A call for force in Cote d’Ivoire

Louise Arbour, president of the International Crisis Group, has penned a letter to the Security Council asking for a more forceful response to escalating violence in Cote d’Ivoire: [T]he Security Council should immediately authorise military action to ensure the protection of the population by UNOCI or other authorised forces and to support President Alassane Ouattara ...

By , a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies.

Louise Arbour, president of the International Crisis Group, has penned a letter to the Security Council asking for a more forceful response to escalating violence in Cote d'Ivoire:

Louise Arbour, president of the International Crisis Group, has penned a letter to the Security Council asking for a more forceful response to escalating violence in Cote d’Ivoire:

[T]he Security Council should immediately authorise military action to ensure the protection of the population by UNOCI or other authorised forces and to support President Alassane Ouattara and his government in exercising authority over the armed forces and ensuring the territorial integrity of the state.

As stated in the ECOWAS resolution, the situation in Côte d’Ivoire is now a regional humanitarian emergency. Military operations by armed forces loyal to Gbagbo are now underway, with heavy arms being used in attacks on the Abobo area of Abidjan, where Ouattara supporters are based. These attacks come after intensifying confrontations between Gbagbo’s forces and armed groups affiliated to Ouattara over the past month.

According to the UN, 440 people have been killed and 500,000 have been forced to flee their homes. This toll is still growing. There are reports of sexual violence, summary execution and individuals being burnt alive. Gbagbo’s militias continue to perpetrate violence and organise road blocks controlled by armed men, and elements in the Ouattara camp have also been implicated in targeting civilians.

After orchestrating a coup d’état to stay in power and now shaken economically and militarily, Gbagbo’s regime is intentionally driving the country to chaos. His camp is calling Ivorian youths to join the army en masse with the promise to distribute arms to new recruits. Meanwhile, Gbagbo-controlled media broadcast hate speech and incite violence. The Security Council should again condemn the violent attacks and propagation of hate speech and proceed with individual sanctions against responsible persons. Methods and capacities to block or jam outlets broadcasting hate speech should be authorised by the Council and its Members.

Most observers agree that the UN peacekeeping force on the ground is overwhelmed and, absent significant reinforcement, incapable of restraining the violence. It’s likely not accidental that Gbagbo has chosen a moment when the international community is saturated with crises to escalate his attacks. The Security Council is meeting today for consultations.

David Bosco is a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. He is the author of The Poseidon Project: The Struggle to Govern the World’s Oceans. Twitter: @multilateralist

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