Ivory Coast

Abidjan, Ivory Coast—It was long past midnight when a truck belonging to the Republican Forces of Ivory Coast (FRCI) pulled up to a small, open-air restaurant in Duékoué, a town of 75,000 in the country’s west. The crowd that night in March was mostly young men, many of them drinking and dancing to club tracks played by a local disc jockey. Not long after the soldiers’ arrival, 16 of the men, including the DJ, were rounded up for arrest. Although no reason was given, the men went willingly, even helping to push the truck when it would not start on its own.The men were taken to a drab three-floor hotel on the town’s main road that serves as local headquarters for the FRCI, the national army under President Al-assane Ouattara, who came to power in May 2011. Five were released upon arrival. But the remaining 11, members of the Guéré ethnic group, who largely supported incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo in the country’s disputed November 2010 election, were told to strip and hand over their belongings. They spent the night crammed in a six-foot-by-six-foot guard post with boarded-up windows.The following morning, the detainees lined up in the hotel’s concrete courtyard, and the local FRCI chief, Kone Daouda, called the DJ forward. Fernand Gninin, a 38-year-old detainee, recalls that the chief was apparently angry that the DJ had spoken out against alleged FRCI abuses during his set the night before. According to Gninin and others present, Daouda began kicking the DJ while declaring, “I’m going to show you that Duékoué is under my control.”One by one, soldiers abused the other men, too. Gninin says that one held his head to the asphalt with a booted foot while another beat his bare back with an orange pole, leaving multiple scars. It took several days and a stream of appeals from local community leaders before the detainees were released.There are many in Duékoué who would call them lucky. During the six months of violence triggered by the last election, the FRCI earned a reputation for human rights abuses and general beyond-the-law brutishness. In the first year after Ouattara became president, FRCI soldiers in the western region remained notorious not just for arbitrary arrests and beatings but for extrajudicial killings targeting Gbagbo supporters. In early May, community leaders provided a list of 18 such killings they said had occurred in the first four months of this year alone.Many of the cases on the list highlight the arbitrariness and speed that are the frequent hallmarks of state terror. François Gboblemeu, 50, was taken from his home by FRCI soldiers one night in late March, about a week after the raid involving the DJ. His wife, Ange Fie, remembers that the soldiers used vague language when she asked what Gboblemeu had done wrong, saying only that he had been involved in “outside actions,” which she took to mean anti-government militia activity. She knew nothing of this, and no evidence was provided to back up the claim. The next day, Gboblemeu’s son was called to identify the body after it had been discovered two kilometers away. “He was nude,” the young man recalls. “There was only a piece of cloth on him. His head was exploded.” Such disappearances were frightening enough during the crisis of 2010-11, but the fact that they were still occurring in Duékoué more than a year after the ousted president had been detained under orders of his successful rival, and therefore outside the context of armed conflict, made them even more unsettling.The post-election violence in Ivory Coast, which lasted from December 2010 to May 2011, seemed to fit a formula. There was a vote. There was a disputed result. There was a leader, in this case Gbagbo, who refused to cede power despite having lost. There were rebels eager to take up arms against the state, and mercenaries willing, for the right price, to fight for either side. There were targeted attacks against specific tribes. There were indiscriminate attacks against civilians. And in the end, there were the numbers that provide some sense of scale—3,000 dead, more than 150 raped, hundreds of thousands displaced. These elements together make up a somewhat standard incident of political violence—universally seen as unfortunate but rarely marked by any form of meaningful response.Except that Ivorians were promised a different outcome. Luis Moreno-Ocampo, then chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court, filed a request in June 2011 to launch an investigation of the post-election violence, and judges gave their approval in October. Meanwhile, Ouattara, the victor, vowed to cooperate with the ICC while also pressing for balanced justice at the local level, seemingly lessening the likelihood that perpetrators—even those who supported him— would benefit from impunity. With this combined effort, the argument went, both the expertise of the ICC and the local buy-in associated with domestic trials could be brought to bear on the justice process, thereby helping ensure that the root causes of the conflict could be resolved. This hasn’t happened.After one year under Ouattara, officials’ early statements on how justice would play out had begun