the government forces and rebel militants. With the country currently split in half - the rebels controlling the north and government forces in the south – it appears that these government funded militias are able to engage in violence against the civilian population with complete impunity.

Unlike the French troops working with the UN mission, UNOCI’s ability to adequately police the situation in Cote d’Ivoire has proved to be greatly limited due to a limited mandate forbidding the use of force while carrying out its ceasefire and monitoring duties. As a result, UNOCI cannot effectively protect civilians. These problems have been compounded by militant groups loyal to the government, who have condemned the efforts of UNOCI to secure peace in the region, accusing the international community of supporting rebel combatants in the north of the country.

It is clear that UNOCI requires a stronger mandate in order to effectively police the area in a complicated theatre where both rebel and government combatants are committing human rights abuses against civilian groups. The 4,000 strong French force will remain in the Cote d’Ivoire in support of UNOCI until after the October 2005 elections.

Updated July 27, 2004