Côte d’Ivoire became part of France’s colonial empire in 1893, despite strong resistance from indigenous people, delaying full control and occupation until the beginning of the 20th century. The French established cocoa, coffee and banana plantations that became important exports.

The country won independence from France in 1960 with Félix Houphouët-Boigny as the first president. He ruled for 30 years and fostered policies for economic development, including diversifying exports, inviting French technicians to stay in the country and take managerial positions, and encouraging immigration from neighbouring countries to boost agricultural production.

By the early 1980s, Côte d’Ivoire had become a beacon of wealth and stability. At his death in 1993, Houphouët-Boigny was succeeded by Henri Konan Bedie, a man of his own Baoulé ethnic group. During his rule there were political tensions between southerners and northerners, many of whom were descendants of immigrants.

A bloodless coup in 1999 ushered in a military junta led by General Robert Guei, who reluctantly organised elections the following year. He amended the constitution, requiring all presidential candidates to have Ivorian parents and to have never held another nationality, which excluded candidate Alassane Ouatarra.

Guei declared himself winner of the vote, setting off revolts. Laurent Gbagbo, considered the true winner of the vote, took power and Ouattara called for fresh elections. This led to violence between their respective supporters, and despite attempts at reconciliation, tensions continued to grow between the mostly Muslim north and predominantly Christian south.

In September 2002, a military mutiny allowed rebel groups to seize the northern half of the country. Despite a peace agreement in 2003, violence continued and a United Nations contingent was deployed in 2004 to help implement the accord. However, the disarmament process has been interrupted and elections have been delayed twice.

Peace and security

Côte d’Ivoire has experienced unrest since the late 1990s, fuelled by ethnic divisions. Events escalated when definitions of nationality were debated and constitutional limits placed on who could run for president.

Violence broke out in 2002, with the emergence of rebel groups that took over north and western parts of the country. A short-lived ceasefire was negotiated in 2002 and the United Nations Mission in Côte d’Ivoire (ONUCI) was set up to oversee the implementation of a 2003 peace agreement.

Nearly 11,000 UN and French peacekeepers patrol the buffer zone between rebel forces holding the north and the government army in the south.
According to the human rights division of ONUCI, armed robberies, kidnappings and extortion are serious problems in villages in this buffer zone, a sort of no-man’s land that cuts a swathe through Côte d’Ivoire from east to west.

Programmes to disarm rebel troops and pro-government militia are now on course, paving way for a future general election.

Refugees

The civil war left at least 700,000 internally displaced, according to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA).

Most of the displaced are in Abidjan. Those in the western region have received funding from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to help with humanitarian relief. A third of the displaced children have no access to education.

Among the displaced were 7,000 immigrant farmers who had been living in Côte d’Ivoire for several generations and were driven off their cocoa plantations in the volatile west of the country. They are living in camps and receive food and water aid from UN agencies.

An estimated 360,000 also returned to their native Burkina Faso, creating strains on that country’s already poor infrastructure.

In 2006, nearly 38,000 Liberian refugees were living in Côte d’Ivoire. After democratic elections in Liberia, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) actively encouraged Liberian refugees to return home; an estimated 30,000 Liberian refugees have already resettled there.

Democracy and governance

The first official multi-party elections were held in Côte d’Ivoire in 1990. President Felix Houphouët-Boigny, who had already ruled for 30 years, won the vote. When he died in 1993, Henri Konan Bedie succeeded him.

Bedie won the general elections in 1995 and held on to power until 1999 amid growing unrest. That year, Côte d’Ivoire witnessed its first coup led by General Robert Guei. He held elections that were rigged and when he proclaimed himself president, he was forced to flee.

Laurent Gbagbo, considered the true winner of the vote, came to power in 2000. In 2002, a military coup destabilised the country and caused rebel groups in the north to take over in protest at Gbagbo’s southern-dominated government.

