Ivory coast unrest may explode into war. 462 dead (and no sign of NATO/US)

[The Straight Story]

GENEVA — Fears that post-election unrest in Ivory Coast will explode into all-out war have spurred up to 1 million people to flee their homes in the capital Abidjan, the U.N. refugee agency said Friday.

President Laurent Gbagbo has refused to cede office despite his rival Alassane Ouattara being recognized as the rightful winner of November's presidential elections.

"The massive displacement in Abidjan and elsewhere is being fuelled by fears of all-out war," Melissa Fleming, spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, told reporters in Geneva.

The global body is also concerned that the fighting could spread to neighboring Liberia, which itself is recovering from years of conflict. Fleming said there are indications that Liberian mercenaries are arriving in Ivory Coast.

Meanwhile, the U.N.'s human rights office said at least 462 people have been killed in fighting since December and reports of 200 foreigners being killed in the west of the country.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42251572/ns/world_news-africa/

[bullwinkle428]

1. I wonder how many have to die before the U.S. starts paying attention.

[aquart]

2. How many will die before AFRICA starts paying attention?

Any nations of Africa negotiating in the UN for intervention? WHICH ONES?

[Distant Observer]

3. Heard of BBC woman say "We must pray for Oil, before we hope for help"

[piratefish08]

4. oil supply is directly proportional to the level of assistance.

[pampango]

5. From the International Coalition for the Responsibility to Protect regarding the Ivory Coast

http://www.responsibilitytoprotect.org/index.php/crises/crisis-in-ivory-coast

The UN, European Union (EU), and numerous countries including the United States, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom, have formally recognized Alassane Ouattara as the President.

In its fourteenth special session held on December 23, 2010, the Human Rights Council passed a Resolution condemning the human rights violations. The UN Security Council passed Resolution 1962 on December 20, 2010 which extended the mandate of UNOCI through June 30, 2011 and provided additional troop and personnel support to the mission. Following a letter from the Secretary-General to the President of the Security Council on the situation in Côte d’Ivoire, the UN Security Council unanimously voted on January 19, 2011 to send an additional 2,000 UNOCI forces in the country. UNOCI has deployed forces to the Hotel du Golf to protect Ouattara and his Government. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued condemned all violations of human rights that have occurred since the elections.

The Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide, Francis Deng, and Special Adviser to the Secretary-General who focuses on the Responsibility to Protect, Edward Luck, issued two joint statements on the political crisis. The first, published on 29 December 2010, focused on reports of human rights violations by Gbagbo supporters and the use of inflammatory speech to incite hatred and violence by loyalist forces. The Advisers reminded all parties that the responsibility to protect includes the prevention of mass atrocity crimes, “importantly including their incitement.” Special Advisers Deng and Luck, using more forceful and stern language in their statement issued on January 29, 2011, specifically warned “about the possibility of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and ethnic cleansing in Côte d’Ivoire.” The Advisers stated “that urgent steps should be taken, in line with the “responsibility to protect”, to avert the risk of genocide and ensure the protection of all those at risk for mass atrocities.” Furthermore, the statement reminded “all parties of their responsibility to protect all populations in Côte d’Ivoire, irrespective of their ethnicity, nationality, or religion.”

International Crisis Group (ICG) issued an open letter to the Security Council on the situation in Côte d’Ivoire that urged Members to take the necessary actions to prevent further escalation of violence. ICG made the following recommendations:
• Security Council should enhance the mission’s capacity;
• Remind Mr. Gbagbo, and other government, military and security leaders of their criminal liability for violating human rights;
• Because a military solution is unlikely, the Security Council should urgently act to prevent further escalation of violence.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Responsibility_to_protect

Threshold for military interventions

According to the International Commission for Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS) Report in 2001 (which was not adopted by national governments), any form of a military intervention initiated under the premise of responsibility to protect must fulfill the following six criteria in order to be justified as an extraordinary measure of intervention:

Just Cause
Right Intention
Final Resort
Legitimate Authority
Proportional Means
Reasonable Prospect

The ICRtoP article didn't say which of these 6 criteria for military intervention are not met in the Ivory Coast crisis, just that "a military solution is unlikely".

[Initech]

6. We're on the brink of WWIII, I tell ya.