to seem less like firm commitments and more like vows made during, and restricted to, the heady first days of peacetime and a new administration. Ouattara still speaks of balanced justice. And the notoriously painstaking process of bringing ICC cases to trial continues to unfold. The decadeold institution even achieved a milestone in November 2011, when Gbagbo became the first former head of state to be taken into its custody. But the only people implicated in proceedings at both the national and international levels were members of Gbagbo’s camp. None of Ouattara’s out-of-control followers, including members of the official armed forces under his control, have been charged or even credibly investigated.In the eyes of many Gbagbo supporters, the credibility of the international community has already been damaged by military intervention on the part of France and the UN at the height of the crisis. The arrest of Gbagbo on April 11, 2011, after 10 days of fighting in Abidjan, was precipitated by an attack on his residence carried out by French forces earlier in the day. World leaders saw the intervention as a way to minimize the slaughter of civilians and quickly resolve an escalating conflict; U.S. President Barack Obama singled out the UN and France for praise in a statement released after Gbagbo was taken into custody. They may have been right. But the more than 40 percent of voters who wanted Gbagbo to be president see the involvement of these forces not as an impartial bid to stop the bleeding but rather as an obvious choosing of sides. The potential acquiescence by the international community to one-sided justice would thus be seen by a large chunk of the population as the continuation of a narrative stretching back to before the conflict ended.Instead of receiving constructive transitional justice, Ivorians have so far received a form of justice that only legitimizes the new Ouattara regime. This raises the question of just what kind of behavior such “victor’s justice” might enable. The ongoing abuses in the west—arbitrary abductions, beatings, and killings—are the early answers. Here, after all, were military forces suspected of involvement in atrocities committed during the post-election violence, and instead of being prosecuted, they have been given free rein to commit new outrages while ostensibly combating threats against the state. The potential implications for longterm peace are clear during interviews with the leaders of those groups that have been regularly victimized by the FRCI, most of whom, fearing reprisals, speak on the condition of anonymity. “We are very much in favor of reconciliation, but it looks like the mission of the FRCI in this region is to exterminate all the youth,” says one community leader. “What we ask the authorities to do is to let the Guéré people live,” says another. “Now there are just these cold killings. How can we go on with true peace in these conditions?”This past July marked 10 years since the creation of the ICC, the world’s first permanent court set up to try cases of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. In March, judges reached their first verdict in the case of Congolese militia leader Thomas Lubanga, who was found guilty of recruiting and deploying child soldiers and later given a 14-year prison sentence. Closing arguments in a second Congo trial were heard in May. Last year, around the height of the Arab Spring, the UN Security Council voted unanimously to give the court jurisdiction over crimes committed in Libya, marking the first time the United States and China had endorsed ICC action. This was seen as evidence that major powers once hostile to the court were softening their stances, a trend that began with the Security Council’s 2005 vote on crimes in Darfur, Sudan, when the United States and China abstained so that investigations could proceed.The Sudan case, however, also betrayed the ICC’s lack of enforcement powers—a frequent focus of the court’s many detractors. More than three years since an arrest warrant was issued for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity— later expanded to include genocide—he remains in power. Sudan is not a member of the ICC, but Bashir has freely visited such member countries as Chad and Ma-lawi that are required to arrest him under the terms of the ICC’s founding treaty. In neighboring Kenya, an investigation into postelection violence that occurred in 2007-08 has prompted attempts to orchestrate a mass African exodus from the court and, more recently, to move relevant cases to African soil. And in Libya, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of Muammar Gaddafi, is being held in the mountain town of Zintan amid uncertainty over where and when he might get a court date.At the core of the ICC’s mission is the principle of complementarity, which holds that the institution should serve as a “court of last resort,” acting only when governments lack the capacity or willingness—or both—to try suspects themselves. Moreover, the court is designed to try only the biggest cases, with smaller ones falling to national courts. In this way, legal proceedings at both the international and national levels share