Developments in Côte d'Ivoire

The information below is based on the 2009 report of the Secretary General to the Security Council (A/63/785-S/2009/158) issued on 26 March 2009. More information is available in the report.

There was no substantiated evidence of use of child soldiers by armed forces or groups in the reporting period.

Rape and other sexual violence, as well as other grave violations against children, are prevalent throughout Côte d'Ivoire and are perpetrated with impunity by individuals and groups, often unidentified, who take advantage of the current deficit in the rule of law and administration of justice. The situation is more serious in areas under the control of FDS-FN in the north of Côte d'Ivoire. Some progress has been noted in Government-controlled areas, although many reported cases remain uninvestigated or unprosecuted.

In follow-up to the conclusions of the Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict, the Ministry of Family, Women and Social Welfare requested UNOCI to submit a draft proposal to the Government on the creation of a national commission for children affected by armed conflict, in accordance with international law and taking into account the principles relating to the status of national institutions. A separate proposal on the establishment of a national action plan to combat sexual violence was also submitted at the request of the Government in September 2008. These proposals are under review by the Government.

The leadership of FDS-FN also developed and signed a programme of action against sexual violence on 19 January 2009, in response to the request of the Working Group. The programme of action includes elements of prevention, addressing impunity and providing witness protection and assistance to victims of sexual violence, and will constitute a stopgap measure pending the establishment of a national action plan to combat sexual violence by the Government. In a letter addressed to the Special Representative in Côte d'Ivoire dated 17 April 2008, the militia groups in the west also expressed their willingness to join efforts to address sexual violence.

Parties in Côte d'Ivoire, which were removed from the annex of the 2007 Report of the Secretary-General

  1. Armed militia groups affiliated with the Presidential camp:
    1. Front pour la libération du Grand Ouest (FLGO);
    2. Mouvement ivoirien de libération de L'Ouest de la Côte d'Ivoire (MILOCI);
    3. Alliance patriotique de l'ethnie Wé (APWé);
    4. Union patriotique de résistance du Grand Ouest (UPRGO).

    Status: Action plan signed on 14 September 2006. Parties have been de-listed from annexes of the report of the Secretary-General (S/2007/757). All the parties have ceased recruitment and taken concerted measures to identify and release children associated with their forces for rehabilitation, and have allowed the United Nations to regularly monitor the association of children with fighting forces as part of the implementation of action plans.
  2.   Forces de défense et de sécurité des Forces nouvelles (FDS-FN). Status: Action plan signed on 10 October 2005. Party has been de-listed from annexes of the 2007 report of the Secretary-General. Party has ceased recruitment and taken concerted measures to identify and release children associated with their forces for rehabilitation, and have allowed the United Nations to regularly monitor the association of children with fighting forces as part of the implementation of its action plan.

Press Releases by the Special Representative: