The InterDependent

Ivan Simonovic, the assistant secretary-general of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, recently returned from a week spent in Abidjan and western Côte d’Ivoire on a fact-finding mission, where reports of massacres and other human rights abuses have taken place. An independent inquiry into abuses ordered by the Human Rights Council is due in mid-June. An estimated 1 million people have been uprooted from their homes and 1,000 are believed to have died in the country’s resurgent civil war since Laurent Gbagbo lost the presidential election to Alassane Ouattara in late November. Gbagbo was arrested on Monday, April 11, the day this interview took place.

Q: Can you describe your visit to Duékoué, in the western region of Moyen Cavally, bordering Liberia [see map below], and what happened there? Caritas, the charity group, said that more than 1,000 civilians were killed; the Red Cross estimated 800, and Human Rights Watch said hundreds. Your figures are lower.

A: The west of the country has a tradition of violence. The Guere are the original settlers, politically oriented towards Gbagbo. There are Northerners in the region, too, traditionally pro-Ouattara, and workers, many from neighboring countries who work on coffee and cacao plantations. This has all exacerbated the political crisis, the post-electoral violence and the reluctance to accept results. During Gbagbo’s regime [he was president of Côte d’Ivoire from 2000 to 2011], Northerners were discriminated against and Gbagbo supporters committed a number of crimes. In Duékoué, we found about 244 persons killed, the majority of them Guere on March 28 and 29, while the area was under control of Ouattara forces.

How did we get the numbers? [UN] human rights officers in the field have seen the bodies. They were buried with the help of a young [UN] Moroccan battalion. The number could be greater as more may lie in dense bushes. I can confirm also that I was present at the site where there was a well that could not be looked at. But the smell could not lie. It was difficult to escape the stench of death. In Guiglo [in the same region], there were 104 dead. Of those 104, there were some Northerners, Guere and others. In Bloléquin, we discovered 40 bodies. But we were not able to reach Bangolo [to the north] and verify casualties.

Basile Zoma/UN Photo

Ivan Simonovic of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights with Alassane Ouattara, the new president of Côte d’Ivoire, just days before his opponent, Laurent Gbagbo, was arrested on April 11 by Ouattara's forces.

Q: What was the situation in Abidjan when you visited last week? You mentioned a security vacuum and a shortage of humanitarian supplies.

A: We flew by helicopter and it was totally deserted. No one was on the street. People did not leave their houses. Prior to the recent hostilities [in late March, when Ouattara’s forces entered the city], it is our estimate that we have had some 400 victims [of killings], 150 of them civilians deliberately targeted by heavy weapons. The total can be considerably higher. The UN’s 24-hour calling center recorded 100 to 200 calls a day, reporting looting, rapes and some killings. There is scarcity of food. Supplies were spent. There was nothing to eat. The chief [UN] medic reported an urgent need for medicine. It is important to resolve the issue of the security gap. Most Ivoirian police [who served under Gbagbo] and gendarmerie are not at their [posts].

Q: What did you think of Ouattara’s speech on April 11, when Gbagbo was taken into custody, about "reconciliation and forgiveness" and a plea to "abstain from any act of reprisal or violence"? Can he follow up?

A: In the long run, the priority is reconciliation and economic recovery. In the short run, what is important is that there is no retaliation against Gbagbo supporters. He called for the police and gendarmerie to return [without repercussions]. He also called for an investigation into Duékoué. We discussed with him a truth and reconciliation commission and said we would help and support it. So we shall see.