Recommendations on the situation in Côte d’Ivoire

Jurisdiction: African Regional Bodies · African Union (AU)
Regional Body / Author: PAP Committee on Co-operation International Relations and Conflict Resolution
Date: 14 October 2011
Language: English
Type: Recommendation
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African Union

Recommendations on the situation in Côte d’Ivoire

Published on 14 October 2011
Commenced
[This is the version of this document from 14 October 2011.]

The Pan-African Parliament,CONCERNED by the post-electoral crisis of November 2010 in the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire;NOTING that Cote d’Ivoire has finally put an end to the vicious cycle of conflict and the country is now moving into a new and hopeful phase of its history;EXPRESSING SATISFACTION over the progress which has been made by the International Community and Ivoirians to bring back peace in the country;RECALLING the Report of its Fact-Finding Mission to the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire in July 2011 which is based on its Resolution adopted during the Fourth Ordinary Session of the Second Parliament in May 2011;TAKING NOTE all concerns expressed by the Ivoirians to the delegation of the Pan-African Parliament that went on the fact-finding mission;REGRETTING the fact that the Post-electoral crisis led Cote d’Ivoire into extreme cases of violation of Human rights;RECOGNISING that insecurity is the main problem which Ivoirians are currently facing due to the dissemination of firearms in all parts of the country during the civil war;RECOGNIZING FURTHER that the perennial crisis in Cote d’Ivoire has created a situation of stalled development in the country since 2002;PAYING TRIBUTE to President Alassane Ouattara for putting in place a Commission of Truth, Dialogue and Reconciliation to promote reconciliation and a return to peace in Cote d’Ivoire;RECOGNISING the efforts made by the United Nations Organisation in Cote d’Ivoire to bring peace and to reconstruct the country;CONCERNED by the International dimension of the Ivorian Crisis;

THEREFORE RECOMMENDS THAT:

1.The Government of the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire should appoint at the various levels of the hierarchy the security agencies within the context of geographic and ethnic balance to ensure that all sectors of the country are represented in the command structure of the said security agencies;

2.The appointments to the reconciliation commission should be after consultations with other stakeholders (ie. Political parties and civil society organizations);

3.The reconciliation process should be transparent and inspire confidence among all stakeholders and be expedited as time is of the essence;

4.The reconciliation process notwithstanding, crimes against humanity, if committed, should be addressed including prosecution of offenders and the investigations must cover both sides;

5.The schedule for Parliamentary elections by December 2011 should be maintained subject to the creation, by the government, of a conducive environment for free and fair elections;

6.Cote d’Ivoire should take it’s right place in International organizations such as PAP and ECOWAS;

7.The democracy should be consolidated by taking into consideration the following measures:

(i)An effective national civic education institution, enhancement of the participation of women in governance and a constitutional watchdog to enforce fundamental human rights in the country;

(ii)Necessity to establish an independent electoral commission devoid of partisan connections as expressed by stakeholders;

(iii)Necessity of a national civic education institution to re-orient the mindset of Ivorians away from that discriminatory and divisive practise (i.e. Ivoirite) which sowed the seeds of the disputes;

(iv)Necessity to put in place a constitutional commission to enforce human rights at all times would redress human rights abuses and avert violent eruptions;

8.The Republic of Cote d’Ivoire should ratify the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance and implement same accordingly;

9.Cote d’Ivoire should pursue a sustainable development programme within the context of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as a first step towards recapturing its exemplary economic status;

10.The International Community should support Cote d’Ivoire to restore its devastated economy to its former status as an economic model of Africa;

11.The African Union should assist by making good the above mentioned recommendations.

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