Côte d’Ivoire
Côte d’Ivoire
Currently, Cote D’Ivoire ranks as one of the worst African economies on the Global Gender Gap Index, and despite having ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and implemented a National Action Plan per Resolution 1325, inequality, discrimination and violence against women still persist.
After conflict resurfaced in 2010 in the aftermath of disputed elections, women comprised the majority of conflict-related casualties and displaced persons, and continue to be exposed to greater risk. Women are essential for building sustainable peace in Côte D’Ivoire, as evidenced by the work of women on both sides of the conflict. Attempting to discuss their grievances and move forward together, they continue to be systematically excluded from DDR and SSR processes.
Based on the work of NGOWG members and their partners, the NGOWG advocates for increased mechanisms to monitor and enforce the implementation of Cote D’Ivoire’s National Action Plan, and to ensure the fair and full inclusion of women in all of the country’s future elections.
Current and Past Recommendations to the UN Security Council (Monthly Action Points)
Cote d’Ivoire (July 2011)
Cote d’Ivoire’s conflict has been marked by grave violations of international law, in which women have often been subject to particular violence, including the killing of 7 women by former President Gbagbo’s security forces during a peaceful demonstration. NGOs have documented large numbers of rapes both in Abidjan and in the far west of the country, in which all parties to the conflict are implicated in crimes, according to the international Commission of Inquiry. Many of these rapes, particularly in Abidjan, targeted women on political or ethnic grounds. Women in the far west were at times held captive for days and raped repeatedly. Impunity has defined Côte d’Ivoire for the last decade, but nowhere more so than for sexual violence: armed forces and civilians alike have been able to rape with almost no fear of prosecution.
The Council must ensure that the UN strongly supports prosecutions of those implicated in sexual violence, and supports the provision of effective protection and care for victims and witnesses. This should include encouraging the government to permanently establish free emergency medical services for survivors of sexual violence, such as access to medical examinations, post-exposure prophylaxis drugs and antibiotics, psychosocial care, and follow-up consultations. In areas like the far west, where health infrastructure is often inadequate, the government should ensure sufficient coverage through training mobile teams and traditional healers. Bureaucratic barriers to investigations, such as expensive medical certificates that many police and gendarmes demand before beginning an investigation, should be abolished permanently.
As Côte d’Ivoire establishes judicial and other mechanisms to deal with the grave crimes committed, the Security Council must fully support women’s roles in designing and leading these initiatives. President Ouattara has taken steps toward establishing a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), for example, but so far none of the three leaders named are women. For the TRC to meaningfully contribute to reconciliation efforts in Côte d’Ivoire, women should be given a leadership role and an effective voice in the body from the outset, to the finalization of its work. Côte d’Ivoire has a strong group of women in civil society who can provide an invaluable contribution to the TRC and efforts to achieve justice.
Cote d’Ivoire’s conflict has been marked by grave violations of international law, in which women have often been subject to particular violence, including the killing of 7 women by former President Gbagbo’s security forces during a peaceful demonstration. NGOs have documented large numbers of rapes both in Abidjan and in the far west of the country, in which all parties to the conflict are implicated in crimes, according to the international Commission of Inquiry. Many of these rapes, particularly in Abidjan, targeted women on political or ethnic grounds. Women in the far west were at times held captive for days and raped repeatedly. Impunity has defined Côte d’Ivoire for the last decade, but nowhere more so than for sexual violence: armed forces and civilians alike have been able to rape with almost no fear of prosecution.
The Council must ensure that the UN strongly supports prosecutions of those implicated in sexual violence, and supports the provision of effective protection and care for victims and witnesses. This should include encouraging the government to permanently establish free emergency medical services for survivors of sexual violence, such as access to medical examinations, post-exposure prophylaxis drugs and antibiotics, psychosocial care, and follow-up consultations. In areas like the far west, where health infrastructure is often inadequate, the government should ensure sufficient coverage through training mobile teams and traditional healers. Bureaucratic barriers to investigations, such as expensive medical certificates that many police and gendarmes demand before beginning an investigation, should be abolished permanently.
As Côte d’Ivoire establishes judicial and other mechanisms to deal with the grave crimes committed, the Security Council must fully support women’s roles in designing and leading these initiatives. President Ouattara has taken steps toward establishing a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), for example, but so far none of the three leaders named are women. For the TRC to meaningfully contribute to reconciliation efforts in Côte d’Ivoire, women should be given a leadership role and an effective voice in the body from the outset, to the finalization of its work. Côte d’Ivoire has a strong group of women in civil society who can provide an invaluable contribution to the TRC and efforts to achieve justice.
Relevant Resources