the burden of eliminating impunity for atrocity crimes. However, the events in Sudan, Kenya, and Libya to an the ICC that could its to get done in those do not share the court’s and when try to its is they may be to domestic that could the that to violence in the first of a less of this to be out in Ivory the was long as a African the causes of Ivory conflict can be back to the of former and he to power at the time of the from France in on political during remained in more than three a marked by that all other countries in the the In to and French his country’s reached the in and the of power was far from in the to a power the president of the and Ouattara, both of to the The was in a the two men that would have for the national political for years to And there were ethnic to a of Ivory Coast, the of or to Ivorians from the and of the This and groups that had been in Ivory Coast before the began to in the late the of took of to Ouattara, a in the country’s who spent much of his in from for president on the that he was not a of and in groups under the of the Forces the of the as peace the state of that would for of was to see in the In the a region that largely voted for Gbagbo, forces to Ouattara and Gbagbo committed a of the end, with forces the region to Abidjan, including to attacks on Ivorians and African in the March last year, mercenaries and armed with and at African in the town of many their before their days in the town of and mercenaries some and who had in the town The ethnic to this and the played by could not have been more who could speak the language of the local the were while those who could not were days on March the western town of Duékoué was home to the most of the conflict, committed by forces to morning, FRCI soldiers and other the town’s of Guéré most they saw of They used and but UN found that at people in Duékoué during the conflict, the International for the the at more than for the March More than a year the that a mass in a in a by and a local who the his head as he the like he Abidjan, played out that were home to a large of Gbagbo supporters, such as the of some of the most would identify or other Ouattara beat them they could not their in and then them leaving only concrete and This became as an a to the required for and for is a of where the a by the about mostly of and the of Gbagbo’s to in the was with recalls Ange who the of were had been and Ouattara’s forces took of the the the were such are a of violence in the both in the form of abuses and attacks carried out by in Ivory Coast has made the to a as it the of the of African States Ouattara is to that have out in and of the ongoing ICC as as the from Ouattara that all those suspected of crimes be prosecuted, rights groups and other to the of the to on the justice But the arrest of Gbagbo, of charges was the ICC process to have at other suspects on the Gbagbo including his wife, in no has been made by the ICC to arrest that Ouattara’s is has his to the ICC process, two to the court’s jurisdiction over some post-election But have that the national justice has been to the where it has the capacity to try cases that from the In an in his Ouattara’s human rights this President Gbagbo was to The the was such that the justice not have the capacity even to him and him in let him he even said when he at The that he was more at and that his had in the a state has that it has the capacity to its or crimes in its there is no for the ICC to But Ouattara to the head of the for the ICC, says have been more than with and the human rights says he has the not Ouattara not just about new new new The of justice has not begun in not about about the about how are that of suspects the began to once received from judges in to the investigation back to the likelihood that to Ouattara would be of the Ouattara and other any from the ICC process could be as the ICC’s credibility in the eyes of many Ivorians on its or to some of the The with Gbagbo the only has many of his that the of the ICC has been to Ouattara’s from the to what the of the says an official with the UN mission in Ivory Coast, who anonymity. it just that they wanted Gbagbo taken they stop at Gbagbo, they have no and it be a national proceedings have also been of at people suspected of post-election crimes had been former Gbagbo supporters. the human rights this by that the country’s prosecutor had been on crimes committed against Ouattara’s to Gbagbo supporters. crimes, he be in with the by a national of But this not have the of in part most members were by under Ouattara’s of Gbagbo’s were but them that civilians might be to any abuses they or violence cases are also being at the national military Ange the head of the says people have been charged in these cases, and are still in custody. says on events involving clear of military and The Duékoué however, would to a of to nothing of general military the question of to FRCI who was in of forces implicated in the says his has received no against he have any been filed against and two military leaders who in the of It not that against these men be filed and have been since the conflict and his post as military to the of forces to be restricted to the political