Cote d'Ivoire: Index | News | Initiatives | Organizations

Amnesty International Report 2004: Côte d'Ivoire
Amnesty International, 2004
This report discusses the continuation of human rights abuses by all parties to the conflict, resulting in tens of thousands of civilians fleeing Côte d'Ivoire or being internally displaced within the country. In the west, along the border with Liberia, armed opposition groups raided towns and villages, killing civilians, raping women and forcibly recruiting people.

Trapped Between Two Wars: Violence Against Civilians in Western Côte d'Ivoire
Human Rights Watch, 5 August 2003
This report documents widespread abuses against civilians in fighting following a September 2002 army mutiny. The abuses include summary executions, sexual violence against women and girls, and looting of civilian property by Ivorian government troops, government-supported civilian militias, and by the rebel groups. Both sides have recruited Liberian fighters, some of them from refugee camps in Côte d'Ivoire. Côte d'Ivoire's eight-month conflict was characterized by limited direct fighting between the nominal warring parties, but serious and sometimes systematic abuses against civilians. The report documents these abuses in the west of the country, where tensions over land and proximity to Liberia exacerbated the conflict. The report calls for an international commission of inquiry to investigate abuses and recommend measures to bring perpetrators to justice, and for an extensive field-based human rights monitoring presence. It also calls on the Ivorian government to immediately stop backing the militias.

“Ça va un peu, maintenant”: The collapse of healthcare, malnutrition, violence and displacement in western Côte d’Ivoire
Médecins Sans Frontières, 10 July 2003
After several years of conflict, war, violence and displacement, civilians in western Côte d’Ivoire have all but been crushed under the weight of violence-driven social and economic upheaval and decline. Médecins Sans Frontières operates in the West since March 2003 using mobile clinics and supporting health centres to address the overwhelming health needs in the region. This report examines the impact that the conflict in Cote d’Ivoire has had on its citizens, with a focus on healthcare and the overall health of the population.

La Cote d’Ivoire: A Country in Distress, An Opportunity to Act
United Methodist Women’s Action Network, Action Alert, June 2003
For three decades following its independence from France in 1960, le Cote d’Ivoire, also known as the Ivory Coast, had one of Africa’s strongest economies and was politically a pillar of stability in a region plagued by wars. Once hailed as a model of stability, Ivory Coast is in danger of slipping into the kind of internal strife that has plagued so many African countries. This report gives an overview of the history of the country as well as the status of women in society.

Côte D'Ivoire: Government Abuses In Response To Army Revolt
Human Rights Watch, November 2002
Côte d'Ivoire is facing a political crisis that poses a serious risk that the country could plunge into the sort of brutal war well known to neighboring Liberia and Sierra Leone. The crisis is rooted in well-established divisions within Ivorian society and in particular within the military, divisions that have been deliberately exacerbated by government policy over the last few years. Includes interviews with women affected by crisis in 2000.

The New Racism: The Political Manipulation of Ethnicity in Côte d'Ivoire
Human Rights Watch, 28 August 2001
Leading government officials in Côte D'Ivoire have incited a violent xenophobia that is threatening to destabilize the country. This report describes atrocities committed during presidential and parliamentary elections in October and December 2000, and is based on extensive interviews of victims and witnesses in Abidjan in late 2000 and early 2001. The report documents more than 200 killings, as well as torture, rape, and arbitrary detention. The political and social climate remains volatile today as intolerance and xenophobia continue to shape daily life. The overwhelming majority of victims come from the largely Muslim north of the country, or are immigrants or the descendants of immigrants to Côte d'Ivoire.

UN Documents

Security Council recommendation to United Nations Missions in Cote d’Ivoire (UNOCI)
Report to the Security Council Mission to West Africa, S/2004/525, 2 July 2004
Excerpt: "The Special representative of the Secretary-General and the United Nations country team should continue to work closely with civil society organizations, in particular women’s associations, with a view to integrating their concerns in the efforts by the UNOCI and other parties to advance the peace process. Special attention should be paid to mainstreaming the gender perspective into UNOCI’s activities."

Consolidated Appeals Process 2004: Côte d'Ivoire
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, November 2003
This document reviews the humanitarian effects of the conflict in Côte d'Ivoire in general and also looks at the social, health, and economic implications for vulnerable populations (women, children, etc.).

Government Statements and Reports

Cote d'Ivoire: Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor – U.S. Department of State
This report released annually examines the human rights violations in Côte d’Ivoire against women by the government and the rebel forces, including discrimination and violence against women, forced labor and trafficking.
For 2003, select the following link: http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27723.htm
For 2002, select the following link: http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2002/18179.htm
For 2001, select the following link: http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/af/8355.htm
For 2000, select the following link: http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2000/af/773.htm

Intervention de Mme Yaï Constance, Ministre de la solidarité et de la Promotion de la Femme, Chef de la Délégation ivoirienne
Troisième Session Du Comité Préparatoire De La Session Extraordinaire De L'assemblée Générale Consacrée À Beijing+5, le 3 Mars 2000
Mme Yäi Constance remarque que, cinq ans après Beijing, il est indéniable que la cause de la femme progresse dans le monde entier et singulièrement dans les pays en voie de développement. Cependant, il est à noter que dans la plupart des pays en développement, les conditions économiques difficiles dues aux effets pervers de la mondialisation, à la chute drastique des prix des produits de base, au poids de la dette, au tarissement des flux financiers, sans compter les catastrophes naturelles et conflits armés ont provoqué la stagnation voire la dégradation des conditions de vie de millions de femmes aggravées par la pandémie du SIDA et la féminisation de la pauvreté. La Côte d'Ivoire est en train de mettre sur pied des structures démocratiques et transparentes, conditions sine qua non à un développement durable ainsi qu'à la promotion effective de la femme.

Intervention de Mme Yaï Constance, Ministre de la solidarité et de la Promotion de la Femme, Chef de la Délégation ivoirienne
Quarante-Quatrième Session De La Commission De La Condition De La Femme, le 28 février 2000
Mme Constance parle de quelques éléments importants de politique ivoirien qui s'articulent autour des axes suivants: la protection juridique des femmes, la promotion économique des femmes, la promotion de l’education des femmes rural, et l'amélioration de la santé de la femme et de l'enfant. Mme Constance dit que le government ivoirien a élaboré un Plan National d'Action de la Femme qui s'intègre dans les objectifs et stratégies de développement de la Côte d'Ivoire pour la période 2000-2005 pour contrer ces difficultés et afin d'améliorer le statut et les conditions de vie de la Femme ivoirienne.

Books, Journals and Articles