Amnesty International Cote D'Ivoire Mission Report

An Amnesty International research team has just returned from a four week mission to Côte d'Ivoire where they investigated ongoing human rights violations connected with the disputed November 2010 presidential election and the subsequent political rift between outgoing President Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara, the internationally recognized winner of the election.

The team conducted research in the commercial capital Abidjan and in parts of the west of the country controlled by either the security forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo or the Forces Nouvelles who back Alassane Ouattara. The Forces Nouvelles are an armed opposition group that took control of the north and part of the west of Côte d'Ivoire after an armed uprising in September 2002.

The Amnesty International research team documented human rights violations and abuses both by the security forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo and by the Forces Nouvelles. Documented violations include extra-judicial executions, ill treatment, arbitrary detention, disappearances and sexual violence including rape.