Updated information on Côte d’Ivoire programme activities in Q1-Q2 2022
Côte d’Ivoire (CIV)
Highlights in the reporting period (Q1 & Q2 2022)
In the reporting period, the programme continued to support collective and individual activities to address both the communities and victims harms resulting from the 13 emblematic incidents. Next to the implementation of the community symbolic actions, the Trust Fund introduced integrative community therapy to the programme allowing for a collective response to psychological harms. Counselling of pre-identified victims brought initial psychological relief and allowed for the prioritisation of victims presenting strong and persistent harm. During a mission, the Trust Fund visited communities and engaged with victims, local authorities, traditional leaders, as well as victims’ associations to reiterate the right to reparations for victims and reinforce the complementarity with the national programme.
I. Context
The International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation has focused on alleged crimes against humanity committed during the 2010/2011 post-electoral violence in CIV. According to reports, the post-election violence erupted after Presidential election results between opponents Mr Laurent Gbagbo and Mr Alassane Ouattara were disputed. The investigation has involved charges which include the crimes against humanity of murder, rape, other inhumane acts, attempted murder, and persecution. The armed conflict ended with the arrest of Laurent Gbagbo on 11 April 2011, and his transfer to the ICC in November 2011.
A number of transitional justice measures were taken by the Government, including a commission for dialogue, truth and reconciliation, national and international prosecutions for a reparations programme. Following the Dialogue Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a National Commission for Reconciliation and Compensation of Victims (CONARIV) was tasked with identifying the victims of the cycles of violence that occurred between 1990 and 2011 and submitted to the President of the Republic a summary list of the 334,000 presumed victims identified. The President of the Republic, H.E. Alassane Ouattara, expressed his intention to compensate the victims of the crises that occurred. As of December 2021, the Government of Cote d’Ivoire has compensated the beneficiaries of about 4,500 deceased victims and provided medical support to more than 2,000 injured persons.
II. Assistance programme
The assistance programme in Côte d’Ivoire aims at addressing the harms of victims and communities resulting from 13 identified emblematic incidents that took place between 2002 and 2011. The Trust Fund intervenes in four regions: Lagunes, Haut Sassandra, Guémon, and Cavally. The assistance programme is implemented in complementarity with the national programme of reparations from the Ministries of Solidarity. The Trust Fund works with three implementing partners in CIV: West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP), AVSI Foundation and Développement Rural et Agricole à l’Ouest – Lutte contre la Faim (DRAO-LCF), based in Abidjan, Daloa and Guiglo, respectively.
Background and approach
Thirteen incidents committed between 2002 and 2011 were selected in August 2020 in a transparent and consultative manner with civil society organizations and victims associations, then set up in an Advisory Committee. This collaborative approach aims at anchoring the Trust Fund programme at the national level and ensuring that the victims and main actors feel ownership over it.
These emblematic incidents and the harm they cause do not, on their own, represent what all victims have endured. They nevertheless constitute a starting point for assistance measures funded by the Fund. Given the limited budget of 1 300 000 euro for a first three-year phase, the Fund's assistance activities are focused on a limited number of victims, with a qualitative approach for eligible victims. This methodology also aims to ensure the reparative value of the assistance measures deployed.
The chosen incidents are well known to the entire Ivorian population and have a strong symbolic dimension, either because of the nature of the harm suffered or because of their community dimension. In addition to their emblematic nature, the incidents were selected on the basis of various criteria discussed, namely (i) the typology and severity of the harm (ii) a coherent and non-discriminatory community distribution of victims, (iii) documentation of the incidents by the National Commission of Enquiry (CNE), the Dialogue and Truth and Reparation Commission (CDVR) or other recognised national or international organisations, making it possible to qualify the harm suffered as falling within the scope of Rome Statute crimes and to ensure the eligibility of victims for assistance measures, (iv) the geographical location of the incidents according to the areas of intervention of the TFV’s implementing partners in Côte d'Ivoire, etc.
Both collective and individual activities are carried out as part of the programme to provide physical and psychological rehabilitation, as well as material support for victims of the identified incidents. To design activities that are collective in nature, and to address the harm suffered by the community as a whole, a participatory approach was utilised consisting of (i) assessment of the harms and persistence of the harms, (ii) community dialogue about the harms, (iii) selection of symbolic community actions, and (iv) integrative community therapy. The individual activities are designed to include (i) individual counselling, (ii) identification of the most affected victims, and (iii) delivery of services.
