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  • Côte d’Ivoire: 2 Years in, Uneven Progress
    Press release
    May 21, 2013
    Côte d’Ivoire’s government has made little progress in addressing root causes of the country’s decade of politico-military violence in the two years since President Alassane Ouattara’s inauguration on May 21, 2011. These problems threaten the country’s long-term stability despite a strong economic rebound.
  • Letter to Ivorian Minister of Justice on Government reaction to Human Rights Watch report
    Letter
    May 20, 2013
  • Building a House on a Sand Pile: The Cost of Ignoring Justice in Côte d’Ivoire
    Commentary
    Apr 22, 2013

    Nearly two years have passed since the end of Côte d’Ivoire’s brutal five-month long post-electoral crisis, which resulted in the slaughter of at least 3,000 civilians and the rape of 150 women.

  • Côte d’Ivoire: Soldiers on Trial for Abuses
    Press release
    Apr 11, 2013

    The opening in Côte d’Ivoire on April 11, 2013, of trials against soldiers allegedly implicated in crimes against civilians is a positive development, but little progress has been made in investigating the most politically sensitive cases involving government forces.

  • Côte d’Ivoire: Unrealized Promises for Impartial Justice
    Press release
    Apr 3, 2013
    The Ivorian government has not yet delivered on its promises of impartial accountability for the serious international crimes from the 2010-2011 post-election crisis, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The government should step up support to judges and prosecutors handling these cases so that victims from both sides can finally see justice.
  • Q&A: Laurent Gbagbo and the International Criminal Court
    Q & A
    Feb 12, 2013

    Laurent Gbagbo is the former President of Côte d’Ivoire. He has been charged by the International Criminal Court (ICC) with four counts of crimes against humanity: murder, rape and other forms of sexual violence, other inhumane acts, and persecution. The crimes were allegedly committed by forces under his control during post-election violence in Côte d’Ivoire, between November 28, 2010 and mid-May 2011. He has been charged as being responsible for these crimes as an indirect co-perpetrator or, in the alternative, because he contributed to the commission or attempted commission of crimes “by a group of persons acting with a common purpose.” The confirmation of charges hearing against Gbagbo—the first former head of state to be in ICC custody—brings victims one step closer to learning the truth behind his role in the post-election violence.

  • François Hollande’s ‘Change’ Is More of the Same on Côte d’Ivoire
    Commentary
    Feb 6, 2013
    Les mêmes causes produisent les mêmes effets (“The same causes produce the same effects”). It’s a phrase I’ve heard Ivorian lawyers, taxi drivers, and civil society leaders utter repeatedly in recent months to describe Côte d’Ivoire’s uneven prospects for reconciliation so long as President Alassane Ouattara’s government makes little progress toward impartial justice and addressing abuses by the security forces. But the phrase applies just as aptly to the failure of Côte d’Ivoire’s most important partner, France, to publicly make human rights issues a priority in its diplomatic relationship.
  • Ghana: Ensure Justice for Key Ivorian Suspect
    Press release
    Jan 18, 2013
    Ghanaian authorities should ensure fair, credible justice for an Ivorian militia leader arrested on January 17, 2013. The former leader of the Young Patriots militia, Charles Blé Goudé, is accused of serious crimes allegedly committed under his command during Côte d’Ivoire’s 2010-2011 violent post-election crisis.
  • Liberia Takes Action on Cross-Border Attacks into Côte d’Ivoire
    Impact
    Jan 3, 2013
    In June, Human Rights Watch reported that dozens of former Ivorian and Liberian combatants loyal to the previous Ivorian government were using Liberia as a base to launch raids into Côte d’Ivoire. There, they targeted civilians perceived as supporting President Alassane Ouattara. We reported that since July 2011, attackers killed at least 50 people during these raids and displaced thousands more.