(New York, August 28, 2001) Leading government officials in Côte D'Ivoire have incited a violent xenophobia that is threatening to destabilize the country, Human Rights Watch charged in a new report released today.
The World Conference Against Racism, Xenophobia, and Related Intolerance, which begins in Durban on August 31, should condemn the Ivorian leaders who have promoted intolerance based on ethnic and religious differences.The 70-page report, The New Racism: The Political Manipulation of Ethnicity in Côte d'Ivoire, describes atrocities committed during presidential and parliamentary elections in October and December 2000, and is based on extensive interviews of victims and witnesses in Abidjan in late 2000 and early 2001. The report documents more than 200 killings, as well as torture, rape, and arbitrary detention. The political and social climate remains volatile today as intolerance and xenophobia continue to shape daily life.
"Africans have often been the victims of racism, but they can also be its perpetrators," said Peter Takirambudde, Executive Director of the Africa Division of Human Rights Watch. "In Côte D'Ivoire we see the kind of intolerance and bigotry that the Racism Conference is designed to address. The Ivorian leaders and security forces responsible for these atrocities must be widely condemned, and brought to justice."
The election violence began with security forces targeting civilians on the basis of these political affiliation. Following Gbagbo's victory, security forces began targeting civilians solely and explicitly on the basis of their religion, ethnic group, or national origin.
The overwhelming majority of victims come from the largely Muslim north of the country, or are immigrants or the descendants of immigrants to Côte d'Ivoire. About one-quarter of the population of Cote d'Ivoire was born abroad or is descended from immigrants. Opposition leader Alassane Ouattara and his party, the Rassemblement des Republicains (RDR), largely draw their support from these groups.
In an incident that was widely reported in October 2000, security forces massacred fifty-seven young men, who were then buried in a mass grave in a forest on the outskirts of Abidjan. The new Human Rights Watch report uncovers many more atrocities committed by security forces during the electoral period. These include:
- The gunning down of civilians in several smaller massacres;
- The torture of hundreds of detainees held by police and gendarme; and
- The disappearance of at least fifteen young men and the sexual abuse by gendarmes and police of numerous young women.
On August 3, 2001, following a flawed trial, a military tribunal in Abidjan acquitted the eight gendarmes accused of the October 2000 massacre on the grounds of "lack of evidence." The prosecutor says he will appeal the verdict and take the case to a civilian court where survivors might be more willing to testify. No other members of the security forces alleged to be responsible for abuses have been charged. Instead, President Gbagbo announced that a national "Forum of Reconciliation" would take place on September 7, 2000.
International condemnation of the killings of the fifty-seven young men has largely focused on pursuing justice in this case alone, while there has been relatively little international attention to pursuing justice in the scores of other atrocities documented in the report.
Since 1995, when then-President Henri Bédié first invoked a conception of "Ivorité," or "Ivorian-ness," there have been several outbreaks of violence against people of foreign descent.
Military ruler General Guei, who briefly took power following a coup in late 1999, had introduced a constitutional amendment that required any presidential candidate to have both parents born in Côte d'Ivoire. The amendment was transparently designed to exclude Ouattara, the leader of the strongest opposition party. Just before the presidential elections, a controversial Supreme Court decision disqualified fourteen of the nineteen candidates on citizenship grounds, including Ouattara.
Laurent Gbagbo, who claimed victory in the presidential elections when Guei fled the country in the midst of protests at his attempts to rig the result, used the same standard of parental citizenship to ensure that Ouattara was once again not allowed to run during the December parliamentary elections.
"The exploitation of ethnic divisions for political gain is all too familiar in Africa," said Takirambudde. "When politicians incite hatred to further their own careers, the victims are the people they should be serving. Ivorian leaders should step back from this course now, before it is too late."
Human Rights Watch urged President Gbagbo to direct the justice ministry to promptly investigate, prosecute, and punish those responsible for these serious violations of human rights. Human Rights Watch further called on President Gbagbo to ensure that his tenure is characterized by the rule of law -- and not by military impunity.
Related Material
The New Racism: The Political Manipulation of Ethnicity in Côte d'Ivoire
Report, August 28, 2001
Election Violence in Abidjan: October 24-26, 2000
Background Briefing, December 20, 2000
Ivory Coast: Government Involved in Civilian Killings
Press Release, December 20, 2000