Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)

Where

Côte D’Ivoire, also known as Ivory Coast, is located in West Africa and borders Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Ghana. It is one of the world’s largest cocoa producers. Because of the value of its cocoa, the country has experienced significant political instability based on conflicts over land and resource control. In addition, there are also regional, ethnic, and religious divisions. [1][2]

What

Map of Côte d’Ivoire. Image courtesy of The World Factbook is unmodified and is in the public domain.

Côte D’Ivoire broke out into civil war in 2002 after an army revolt and failed coup divided the country between a rebel-held north and a government-controlled south. [1] The conflict was rooted in years of political manipulation of ethnicity, religion, and national origin, especially through debates over who counted as truly ‘Ivorian’ and who could participate fully in political life. [2] A 2007 peace agreement was intended to reunify the country, but political and social divisions remained unresolved.

Violence escalated again after the 2010 presidential election. International observers recognized Alassane Ouattara as the winner, but incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo refused to leave office. The political standoff became a national crisis, with forces loyal to both Gbagbo and Ouattara committing serious abuses. More than 3,000 people were killed, and more than 150 women and girls were raped during the six months of violence that followed the election. [3]

How

The violence was driven by political exclusion, regional division, land disputes, and much more. Northerners, many of whom were Muslim or had family origins in neighboring countries, were often treated as outsiders and were excluded from full political participation. [2] Armed groups and militias used these identity divisions to mobilize support and target civilians.

During the 2010-2011 post-election crisis, Human Rights Watch reported war crimes and likely crimes against humanity were committed by forces on both sides. [4] Civilians were killed along ethnic, political, and regional lines. Sexual violence, torture, and forced displacement were widespread. The western town of Duékoué became one of the symbols of the crisis because of mass killings committed there during the fighting. [4]

Human trafficking and forced child labor also remained serious human rights concerns. Children in Côte D’Ivoire are subjected to some of the worst forms of child labor, including forced labor in cocoa and coffee production, street vending, agriculture, mining, and sexual exploitation. [5] Women and children are also vulnerable to trafficking for domestic work. [6]

Response

Justice for crimes committed during the civil war and post-election crisis has been limited. Former president Laurent Gbagbo and former youth minister Charles Blé Goudé were tried by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity but were acquitted in 2019. The ICC Appeals Chamber confirmed their acquittals in 2021, making the decision final. [7] Simone Gbagbo, the former first lady, was indicted by the ICC, but Côte D’Ivoire refused to transfer her to The Hague, Netherlands, where the Court is located, for trial. Domestic prosecutions were widely criticized as one-sided, and many victims have not received meaningful justice or reparations. [8]

Today

Côte D’Ivoire has experienced economic growth and relative stability under President Ouattara, but political repression and unresolved grievances continue. In October 2025, Ouattara won a fourth presidential term with more than 89.77% of the vote after major opposition figures, including Laurent Gbagbo and Tidjane Thiam, were barred from running. [6] The election period included unrest, with at least 1,658 arrests and 11 deaths. [9] Opposition groups and human rights organizations raised concerns about restrictions on protest, political competition, and freedom of expression. [9]

The country continues to face land disputes, human trafficking, forced labor including that of children, and abuses against marginalized communities. Côte D’Ivoire’s stability remains fragile because the underlying issues from the civil war and 2010-2011 crisis, especially impunity, political exclusion, and incomplete reconciliation, have not been fully resolved. Economic disparities continue to stoke divisionism, with higher poverty and unemployment rates and lower access to basic services fostering antagonism between the poor rural north and the wealthier urban regions.

Written by Alex Bagdade, June 2026.

References

[1] Human Rights Watch. (2002, November 28). Government abuses in response to army revolt. https://www.hrw.org/report/2002/11/28/government-abuses-response-army-revolt

[2] Human Rights Watch. (2001, August 28). The new racism: The political manipulation of ethnicity in Côte d’Ivoire. https://www.hrw.org/report/2001/08/28/new-racism/political-manipulation-ethnicity-cote-divoire

[3] Human Rights Watch. (2012). World Report 2012: Côte d’Ivoire. https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2012/country-chapters/cote-divoire

[4] Human Rights Watch. (2011, October 5). “They killed them like it was nothing”: The need for justice for Côte d’Ivoire’s post-election crimes. https://www.hrw.org/report/2011/10/05/they-killed-them-it-was-nothing/need-justice-cote-divoires-post-election-crimes

[5] U.S. Department of Labor. (2025). Child labor in Côte d’Ivoire: 2024 findings on the worst forms of child labor. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/resources/reports/child-labor/cote-divoire

[6] Reuters. (2025, October 27). Ivory Coast’s Ouattara secures fourth term with landslide election win. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/ivory-coast-president-ouattara-wins-re-election-provisional-results-say-2025-10-27/

[7] International Criminal Court. (2021, March 31). ICC Appeals Chamber confirms Trial Chamber I’s decision acquitting Laurent Gbagbo and Charles Blé Goudé. https://www.icc-cpi.int/news/icc-appeals-chamber-confirms-trial-chamber-decision-acquitting-laurent-gbagbo-and-charles-ble

[8] Human Rights Watch. (2018, May 8). Côte d’Ivoire: Justice for 2010-11 crimes stagnates. https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/05/08/cote-divoire-justice-2010-11-crimes-stagnates

[9] Amnesty International. (2026). Human rights in Côte d’Ivoire: Côte d’Ivoire 2025. https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/africa/west-and-central-africa/cote-divoire/report-cote-divoire/