Hundreds of Thousands Flee Ivory Coast Crisis, U.N. Says

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By ADAM NOSSITER
Published: March 25, 2011



DAKAR, Senegal — At least 700,000 people have fled their homes in Ivory Coast’s main city, Abidjan, to escape the increasing violence and collapsing economy stemming from the nation’s political crisis, the United Nations said Friday.

Daily gunfire spurred by Laurent Gbagbo’s efforts to stay in power after losing a presidential election in November has pushed thousands of residents out of neighborhoods surrounding the city’s central districts, while the closing of banks and businesses have led to widespread unemployment.

“The massive displacement in Abidjan and elsewhere is being fueled by fears of all-out war,” a representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees told reporters Friday in Geneva, estimating that 700,000 to one million people had already left their homes.

“Bus terminals are overcrowded with passengers desperate to get seats on vehicles heading to northern, central and eastern parts of the country where there has been no fighting so far,” an agency spokeswoman, Melissa Fleming, said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/26/world/africa/26ivory-coast.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

[ProSense]

1. There doesn't seem to be

a lot of interest in what's going there.

President Obama’s Message to the People of Cote D’Ivoire

[pampango]

2. International Coalition for the Responsibility to Protect: Ivory Coast

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

a. The African Regional Response

The African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) were swift in their responses to the crisis in Côte d’Ivoire. The AU sent former president of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, and Prime Minister Raila Odinga of Kenya to hold talks between Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara. On January 28, 2011 the AU’s Peace and Security Council established a High-Level Panel that, with the assistance of a team of experts, is mandated to evaluate the crisis and formulate a solution. ECOWAS appointed former Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasanjo, as envoy to Côte d’Ivoire, who offered Gbagbo exile abroad and a monthly stipend if he stepped down. ECOWAS also issued sanctions on Gbagbo and threatened to use force if mediation efforts fail and Ouattara does not assume the presidency.

b. The UN and International Response

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.

c. Response from Civil Society

Civil society groups expressed concern about the deteriorating situation in Côte d’Ivoire and condemned the grave human rights abuses that occurred.

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.

Amnesty Internationalissued several statements condemning the violence in Côte d’Ivoire and warned of new violent clashes if international and regional bodies do not find a peaceful resolution to the crisis. The organization documented human rights abuses and released a statement on December 21, 2010 that reported accounts of illegal detention and abductions of Ouattara supporters by forces loyal to Gbagbo. Amnesty International stated that “in a situation where the security forces are collaborating in the commission of serious human rights violations, the international community must act to ensure that violations are halted immediately.”