Group Urges Ouattara to Address Human Rights Issues

Human Rights Watch (Washington, DC)

16 May 2011

press release

Dear President Ouattara,

We at Human Rights Watch, a leading independent international human rights organization, congratulate you on your internationally-recognized election victory in November 2010. Unfortunately, those elections, which held the promise of reuniting the country geographically, politically, and militarily divided since 2002, instead sparked five long months of violence and rights abuses that have aggravated and created new tensions in the country. We understand, as a result, that the challenges are considerable as you finally assume office. Human Rights Watch looks forward to collaborating with your administration in the months and years ahead in ensuring that human rights have a central role in reuniting and rebuilding the country.

We write today to highlight several key recommendations for your administration during its initial months – urging you to swiftly address Côte d’Ivoire’s chronic human rights problems and attendant weaknesses in rule of law that have been pervasive during the last decade and have come to the fore since last November’s presidential election. The human costs, as you are well aware, have been disastrous, with the UN now reporting between 2,000 and 3,000 dead in the postelection violence, though the final toll may still be higher.

For more than a decade, Human Rights Watch has conducted in-depth research on a wide array of human rights issues in Côte d’Ivoire, including political violence, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual violence, the role of violent student and militia groups, the failure of rule of law institutions, land conflict, extortion and racketeering, and corruption.

Since last November’s presidential run-off, we have undertaken multiple research trips to Abidjan and the Ivorian-Liberian border, documenting grave abuses by armed actors on both sides of the political and military divide. These include massacres committed by both sides, enforced disappearances, targeted killings and sexual violence in which victims were targeted for their perceived political support or ethnicity, the widespread recruitment of militias and mercenaries, and the indiscriminate use of heavy weaponry against the civilian population.

We have highlighted key perpetrator groups involved in these crimes, including CECOS; the Republican Guard; pro-Gbagbo militia, particularly the Young Patriots and FESCI; the Republican Forces of Côte d’Ivoire; the Dozo; Liberian mercenaries, including a group led by a person who goes by the nom de guerre “Bob Marley”; and a group of militant Burkinabé led by a man named Amadé. Our reports and findings, based on hundreds of interviews with victims and eyewitnesses, have been made publicly available, including on our website. We have attached a compendium of our post-election work to this letter for you and your office.

We believe that addressing human rights issues that are among the root causes of Côte d’Ivoire’s conflicts and divisions should be among your government’s top priorities. We urge you to make an unambiguous commitment to respect the fundamental human rights of all Ivorians and to exercise bold leadership in guaranteeing those rights. Discussed in more detail below, we call on you to:

Send a clear signal that the crisis of impunity that has fueled human rights violations in Côte d’Ivoire has ended, in particular by taking prompt steps to ensure fair, credible prosecutions for serious crimes committed in violation of international law, especially at the highest levels of responsibility and regardless of rank or political allegiance.

Solidify the rule of law and develop democratic institutions that will respect the rights of all who reside in Côte d’Ivoire, and provide redress when those rights are violated.

Take immediate steps to confront security issues throughout the country, including the disarmament of militia groups.

Establish a Truth and Reconciliation Commission that operates transparently, with a broad mandate, and in open dialogue with international institutions and monitoring bodies.

Accountability for Past Abuses

Human Rights Watch welcomes your public commitment to shed light upon the crimes committed during the postelection period and to ensure that those responsible are punished. We are particularly encouraged by your pledge to guarantee credible and impartial investigations into abuses by both sides and to prosecute perpetrators regardless of their political affiliation, and note your public call to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate the massacres in the far west. At the same time, we are concerned by mixed messages that have been sent by some officials with regard to your government’s commitment to impartially prosecute serious crimes.

Impunity for human rights violations has been a deep and enduring problem for the last decade in Côte d’Ivoire. No one has been credibly prosecuted for any of the grave abuses that we and others have documented since the 2000 election-related violence, including during the 2002-2003 armed conflict and its aftermath. Many of the violations committed amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, offenses of the gravest kind under international law.

The ability of perpetrators to commit atrocities with no fear of being held accountable has helped fuel abuses, along with a general mistrust in Ivorian legal institutions. Any failure to reverse this trend will only embolden those who might contemplate committing human rights violations in the future. While some people may advise you to forego accountability, in speaking with hundreds of victims, we assure you that victims demand and deserve credible and impartial justice. Moreover, experience across many different country situations has reinforced that justice is a critical component for establishing durable peace.

In fulfilling your promise of accountability, Human Rights Watch believes that the investigation and prosecution of those responsible for the most serious crimes in violation of international law committed during the entire Ivorian crisis is crucial – beginning with the 1999 coup d’état by General Gueï, the violence-marred 2000 elections, and the 2002-2003 armed conflict. Accountability for the heinous crimes perpetrated since last November is urgent and essential, but should comprise part of a broader effort to establish truth and provide justice for past and present violations.

A worthwhile starting point would be for your government to request the UN Security Council to publish the 2004 UN Commission of Inquiry report either prior to or in conjunction with the publication of the 2011 Commission of Inquiry report. The decision of the UN Security Council at the behest of those negotiating an end to the hostilities to bury the 2004 report and eschew accountability contributed to allowing many of the same actors deemed most responsible for serious crimes in violation of international law committed during the 2002-2003 armed conflict to again oversee and commit atrocities against the civilian population in 2010-2011.

With regard to accountability, impartial justice as exhibited by prosecutions of those involved in crimes committed by both forces associated with Gbagbo and by the Republican Forces will be crucial in showing that all Ivorians have access to justice – no matter the victim or the perpetrator involved. More than 100 Guéré refugees interviewed by Human Rights Watch in Liberia, the majority of whom had either witnessed or were victim to a war crime perpetrated by the Republican Forces, made clear that such efforts would strongly influence their decision on whether they can safely return to Côte d’Ivoire.

As you know, possible investigation and prosecution by the International Criminal Court is an issue. The Ivorian government submitted a declaration to the ICC in 2003 giving the court jurisdiction over events after September 19, 2002 in Côte d’Ivoire. We understand that this declaration has recently been reaffirmed or resubmitted by your government. Although such declarations confer jurisdiction, they are not sufficient to trigger the opening of an ICC investigation, which requires either a referral by an ICC state party or the Security Council to the court, or the prosecutor acting on his own initiative.

The ICC prosecutor said publicly during the week of May 5 that he intends to open an investigation on his own initiative into crimes committed in Côte d’Ivoire. Such a step could make an important contribution to ensuring accountability. Should the ICC prosecutor open an investigation, your government’s cooperation will be crucial. The ICC has no enforcement mechanism and thus relies on states’ cooperation to conduct its work, including in the arrest of suspects.

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