‘They looked aT his idenTiTy card and shoT him dead’ SIX MontHS oF PoSt-ELECtoRAL vIoLEnCE In CôtE D'IvoIRE amnesty international is a global movement of more than 3 million supporters, members and activists in more than 150 countries and territories who campaign to end grave abuses of human rights. our vision is for every person to enjoy all the rights enshrined in the Universal declaration of human rights and other international human rights standards. We are independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion and are funded mainly by our membership and public donations. first published in 2011 by amnesty international ltd peter Benenson house 1 easton street london Wc1x 0dW United kingdom © amnesty international 2011 index: afr 31/002/2011 english original language: french printed by amnesty international, international secretariat, United kingdom all rights reserved. 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To request permission, or for any other inquiries, please contact [email protected] Cover photo : one of the hundreds of people unlawfully killed since the beginning of the conflict following the november 2010 contested presidential election. people were often executed only on the grounds of their ethnicity or presumed political affiliation. © amnesty international Back cover photo : a woman looks at the remains of a body in the carrefour district of duékoué, where forces supporting president alassane ouattara rampaged through the compounds on 29 march 2011 looking for Guérés. Women and girls were made to leave, and hundreds of men were executed. © amnesty international amnesty.org CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................7 2. A PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION POSTPONED FIVE TIMES THAT PLUNGED THE COUNTRY INTO CHAOS................................................................................................................9 2.1. The 2002 coup attempt and the de facto partition of the country ............................9 2.2 Two presidents - one country...............................................................................10 2.3. Spiral of violence in Abidjan and the west of the country ......................................11 3. HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AND ABUSES IN ABIDJAN .........................................15 3.1 Human rights violations committed by security forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo .........15 3.2. Human rights abuses committed by the militias supporting Laurent Gbagbo ...........24 3.2.1. Security forces support for or complicity in human rights abuses committed by militias supporting Laurent Gbagbo. .......................................................................26 3.3 Human rights abuses committed by the Invisible Commando, an anti-Gbagbo armed group .....................................................................................................................27 3.4. Human rights violations committed by the FRCI during and after the arrest of Laurent Gbagbo...................................................................................................................29 4. VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN AND HUMAN RIGHTS LAW IN THE WEST OF THE COUNTRY ............................................................................................32 4.1 The west of the country: a region that has been unstable for more than ten years .....32 4.1.1. Creation of militias .....................................................................................32 4.1.2 Offensive by the FRCI in the west..................................................................34 4.2. Violations of international humanitarian and human rights law...............................35 4.2.1 Violations committed by forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo...................................35 4.2.2 Abuses committed by the FAFN before their integration into the FRCI ..............35 4.2.3. Violations committed by the FRCI and their auxiliary forces ............................37 4.2.4 Massacres in the town of Guiglo....................................................................44 4.2.5. Attacks in other regions in the west of the country......................................... 45 4.2.6 Sexual violence........................................................................................... 46 5. APPLICABLE INTERNATIONAL LAW........................................................................ 48 6. OFFICIAL MEETINGS ............................................................................................. 51 6.1 Meeting with officials APPOINTED BY Laurent Gbagbo ......................................... 51 6.2. Meetings with Alassane Ouattara and members of his government......................... 51 6.3. Meeting with UNOCI officials ............................................................................ 52 7. WHAT JUSTICE AND FUTURE FOR COTE D’IVOIRE?................................................. 56 8. RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................................ 58 ENDNOTES ............................................................................................................... 62 ANNEX...................................................................................................................... 66 GLOSSARY ADO Alassane Dramane Ouattara BAE Brigade anti-émeute, Anti-Riot Brigade CECOS Centre de commandement des opérations de sécurité, Command Center for Security Operations CRS Compagnie républicaine de sécurité, Republican Security Company CNI Conseil national islamique, Islamic National Council DDR Désarmement, démobilisation et réinsertion, Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States FAFN Forces armées des forces nouvelles, Armed Forces of the New Forces FDS Forces de défense et de sécurité, Defence and Security Forces FESCI Fédération estudiantine et scolaire de Côte d’Ivoire, Ivorian Federation of Students and School Pupils FPI Front populaire ivoirien, Ivorian Popular Front FRCI Forces républicaines de Côte d’Ivoire, Republican Forces of Côte d’Ivoire ICC International Criminal Court ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross PISAM Polyclinique internationale Sainte Anne-Marie, Sainte Anne-Marie International Polyclinic PDCI Parti démocratique de Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Party of Côte d’Ivoire RDR Rassemblement des républicains, Rally of the Republicans RTI Radio télévision Ivoirienne, Ivorian Radio Television UN United Nations UNOCI United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire “They looked at his identity card and shot him dead” 7 Six months of post-electoral violence in Côte d’Ivoire 1. INTRODUCTION The violence that followed the disputed presidential election in November 2010 has caused the most serious humanitarian and human rights crisis in Côte d'Ivoire since the de facto partition of the country in September 2002. Hundreds of people have been unlawfully killed, often only on the grounds of their ethnicity or presumed political affiliation. Women and adolescents have been victims of sexual violence, including rape, and hundreds of thousands of people were forced to flee their homes to seek refuge in other regions of Côte d'Ivoire or in neighbouring countries, especially Liberia. Human rights violations and abuses continued to be committed after the arrest of the former president, Laurent Gbagbo, on 11 April 2011. In Abidjan, a manhunt was launched against real or perceived supporters of the former president and several senior officials very close to the former president were beaten and ill-treated in the hours following their arrest. In the west of the country, thousands of people fled their homes and, by the time the document was finalized (i.e. 17 May 2011), many were still living in the forest for fear of returning to their homes. These people, belonging to ethnic groups considered to be supporters of Laurent Gbagbo, have been left to their own devices and have little or no protection from either the Forces républicaines de Côte d’Ivoire (FRCI, Republican forces of Côte d'Ivoire), created on 8 March 2011, by President Alassane Ouattara, or the peacekeeping forces of the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI). In some cases, people who tried to return home were victims of violence and noted at times that their homes were occupied by others. The country's new leaders, notably President Alassane Ouattara and his Prime Minister Guillaume Soro, face three imperatives: put an immediate end to the human rights violations and abuses currently being committed against the real or presumed supporters of Laurent Gbagbo; re-establish the rule of law and order the security forces to protect all sections of the population whatever their political affiliation or ethnic group, notably the displaced and refugee populations so that these people can return to their homes and recover their belongings and lands; and promptly conduct an impartial investigation into the violence committed by all parties since December 2010. On 11 April 2011, in his first speech