and military even those who Gbagbo and his for the that members of the FRCI and other elements of Ouattara’s military committed crimes and to be is an obvious reason Ouattara would be to charges to be brought against members of the The army is made up in large part of former Forces and made they could against an that those soldiers who could to be could also a in a in the of one in late young men on the when the was under obvious in how they to many of the The people were the the most a in and a at the the many abuses committed by Gbagbo’s threats to the of at of also Ouattara’s during the saying the president he could to resolve the conflict just Kone not the one who was not But his to the president not to the at the of by rights “We are not about what to all the people who came from the to Ivorians balanced justice as a for under a the that with during the a of young Gbagbo said in an that they the process as were But that mean they see arrests as we have is that one year from the violence, only one that has been says “We be at at some people from the other are but not the case so they to see the up to Ouattara’s these Gbagbo political in the them to their is are speak what to Ange is more the people who are They the is the of that Ouattara says he is on having the of national from the he took before the conflict Ouattara to form a and an that legal proceedings would be to national But when ask the they are following the of this and other they is just for not for It is just for political has been that justice be to all of post-election crimes. In during his first official to the western region of Ivory Coast, he a of to an in But such as a French and who remained in his the the the process only of and it not be to the in The way the them when they go to resolve a people them they have and can do for the International when it to reconciliation, the way Ivorians from all to is just as as balanced justice for post-election crimes. This is true in the where and have not been to leaving the FRCI to the In May, and in Duékoué and other western were still not to it for them to take the on Daouda, the local FRCI in Duékoué, his armed says they had taken of a region with anti-government and mercenaries and no but to them we had for all of the to do the the would not have been he “We with what we Daouda this process was not “I’m not going to there are no extrajudicial killings or human rights he try my to those cases under control, to minimize the in the he a of his who with another was and in late The the on a his and his head The has been “He was by the of this and Daouda that the FRCI would not be its for anti-government to then there are some who may the But from to to do to make that most Ouattara to see how the is to political justice and by forces are a of these supporters, including the for at the of Gbagbo’s followers, who they are not to and still that their president was at the is to go into a process when people who have committed crimes do not says the human rights people and justice has we can the and ask for the most would be to a of an for at the local In the UN Security Council to the country’s arms a move to of military and With the of who have long as a the Ouattara should and an as as There are obvious Forces rebels who have since been into the FRCI see of the population in Ivory Coast as the and the is a the military be to give up its But given the of with constructive could do more to the than any political violence in the Ivory Coast a meaningful justice clear to of those who the This that the national justice is to the most cases from the post-election crisis. these are and the by many that have been is the Gbagbo would local trials of their leaders as evidence of Ouattara going after his to power. including those from that the Ouattara may take this very all and potential at The so far are on Gbagbo’s there is that ICC to Ouattara The question is Ouattara’s cooperate and a process of balanced justice at home so that the are seen as at have found that there are no for the just one not only Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir in there is evidence that he is freely new atrocities in the with the local and a ICC African countries to him. the president of to arrest Bashir he were to the African July to be held in the body the to How can countries that in many cases, the court it so The can be at in in the the court and major in the international on the court has from in the early years of to under The United States the court when the court’s The United States is still not a member of the are and the two countries attempts by the international community to in The two other permanent members of the UN Security Council have been to the but have at to its Last year, both and France came out in favor of a that many said would have an institution already This seemed given that both were of the court’s intervention in Libya, an that the court to its international or that would seem to major powers are an of the ICC that other countries to at their these powers take the ICC, or at it to do its it is to the court for to in Ivory Coast and its may take

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