Gbagbo held on to power, but fighting broke out and a ceasefire was signed in 2004.

A UN Security Council resolution was passed in 2003 outlining how Côte d’Ivoire should be governed.

Charles Konan Banny, former governor of the African Bank of West African States, was appointed prime minister in 2005 under a UN-backed peace plan and given a strengthened mandate. The rebels occupying the north hold several key ministerial posts in the transitional power-sharing government.

Elections were initially due by October 2005, but Gbagbo invoked a law that he said entitled him to stay in power. The UN authorised a transitional government to remain in place until October 2006; however, elections once again failed to happen by the prescribed date due to feuding between rival factions and slow progress with disarmament.

Based on recommendations by the African Union, the UN Security Council approved a resolution to extend the transitional government for one final year and give Banny control over security forces. Gbagbo has said he will not fully apply the resolution and is drafting his own plan.

The mandate of the National Assembly also expired in 2006; however, the ruling party, which has a majority, insists that the constitution allows parliament to continue to work.

Successive government reshuffles, the absence of democratic governance in the north, ongoing power struggles among political leaders in the south, and a general climate of impunity have all been matters of concern.

Media

The media environment in Côte d’Ivoire is highly politicised. Most of its newspapers and private radio stations are affiliated with or financed by political parties.

The state broadcaster RTI has been subject to a bitter power struggle between ruling party supporters and the armed and unarmed opposition. The fight for control over the national television station and to a lesser extent, the state-owned newspaper, Fraternité-Matin, is likely to increase as presidential elections approach. Initiatives to reform the media have so far not succeeded in creating a fully independent press.

Government and rebel-controlled broadcasters air propaganda that fuels ethnic tensions. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has described some media reports in Côte d'Ivoire as “frighteningly reminiscent of how the media had been used [in Rwanda] by leaders to trigger devastating acts of violence.”

In January 2006, UN forces and property came under attack by members of the Young Patriots, supporters of the president. In some locales, they were incited by militia and prefecture leaders who took over local radio stations and used them to air hate messages that encouraged the attacks.

Radical government supporters have attacked the offices of opposition newspapers, and intimidated or harassed local and foreign journalists.

In 2004, the UN mission set up its own radio station to counter the effect of inflammatory propaganda. Initially only available in Abidjan, the station has extended its reach to cover rebel-held towns in the north. In December 2004, a new press law was adopted to sanction poor journalistic practices and improve journalistic ethics.

Economy

Côte d’Ivoire is among the world’s largest producers of cocoa, coffee and palm oil. The government has traditionally favoured policies to encourage economic development, and produced high economic growth rates through the 1970s and 1980s.

This helped the country become the economic powerhouse of West Africa. Its ports, extensive paved roads, and good telecommunication services bolstered economic production. Most of its forests have been transformed into agricultural land. Other important exports include cotton, bananas, pineapples, timber, rubber and palm oil.

Its exports, however, are vulnerable to fluctuations on the world market and a decline in cocoa and coffee prices caused a deterioration in living standards.

The country has also experienced serious economic setbacks since the beginning of the crisis in 2002. The inability to implement peace reforms and hold elections has affected funds from international financial donors.

The sale of cocoa represents 90 percent of foreign exchange earnings.

The exploitation of offshore oil reserves and increased production of natural gas have become a major new source of revenue. The government hopes that daily crude output will rise from roughly 33,000 barrels per day to 200,000 bpd by the end of the decade.

Population

Côte d’Ivoire has a population of 17.9 million and a growth rate of 1.7 percent. Fertility rates have dropped to 4.7 children per woman, from 6.9 in 1990, according to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA). Infant and maternal mortality rates are increasing.

There are 60 ethnic groups in Côte d’Ivoire. Immigrants from neighbouring countries make up one-quarter of the population. The largest ethnic groups are the Akan from the east and the Mandes from the north. Indigenous groups such as the Krou and the Gur hail from the central and western regions. The official language is French. Dioula is the lingua franca of traders, market women and immigrants and is widely spoken throughout the country.

