UN slams human rights abuses in Ivory Coast - Summary

Thu, 23 Dec 2010

Geneva - The United Nations Human Rights Council on Thursday denounced what it said were severe abuses in the Ivory Coast, where disputed election results have led to violence and instability.

Its resolution was passed as the UN confirmed that 173 people have died since the crisis began on December 16, after incumbent Laurent Gbagbo refused to cede power to Alassane Ouattara - the man the world sees as the rightful winner of last month's presidential polls.

The UN resolution "strongly condemns" a long list of offenses, including abductions, summary executions and acts of sexual violence.

The council's special session - the 14th since the council started operating in 2007 - was held at the request of nations from Africa, Europe and the United States.

It called on "all the relevant parties to immediately put an end to all human rights violations in Cote d'Ivoire and to fully respect all human rights and fundamental freedoms."

The resolution, which had no enforcement mechanism, also said the government must "investigate and bring to justice perpetrators of violations of human rights."

Ivory Coast had held the recent elections with the aim of healing the divisions of a 2002 civil war that had split the country into the mainly Muslim north, which backs Ouattara, and Christian south, where Gbagbo holds sway.

Ouattara's camp says that people have been killed and wounded as part of Gbagbo's crackdown, which reportedly has featured Liberian and Angolan mercenaries operating death squads. The UN confirmed the presence of Liberian forces in Ivory Coast.

A senior UN human rights official, Kyung-wha Kang, said she found "particularly alarming" the use of media outlets "to incite hatred and violence among the population."

The leading human rights organization Amnesty International, meanwhile, has said that "all those responsible for human rights abuses (should) be held accountable."

The final Human Rights Council resolution avoided calling for respecting "the will of the people as well as the restoration of democracy," as an early draft text had suggested.