(New York, June 3, 2005) — Amid the latest wave of ethnic violence in Côte d’Ivoire’s western cocoa belt, which has claimed 58 lives this week, the United Nations Security Council must urgently boost its peacekeeping force in the country by 2,000 troops, Human Rights Watch said. Today the Security Council will discuss the mission’s mandate.
The Ivorian government must take concrete steps to stop the deadly cycle of communal violence around the western town of Duékoué, which is in the government-controlled part of the country, including by bringing the perpetrators to justice.
In the past week alone, renewed clashes between local indigenous groups and farm workers from the north and neighboring countries have brought the total number of dead in western Côte d’Ivoire since February to at least 89. Ethnic tension in this fertile cocoa-producing region predates the civil war between northern-based rebels and the Ivorian government, which is primarily composed of officials from the south and west.
Despite the end of the war in 2003, tension has remained high between indigenous groups in the west and the northern and foreign-born workers who for decades have worked on the local cacao plantations. In recent years, this tension has been both exploited and exacerbated by the country’s political and military divisions.
All that stands between the northern-based rebels and the government forces are a U.N. force of some 6,000 peacekeeping troops and a French force of 4,000 more heavily armed soldiers under separate command. The United Nations has said this is too small a force to maintain peace and protect civilians. The Security Council will consider a proposal to add 2,076 U.N. peacekeepers.
“The killings in Côte d’Ivoire this week tragically highlight why the Security Council must boost its peacekeeping force,” said Peter Takirambudde, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “The Ivorian government’s credibility will hinge on its willingness to stop this violence and ensure that those responsible for these atrocities are held accountable.”
At least three waves of communal violence have broken out in Côte d’Ivoire in the last four months. On February 28, an attack by government-backed militia on the rebel-held town of Logoualé sparked ethnically motivated attacks between the indigenous Wê tribe and immigrant farm workers, mostly from Burkina Faso, that caused some 16 deaths. The violence also caused more than 13,000 villagers to flee, and left several villages in flames. In late April, several days of interethnic fighting around Duékoué resulted in the death of at least 15 people from the indigenous Guéré and Northern Dioula tribes.
The latest wave began one week ago when Guéré tribesmen allegedly killed at least four farmers from the Senoufo ethnic tribe, which originates from the northern part of the country. On May 31, unidentified men attacked the two largely Guéré villages of Guitrozon and Petit Duékoué, shooting, stabbing or burning to death at least 41. This in turn triggered more attacks against Dioulas and Burkinabe (those originally from Burkina Faso), which on June 1 claimed at least another 11 lives.
“The alarmingly high tension in Côte d’Ivoire’s cocoa belt could result in violence on a massive scale, especially given the past willingness of political and local leaders and to exploit ethnic differences and economic resentments,” said Takirambudde. “More U.N. peacekeepers are sorely needed. When approved, they must be immediately deployed to Côte d’Ivoire’s vulnerable western region.”
Côte d’Ivoire, the world’s top cocoa producer, has since September 2002 been divided between northern-based rebels which attempted to topple Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo, and the government-controlled south. Duékoué, which is under pro-government control, lies just south of the UN-patrolled buffer zone which separates the Ivorian army and ill-disciplined pro-government militias from the northern-based New Forces rebels.
The western region of Côte d’Ivoire, the heart of the country’s vital cocoa and coffee industry, is a zone of smoldering instability which, if ignited, could engulf the whole sub-region. For decades, immigrants from Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Guinea have provided cheap labor for local landowners, which helped turn Côte d’Ivoire into the world’s leading cocoa producer.
However, competition over land rights, economic decline and the 2002-2003 civil war resulted in ever-increasing ethnic tension. As a result, both indigenous groups and immigrant farmers have organized themselves into militias and self-defense groups resulting in a lethal tit-for-tat dynamic between the groups. Western Côte d’Ivoire saw the heaviest fighting in the months after the September 2002 rebellion.
Human Rights Watch calls on the Ivorian government to immediately conduct an investigation into those responsible for organizing and perpetrating these recent attacks, and to hold them accountable in a competent and fair judicial process.
“The government of Côte d’Ivoire must show its commitment to combating the destructive cycle of violence and impunity,” said Takirambudde. “The authorities must investigate and hold accountable those responsible for organizing these deadly attacks.”
Background
The military junta of 1999-2000 and the armed conflict between the government and northern-based rebels in 2002-2003 have been punctuated by atrocities by both government and rebel forces, including political killings, massacres, “disappearances” and torture. The widespread impunity from prosecution enjoyed by all armed forces, but especially pro-government militias, has resulted in ever-increasing incidents of violence against civilians. The political and social climate has become increasingly polarized and characterized by intolerance, xenophobia, and suspicion, bringing fears of what could happen should there be an all-out resumption of hostilities.
Since the military coup of 1999, Côte d’Ivoire has descended from its position as a beacon of socio-economic stability in Africa, to being one of the continent’s most intransigent crises. The political and social climate is dangerously polarized and characterized by intolerance, xenophobia, and suspicion. The 1999-2000 military junta, 2002-2003 civil war between the government and northern based rebels, and political unrest and impasse that followed has been accompanied by a persistent, pernicious, and deadly disintegration of the rule of law and the use by all sides to exploit ethnic differences to eliminate political rivals and political gain.
Mediation efforts by South African President Thabo Mbeki led to the signing of an agreement by all sides on April 6, which effectively committed all forces to disarm and work towards elections in October. Progress in the mediation, which was sponsored by the African Union, had been slow until the Mbeki-led meeting in Pretoria, which was billed as a last ditch attempt to save Côte d’Ivoire from sliding back into full-scale war.
Political observers remain skeptical about the prospects for implementation of the African Union-led initiative signed in Pretoria, given that two previous peace accords—Linas-Marcoussis in January 2003 and Accra III in July 2004—never got off the ground. Gbagbo’s willingness to abide by Mbeki’s proposal to open up the field of candidates, and thereby include his key political rival, remains the most central issue standing between the prospects for an end to the war and a resumption of hostilities.