It is estimated that 35 to 40 percent of the population is Muslim and hail mainly from the north. About 25 to 30 percent is Christian. About 25 to 40 percent of the population hold indigenous beliefs.

Development indicators

Côte d’Ivoire is ranked 164 out of 177 countries on the UNDP Human Development Index. According to the UNFPA, about 37 percent of the population live below the poverty line and life expectancy has dropped from 52 years in 1990 to 48 in 2006 due to the spread of HIV/AIDS, growing poverty and general insecurity. The adult literacy rate is 50.9 percent.

The crisis since 2002 has caused a deterioration in the country’s infrastructure and poverty has risen to about 44 percent.

Education

Primary education is not compulsory in Côte d’Ivoire. Although tuition is free, some students have to pay for supplies and rent books from street vendors.

The country’s educational system has suffered since the civil war. The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has estimated that more than one million children have been denied an education. Schools in the government-controlled south are flooded with students who fled the north, while those in the rebel-controlled north lack supplies and teachers. Year-end exams were cancelled, preventing students from moving forward in their schooling.

With help from UNICEF and other aid agencies, nearly 1,200 schools have been re-opened and the number of girls enrolled in school has doubled. Research in 2002 showed that 67 percent of children aged six to 17 attended school, including 73 percent of boys and 61 percent of girls. Many children between the ages of 12 and 14 left school due to poverty.

The 2006 school year saw the first nationwide school registration since the civil war broke out and it was agreed that curricula would be co-ordinated. Students who failed the secondary school entrance exams did not qualify for free secondary education, and many families could not afford to pay for schooling. Parental preference for educating boys rather than girls persisted, particularly in rural areas.

The Minister of National Education stated that almost one-third of the 66 percent primary and secondary school dropout rate was attributable to pregnancies.

Children

Nearly one-third of the population is younger than 15. Among the poorest, the infant and under-five mortality rate is 190 deaths per 1,000 births, nearly double that for the upper classes.

Malaria, measles, and respiratory infections are the deadliest threats to children. Malnutrition is on the rise.

An unknown number of children in the north joined the rebel movement at the outbreak of civil war in 2002. Most have been reintegrated in society or returned to school, but sexual abuse and violence against children has become increasingly common.

In a study released in March 2003, the NGO SOS Sexual Violence surveyed 500 schoolchildren in Abidjan and its suburbs and reported that 27 percent of children had been victims of sexual abuse. It indicated that 74 percent of the victims were girls and 26 percent boys.

HRW also reported that child soldiers were recruited from Liberia. Several pro-government groups have recently signed various action plans to end the recruitment and use of child soldiers. The armed opposition, Forces Nouvelles, has also shown a commitment towards this.

According to UNICEF, the child marriage rate is 33 percent and the child labour rate is 35 percent. Child labour is frequently used on cocoa plantations. In 2002, it was reported that nearly half the chocolate produced in the United States was linked to cocoa beans harvested by child labourers in Côte d’Ivoire.

Health

Côte d’Ivoire used to have one of the best health systems in West Africa but the fighting in 2002 prompted thousands of doctors, nurses and pharmacists to leave the north. However, health staff are beginning to return and clinics are re-opening.

Aid from international donors has permitted the successful re-opening of 86 percent of health-centres in the north.

According to UNICEF, only 50 percent of children are immunised against vaccine-preventable diseases. Every year, 128,000 children under five die. Five million children were vaccinated against polio in a massive 2005 immunisation drive.

Most people have access to clean drinking water; however, only 40 percent of the population has access to proper sanitation facilities. HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria are among Côte d’Ivoire’s main health concerns. Outbreaks of yellow fever, cholera and meningitis were reported in 2006.

