海角大神

Impunity for supporters of Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara alleged to have committed human rights abuses after the 2010 election here threatens the country鈥檚 already fragile stability, Human Rights Watch said in a report released this week.

President Ouattara came to power in 2011, following a disputed election in November 2010. Incumbent Laurent Gbagbo refused to concede defeat, despite international recognition of Ouattara鈥檚 victory. Violence between Mr. Gbagbo and Ouattara鈥檚 supporters over the next five months claimed more than 3,000 lives.

Although the government concedes that its own supporters committed human rights violations, none have been charged almost two years after the end of the conflict. By contrast, the government has charged more than 150 Gbagbo supporters in connection with crimes from that period, including kidnapping and murder. Gbagbo himself is in The Hague facing a war crimes prosecution before the International Criminal Court (ICC).

鈥淭he numbers speak for themselves,鈥� says Param-Preet Singh, author of the New York-based human rights organization鈥檚 report.

鈥淲ithout swift and determined action, Ouattara鈥檚 government is in danger of continuing the country鈥檚 principal 鈥榯ragedy鈥�: impunity for those connected to power,鈥� the report states.

Ouattara promised impartial justice when he came to office, but some say a focus on economic growth and public safety have taken priority over healing a divided population.

鈥淚 worry that [the Ouattara administration is] losing critical legitimacy by not pursuing a more evenhanded approach to justice and accountability,鈥� says Scott Straus, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and expert on West African politics. They have 鈥減rivileged economic growth and attempts to reestablish security.鈥�

Mass graves

The report鈥檚 release came on a day that provided a chilling reminder of Ivory Coast鈥檚 bloody recent聽history. Yesterday the Ministry of Justice commenced a months-long process of exhumations of victims from the post-election crisis, with investigators beginning to explore the first of at least dozens of mass graves throughout the country.

Ouattara supporters implicated in the report include members of the national army, the Forces R茅publicaines de C么te d鈥橧voire (FRCI), who have been linked to a string of more recent abuses as well. These charges include arbitrary arrests, illegal detentions, extortion, and torture, and mostly targeted Ivorians of ethnic groups perceived as supportive of the former president. There was a spike in these crimes after a wave of attacks on Ivorian military installations last summer.

In the past month, there have been three fresh attacks in the country鈥檚 west, which has a porous border with Liberia that has frequently served as a launch pad for assaults by Gbabgo loyalists.

Political trust

Mr. Ouattara has presided over a strong economic recovery since the conflict but has struggled to win over a deeply divided population. He was elected in the 2010 runoff with just 54 percent of the vote, and many Ivorians harbor suspicions about his origins, as he comes from the country鈥檚 immigrant-rich north.

Mr. Ouattara inherited a government rife with corruption and nepotism, Mr. Straus says. However, he adds, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think Ouattara has inspired confidence in the population that government is in their interest 鈥� is in the interest of rebuilding political trust and ruling for the majority of the people.鈥�

The HRW report contains a series of concrete recommendations that Ms. Singh says would allow the Ivorian government to show 鈥渢hat its commitment is not just in words but in action.鈥� Some of those recommendations aim at strengthening prosecutorial independence, establishing stronger witness protections, and improving coordination between the ICC and Ivorian investigators.

Singh also urges the international community to take a more proactive stance. While some countries have pressured Ouattara鈥檚 government privately, she calls for more to speak out publically and to offer further support to Ivory Coast鈥檚 beleaguered justice system.

The risks of not acting, she warns, are grave鈥攁nd reflected in Ivory Coast鈥檚 immediate past.

鈥淲hen we interviewed civil society across the political spectrum, the message that came to us time and again was that if there isn鈥檛 impartial justice鈥攊f impunity for one side of the conflict continues鈥攖hat will essentially sow the seeds of conflict in the future,鈥� Singh says.

Ivory Coast was plagued for more than a decade by off-and-on civil conflict. In 2002, a mutiny by soldiers in the north split the country in two and led to hundreds of deaths in interethnic violence. Referring to those events, Singh says, 鈥淵ou have the same authors in many cases committing the same crimes.鈥