Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders Annual Report 2007 - Côte d'Ivoire

Political context

Signs of reprieve came in 2007 with the signature of the Ouagadougou Agreement in March 2007, which brought Mr. Guillaume Soro, Leader of the New Forces (Forces nouvelles – FN) and author of the attempted coup d'état in 1999, to the position of Prime Minister in the new transitional Government. In addition, presidential elections, which have been postponed several times since 2005, are due to take place in June 2008. The United Nations Security Council Resolution 1765, adopted on July 16, 2007, reiterated the importance placed by the international community on the holding of free elections.

Signs of progress came with the dismantling of the confidence zone (a buffer zone between the north and south) and the President's visit in the north of the country at the end of November 2007. At the end of December, delays in the disarmament programme however triggered protest movements by the former rebels. NGOs condemned the arrests and executions carried out on December 27, 2007 in FN administered zones, which could have damaged the peace process. The FN responded by accusing the NGOs of being manipulated by insurgent elements aiming to weaken them from within.

The NGOs also condemned the February 2007 agreement between the Government and Trafigura, the company involved in the toxic waste scandal,¹ which provides that the latter shall pay the State 150 million euros in return for legal proceedings being dropped. Apart from the denial of justice that this agreement represents for victims, the State indemnity process has been particularly criticised by NGOs and victims because of its many weaknesses: an ambiguous selectivity amongst the victims, minimal compensation and slow procedures have all discredited the process. In June 2007, a complaint was filed with the "Tribunal de Grande Instance" in Paris on behalf of 20 victims of the waste discharge against two French Directors of Trafigura who had been released by Ivorian authorities. At the end of 2007, the preliminary enquiry that was opened following filing of the complaint was still under way.

Attack against NGO premises

In May 2007, the headquarters of the Ivorian Human Rights League (Ligue ivoirienne des droits de l'Homme – LIDHO) in Abidjan was vandalised by a group of students and young patriots in response to an appeal by the Secretary General of the Student Federation of Côte d'Ivoire (Fédération estudiantine et scolaire de Côte d'Ivoire – FESCI). The attackers even held a meeting in front of the League headquarters, insulting its members, calling them "traitors" and "enemies of the power". LIDHO was blamed for having loaned its premises to striking teachers. This reason was visibly no more than a pretext, as LIDHO has frequently condemned the many acts of violence and harassment carried out by FESCI on the campus of Abidjan University over the past years. No arrests have been made, despite the presence of the police on the premises. The complaint filed by LIDHO with the Prosecutor of the Republic against the FESCI Secretary General has not been followed up and witnesses have never been called by the Prosecutor's services, proving that these organisations can act again with impunity against defenders.²

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders is a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH).

1 On September 6, 2006, a boat had poured more than 400 tons of highly toxic waste into the port of Abidjan, resulting in sixteen deaths, according to Government sources. Several State representatives had been complicit in the affair, highlighting corruption problems and causing the Prime Minister of the time to resign, though he has since returned to his position. Human rights organisations intervened to demand that investigations be carried out so that the guilty parties might be punished.

2 The Special Rapporteur of the African Commission on Human and People's Rights (ACHPR) on Human Rights Defenders in Africa, Ms. Reine Alapini-Gansou, expressed her "profound concern" following reports of an "attack against the Ligue ivoirienne des droits de l'Homme (LIDHO) and Action pour la protection des droits de l'Homme (APDH) on 21 May 2007 by members of the Fédération estudiantine et scolaire de Côte d'Ivoire (FESCI)" (See Press Release dated June 6, 2007).