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Recommendations

To the Government of Côte d’Ivoire

• Issue clear public instructions to all security forces, including militias, to respect international humanitarian and human rights law.
• Issue clear public orders to security forces to ensure that all militias are brought within the scope of the law and cannot act with impunity.
• Immediately stop recruiting children, including Liberians, to be soldiers, and demobilize and hand over to UNICEF or a registered child protection agency all child soldiers under the age of 18 currently serving with the state security forces, or older soldiers who were recruited before age 18.
• Acknowledge and condemn unlawful killings committed by state security and militia forces since September 2002.
• Investigate and punish in accordance with international standards those responsible for crimes in violation of international law committed by state security forces, including extrajudicial execution, and harassment and extortion of civilians, and the recruitment of child soldiers. 
• End incitement of hatred, intolerance, and violence by state-run broadcasters and print journalists, and punish them as appropriate in accordance with international fair trial principles. Respect freedom of expression and create a climate in which journalists may work freely.
• Cooperate fully with any investigation taken by the International Criminal Court.
• Expedite the annual school examinations for 60,000 children living in the rebel-controlled areas of Côte d’Ivoire.

To the New Forces

• Issue clear public instructions to all members of rebel forces to respect international humanitarian and human rights law.  In particular, ensure compliance with the civilian protection provisions of Protocol II in areas under rebel control.
• Ensure combatants receive appropriate training in international human rights and humanitarian law.
• Cooperate fully with any investigation taken by the International Criminal Court.
• Acknowledge and condemn unlawful killings committed by rebel forces since September 2002.
• Investigate and hold accountable in accordance with international standards those responsible for crimes in violation of international law committed by rebel forces, including extrajudicial execution, extortion and robbery of civilians and civilian property, and the harassment and extortion of traders and travelers. 
• Immediately demobilize and hand over to UNICEF or a registered child protection agency any child soldiers under the age of 18 currently serving with the rebel forces, or older soldiers who were recruited before age 18.
• Allow the International Committee for the Red Cross and UNOCI human rights monitors full access to detainees at all rebel-administered and -run detention centers.

To the United Nations Security Council

• Expedite the work of the U.N. Sanctions Committee and immediately activate travel and economic sanctions against individuals identified as responsible for serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, who break the U.N. arms embargo, or who incite publicly hatred and violence.
• Expedite the publication of the report of the U.N. Commission of Inquiry into human rights violations committed since 2002, and meet to discuss its findings and recommendations.
• Increase resources to UNOCI for monitoring of radio and television broadcasts that incite hatred, intolerance, or violence.
• In the event that deterioration in the security situation in Côte d’Ivoire is accompanied by persistent radio and television transmissions intended to incite hatred, intolerance, or violence against civilian populations, pass a resolution or include a provision in an existing resolution that calls for the blocking of such transmissions.

To the United Nations Mission in Côte d’Ivoire

• Ensure that UNOCI forces can provide protection to all civilians whose security is at risk because of communal tension or threats from abusive armed forces.

To the African Union

• Consider the imposition of sanctions—including arms embargos, travel bans, and economic sanctions—against the Ivorian government or other African governments that sponsor groups responsible for widespread and serious human rights abuses, including the use and recruitment of child soldiers.

To the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court

• Promptly dispatch a mission to Côte d’Ivoire and take other steps to investigate with a view to prosecution those suspected of bearing the greatest responsibility for serious crimes by both pro-government and rebel forces.

To the United States, the European Union and other international donors

• Call publicly and privately on both the Ivorian government and New Forces leadership to investigate and, where applicable, prosecute violators of international human rights and humanitarian law.
• Condition military or police assistance to the Ivorian government, with the exception of human rights training, on the investigation and prosecution of those accused of such abuses.
• Give political, financial, and other support to any judicial mechanisms meeting international fair trial standards set up to ensure accountability for perpetrators of serious crimes under international law.