Cote d'Ivoire, a West African country of 21.5 million people, is emerging from a severe political crisis. It grew out of a disputed November 29th, 2010 presidential runoff election between former president Laurent Gbagbo and his opponent, former Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara, who both claimed electoral victory and formed opposing governments. Their rivalry erupted into a full-scale civil military conflict between their armed supporters in early March 2011. After the election, the United States, together with most governments around the world, had endorsed Ouattara as the legally elected president and pressed for Gbagbo to cede the presidency to him. This book examines Cote d'Ivoire's election crisis and aftermath with a focus on maintaining security and public order, economic recovery, transitional justice and accountability for human rights abuses, and national political reconciliation and reunification in the region.

Côte d'Ivoire is emerging from a severe political-military crisis that followed a disputed November 28, 2010, presidential runoff election between former president Laurent Gbagbo and his, former Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara. Both claimed electoral victory and formed opposing governments. Their rivalry spurred a full-scale civil military conflict in early March 2011, after months of growing political violence. Armed conflict largely ended days after Gbagbo's arrest by pro-Ouattara forces, aided by United Nations (U.N.) and French peacekeepers, but limited residual fighting was continuing to occur as of April 20.

When trapped in a cycle of violence and exposed to atrocities, civilians tend to exhibit unusual strength to navigate through the crisis and chaos with the hopes of an eventual survival. As public institutions and social infrastructure grind to a halt during Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)'s 2010-2011 post-election crisis, civilians were obliged to rely upon themselves in order to survive and lay the foundation for a future recovery... Politics was not given a new definition in Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) in 2010-2011. It was only padded with more lies, more egoism and more wickedness. All the atrocities - seen, heard, reported and unreported - could have been avoided if men had been selfless, forbearing and peace-loving...not to perfection, but sufficient to define the character of a righteous statesman. Truth became the scarcest commodity in Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) during the post-election crisis. It found many hearts closed, because rumours and personal opinions had fomented irrationality, which had taken its place. It is unfortunate that blood had to be shed to achieve a change of power, but the question remains whether people have learnt the lessons needed to avoid such bloody political theatre in the future. This Diary, rather than a personal account, is a lively and well-paced journal which does not only present the chronology of the hideous war, but also serves as the most objective and basic material of reference upon which future literature on the events could rely.

The three articles in this "Discussion Paper" explore different perspectives to the complex causes of the civil war that broke out in C te d Ivoire in September 2002. They are written against the background of the signing of yet another peace agreement between the Ivorian government and the former rebel New Forces (NF) in March 2007. This volume also provides a context where the prospects for post-conflict peace, national reconciliation and democracy in C te d Ivoire could be critically analyzed.

The violence that followed the disputed presidential election in November 2010 has caused the most serious humanitarian and human rights crisis in Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) in recent years. Hundreds of people have been unlawfully killed, often only on the grounds of their ethnicity or presumed political affiliation. Sexual violence, including rape, was reported, and hundreds of thousands of people were forced to seek refuge in other regions of Cote d'Ivoire or in neighboring countries, especially Liberia. Thousands of people remain displaced after fleeing the wave of human rights violations and abuses, which continued to be committed by both sides after the arrest of former President Laurent Gbagbo. Dozens were killed by pro-Gbagbo militiamen. At the same time, ethnic groups considered to be Gbagbo's supporters have received little or no protection from either the new security forces created by President Alassane Ouattara, or the peacekeeping forces of the United Nations Operation in Cote d'Ivoire (UNOCI). This report is based on research carried out in the city of Abidjan and in the west of the country between January and April 2011. The conclusions show that all parties to the conflict have committed crimes under international law, including war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Cote d Ivoire has entered a renewed period of extreme political instability following a contested presidential election designed to cap an often forestalled peace process. The election was held under the terms of the 2007 Ouagadougou Political Agreement, the most recent in a series of partially implemented peace accords aimed at reunifying Cote d Ivoire, which has remained largely divided between a government-controlled southern region and a rebel-controlled zone in the north since the outbreak of a civil war in 2002. In the past week, a renewed rebel offensive captured key towns in western and central Cote d Ivoire, including the administrative capital, Yamoussoukro, and there was intense fighting in Abidjan, the commercial capital and government stronghold. On April 4, French forces seized control of the Abidjan airport, and French troops and international peacekeepers fired on government targets. These actions were defended as necessary to enable evacuations of foreigners and the protection of civilians and United Nations personnel. The renewed conflict directly threatens long-standing U.S. and international efforts to support a transition to peace, political stability, and democratic governance in Cote d Ivoire. Indirectly at stake are broader, long-term U.S. efforts and billions of dollars in assistance to ensure regional stability, peace, democratic and ...