UN to probe Ivory Coast reported abuses
2011-01-02 19:32
New York - UN peacekeepers in Ivory Coast have been instructed to visit areas where human rights abuses are alleged to have taken place and record any violations, the UN said.
The country was plunged into crisis after incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo refused to step down after a disputed election in November, leading to an outbreak of violence in a nation still divided since a civil war in 2002 and 2003.
The electoral commission, world leaders and the UN General Assembly have recognised Gbagbo's rival Alassane Ouattara as the winner of the election.
"The Secretary-General told President Ouattara that he was alarmed by the reports of egregious human rights violations," UN spokesperson Martin Nesirky said in a statement, referring to a telephone conversation between UN chief Ban Ki-moon and Ouattara on Saturday.
The UN peacekeeping mission in Ivory Coast, known as Unoci, said in December pro-Gbagbo forces were blocking access to what could be a mass grave near Abidjan. UN diplomats said Unoci was still barred from the site.
International pressure
"He (Ban) said Unoci had been instructed to do everything possible to gain access to the affected areas both for prevention and to investigate and record the violations so that those responsible will be held accountable," Nesirky said.
Defiant in the face of growing international pressure, Gbagbo reiterated a call for the peacekeeping mission to leave Ivory Coast on state television on Saturday, accusing it of opening fire on civilians.
The mission rejected a similar accusation on its website three days ago as "lies" and said the state-owned broadcaster was spreading misinformation to incite hatred against it.
Residents of an area alleged to be the site of a mass grave said last month the Ivorian military had closed off the site and chased away anyone who tried to gain access.
Gbagbo's Interior Minister Emile Guirieoulou said last month there was no mass grave.
Ouattara has asked for the International Criminal Court in The Hague to send a mission to Ivory Coast to investigate reports of post-election violence committed by pro-Gbagbo forces. He reiterated the request in his call with Ban on Saturday.
The UN has put the death toll from the violence at more than 170, the US at over 200.
Ethnic violence
Three presidents from the West African regional bloc Ecowas are planning a second round of talks on January 3 with Gbagbo to try to persuade him to cede power to Ouattara or face an operation to remove him by force.
A statement issued by the AU on Sunday said they would be joined by Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who has called for the use of force to oust Gbagbo and whose own electoral dispute with President Mwai Kibaki, accused of rigging the Kenyan election in 2007, let to ethnic bloodshed in which 1 300 people were killed.
The UN has expressed concern that the homes of political opponents of Gbagbo in the main city of Abidjan have been marked to identify their occupants' ethnicity, indicating that the country could be heading for ethnic violence.
Nesirky said Ban "reaffirmed to President Ouattara today the UN's principled and unwavering position on upholding the election outcome based on the will of the people of Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)".
Ban added that "the international community remained committed to work together for a peaceful and durable end to the stalemate", Nesirky said.