The programme places a strong emphasis on victim and community consultations. Entering into the communities was particularly challenging as victims and affected communities did not trust any reparative processes; in fact victims have been expecting justice for many years and went from disappointment to disappointment. All communities without any exception called for the recognition of the incidents and harms suffered. After a thorough review, the Trust Fund, its partners and the advisory committee choose to initiate the programme with symbolic community based actions to acknowledge the harms suffered.
The communities identified appropriate symbolic community based actions in each location. Each community held a number of meetings to discuss what happened in their locality, and how they wish to recognise the harms suffered. Based on the detailed action plans designed, the partners are implementing the symbolic and community measures with the communities. The symbolic community based actions allow the programme to be anchored as a response to the harms and differentiate the TFV’s approach from a humanitarian/development one.
At the same time, programme staff began to hear individuals identified as potential victims of the 13 incidents. The budget being limited, the programme does not have the capacity to respond to the harms of all victims. Therefore an objective mechanism has been set up throughout the programme to identify the victims whose harms persist and are the most vulnerable due to these incidents. Tools have been developed by the Trust Fund in collaboration with the implementing partners.
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Partner, project title & location |
Activities (Q2/22) |
Project amount & duration |
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West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP)
Soulager les victimes de la commune Yopougon et d'Abobo de la crise de 2011 pour contribuer à la cohésion sociale en Côte d'Ivoire
Incidents :
Geographic coverage: Abidjan
Total number of beneficiaries to date: Not quantifiable yet
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Year 1: 1 Nov 2020 – 31 Oct 2021 EUR 100,609
Year 2: 1 Nov 2021 – 31 Oct 2022 EUR 110,391
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AVSI Foundation
Projet intégré de Renforcement des Opportunités en faveur des Victimes pour leur Inclusion Économique et Sociale
Incidents :
Assassination of SIRIKI SAMASSI and Imam KONATE IDRISS in the Kokoman district of Duékoué, 28 March 2011
Geographic coverage: Haut Sassandra and Guemon
Total number of beneficiaries to date : Not quantifiable yet
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Year 1: 1 Nov 2020 – 31 Oct 2021 EUR 98,214
Year 2: 1 Nov 2021 – 31 Oct 2022 EUR 166,786
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Développement Rural et Agricole à l’Ouest –Lutte contre la Faim (DRAO)
Projet d’assistance et de prise en charge des victimes des crises à l’Ouest de la Côte d’Ivoire
Incidents :
Executions at the Prefecture of Bloléquin, from 28 to 29 March 2011
Geographic coverage : Cavally
Total number of beneficiaries to date : Not quantifiable yet
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Year 1: 1 Nov 2020 – 31 Oct 2021 EUR 100,610
Year 2: 1 Nov 2021 – 31 Oct 2022 EUR 159,390
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Activities & results from the reporting period
The Trust Fund continued to engage with the communities to validate the symbolic community based actions and planned the work needed for their realisation. This required liaison with the authorities – both traditional and administrative - to have the proper authorisations and support.
Additionally, to respond to the collective harms suffered by the community, the Trust Fund and its partners integrated the use of a strategic tool called ‘integrative community therapy’ in the programme. This method first developed in the favelas in Brazil, has since been exported to post-crisis contexts such as Côte d’Ivoire or DRC, where it has already been utilised as part of TFV programmes. This approach, accredited by the WHO, allows for a collective response to psychological harms resulting from the most serious crimes. It is based on community and relationships with others and builds resilience at the community level. A training was first organised in June in Daloa in the centre of Côte d’Ivoire followed up with rounds in the affected communities in the West part of the country where most of the crimes have been committed.
At the same time, the partners continued to hear hundreds of pre-identified victims to bring initial psychological relief as well as assess their persistent individual harms. The list of eligible victims has been finalised and is currently being reviewed by the local committee. Holistic rehabilitation processes are being designed with each victim taking into consideration the persisting harms.
The Trust Fund also worked with the implementing partners to further develop the performance framework of the CIV Programme.
In June 2022, the Trust Fund undertook a mission to visit the communities and engage with victims, traditional leaders, as well as victims’ associations. The Trust Fund met also with political and administrative authorities stressing the complementarity of the TFV programme with the national initiative and the importance of continuing to address the harms of the victims.
What’s next
- Validation of the eligible victims by the local committees;
- Harmonisation of the material rehabilitation package amongst the Trust Fund and its implementing partners;
- Launch of the material rehabilitation component of the programme;
- Referral of eligible victims for physical support;
- Producing communication material.