The dumping of toxic waste in Abidjan in August 2006 killed 10 people and is feared to have caused vast health problems by endangering the environment and the food chain.

HIV/AIDS

Côte d’Ivoire has the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in West Africa. It is estimated at 7 percent although a recent nationwide survey, which has yet to be released, puts the prevalence rate lower at 4.7 percent. The collapse of public health facilities in the north has raised fears of a rapid spread of HIV infections throughout rebel territory.

More than 500,000 people are living with HIV/AIDS. According to the UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

74,000 children under 14 are living with AIDS and 450,000 children under 17 have been orphaned by the disease.

Côte d’Ivoire has been singled out for assistance by the US government and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. There is a wide range of national and international initiatives focusing on awareness, prevention and testing, but so far only 14,000 people have access to anti-retroviral drugs.

Côte d’Ivoire has a ministry to fight AIDS.

Food security

Côte d’Ivoire faces a gradual deterioration in national food security, according to the World Food Programme (WFP).

The conflict sparked the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people and has led to a steady decline in living conditions.

Food vulnerability varies geographically, with the northern and western regions generally more at risk than the fertile southern half of the country. In the north, poverty and unemployment are rampant, while thousands of immigrant farmers in the west lack access to agricultural land.

UNICEF reports that 15 percent of children under five are underweight and 21 percent are stunted.

There was an outbreak of avian influenza in April 2006 that was rapidly contained, and reportedly a second one in November 2006.

Gender issues

Maternal mortality rates are relatively high, with six deaths per 1,000 births, according to the UNDP.

Girls from poor families are much less likely to be enrolled in school than girls from upper-class families. The literacy rate among women aged between 15 and 24 years is 52 percent, compared with 70 percent of men in the same age group.

Abortion is prohibited by law and an unknown number of girls die every year due to illegal abortions carried out by traditional healers.

Women participate in all spheres of public life, although UNFPA reports that only 8.5 percent of seats in parliament are held by women.

Excision is still a common practice and according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), as many as 60 percent of women have undergone the procedure.

Human rights

Côte d’Ivoire’s human rights record has deteriorated sharply since the conflict began. The culture of impunity is widespread, ranging from arbitrary arrests, and harassment by security forces in the government-run south, to extended provisional custody and victimizations in the rebel-held north.
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In the north, prisoners were held without trial due to the absence of judges and courts.

There were a few improvements on previous years. Citizens were allowed access to news aired in the south and there was improved freedom of movement. There were fewer reports of the enrolment of child soldiers, and many were released.

During 2005 there were at least two violent episodes of inter-communal conflict between indigenous groups and immigrant farm workers in the cocoa and coffee plantation areas of the west.

For most ordinary Ivorians, insecurity, crime, racketeering, mob violence, and intimidation have become a fact of life.

While the prosecutor for the International Criminal Court announced in January 2005 that he would send a team to Côte d’Ivoire to lay the groundwork for a possible investigation into war crimes, nothing had been done by year’s end.

Humanitarian needs

There are more than 700,000 internally displaced people and vulnerable groups in the west of the country who require assistance and protection. Populations in the north are becoming increasingly impoverished. Food aid, water rehabilitation projects and the rebuilding of health and education facilities in the north are needed.

Social and health sectors continue to face serious challenges, including inadequate health infrastructure, an upcoming shortage of stocks of essential drugs and resources, shortages of potable water, poor sanitary conditions, and weak epidemiological surveillance systems.

These poor conditions have encouraged the resurgence of diseases such as yellow fever, cholera and meningitis - exacerbated by the dumping of 500 tonnes of toxic waste in Abidjan, which led to 10 deaths and necessitated treatment for several thousand patients.

Care for people living with HIV/AIDS is also needed.

Protection must be provided against persistent violations of human rights and humanitarian law, inter-community tensions and the potential for sudden violence whenever the peace process is stalled.

CREDIT : IRIN - United Nations Office – Humanitarian Country Profile