Whatever is good for the West is good for the World: The UN Principle of Neutrality in the Ivory Coast conflict.

Ivory Coast, also known by its French name as Côte D’Ivoire is a former French Protectorate (1844), situated in West Africa. Upon obtaining its independence from its colonial master France on August 7, 1960, it moved on to face its destiny under its new leader Felix Houphouet - Boigny. Under Houphouet - Boigny, the country was under some relative stability while maintaining close touch with the “Metropolis”- France. As some researchers hold, Houphouet - Boigny was the centerpiece for the establishment and sustenance of the French policy of Françafrique; endorsed by Jacques Foccart, the former Chief Adviser for African Policy of de Gaulle and Georges Pompidou. The concept was a confirmation of the idea that France and its stooges like Houphouet intended to maintain the master-servant relationship. As smoothly as the country went, it was faced with a political coup in 1999 and political turmoil in the form of a civil war in 2002. The country was torn between the Government held South and the rebel North under the Forces Nouvelle. Spreading from Abidjan to Korhogo to Bouake, the crisis crawled to consume the entire country and crept along ethnic lines. In the event of the crisis and division, the international community (AU, ECOWAS, UN and France) acted swiftly, as required by international norms and peace talks were started in order to bring back peace to the country. Negotiations led to the conclusion of the Linas-Marcoussis (January 2003) and Pretoria Accords (2005) with agreements to organize elections in October 2005, while the United Nations deployed a heavy peacekeeping mission – MINUCI (May 2003) and later UNOCI (April 2004) - to reinforce the ECOWAS and French Licorne force. But things stalled due to the lack of political will to carry on with the agreements, leading to a “no-peace-no-war” situation. The situation kept moving up and down until the final agreement of 2010 for the elections that was thought would “fix” the Ivorian ordeal and set the country back on rails.

What are the Mandates of the UN Mission to Ivory Coast?

Mandates as stipulated by the 2004 Resolution 1528

According to the 2004 Resolution, the UN Mission in Ivory Coast (UNOCI) had as major mandate to:
- Monitor the ceasefire and movements of armed groups
- Carryout Disarmament Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR)
- Protection of UN personnel, institutions and civilians
- Provide humanitarian assistance
- Support the implementation of the peace process
- Assist with Human Rights protection
- Engage in public Information
- Law and Order
Additions to the Mandate following Security Council Resolution 1739 of 10 January 2007.

- Disarmament and dismantling of militias
- Operations of the identification of the population and registration of
voters
- Reform of the Security Sector
- Monitoring of Arms Embargo
- Support for the redeployment of State Administration
- Support for the organization of open, free, fair and transparent elections

The election which was suppose to be a sort of last phase of the mission; ushering in a renewed peace, was however not forth coming. One thing always let to the other and postponement became the order of the day. To put it in white and black, many observers and pundits have pointed fingers of accusation to Laurent Gbagbo for playing a double game and resisting the peace pact; by publicly agreeing to it, but undermining it at the background, all in an effort to gain time and remain in power. Gradually and following, several postponements, intense dialogue and negotiations, it was finally decided that the elections were to take place in 2010.
Following the agreements, the first round of the Presidential elections was held on October 31st, 2010. With no overwhelming victory, the contesters had to move to a second round with incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo having to face long time opposition leader Alassane Ouattara . Henri Konan Bedie was forced out of the second round following the results of the first phase. After the November 28, 2010, Ivory Coast again stepped into the pothole of political impasse and tension.

What happened after 28 November 2010?

Four days after the second round, the Independent Electoral Commission of Ivory Coast through its president Youssouf Bakayoko, announced its results, giving opposition candidate Alassane Ouattara victory by 54.1 percent over the incumbent Laurent Gbagbo (45.9%). However, things took a different course when the Constitutional Council (the supreme body) through its president Paul Yao N’Dre gave a contrary result, which propelled incumbent presidential candidate Laurent Gbagbo to the top with 51.45 percent and Ouattara 48.55 percent. With this state of affairs, things were bound to be complicated and ever since, the country has been in a political coma. Fears that it does not sink back to the old crisis impasse stage is in the air.

The UN and the Ivorian Crisis

As soon as the Independent Electoral Commission declared Alassane Ouattara victorious in its preliminary results of the second round of the elections; the UN Secretary General Special Representative (UNSGSR) Choi Young-Jin went public before the media to confirm the victory of Alassane Ouattara over Laurent Gbagbo, without waiting for the Constitutional Council’s final verdict. Some scholars like Dr Fomunyoh have in their analysis of the situation given reasons for this UN intervention. According to Dr. Fomunyoh, the UNSGSR was charged with the role of certifying the election results and that this role was agreed upon by all Ivorian parties, signatories to the Pretoria Accord and reasserted in the UN Resolution 1765 of July 2007.

My Argument on UN Compromised Neutrality

The United Nations Organization (UNO) was created on 24, October 1945 with the aim to maintain international peace and security and promote economic and social development. Some of the principles of the UNO embedded in its Charter are the principles of sovereignty and noninterference in country’s internal affairs. Paragraph 7, Article 2 of the Charter, stipulates that no reason or motive “shall authorize the UN to intervene in matters which are essential within the domestic jurisdiction of any state…” To fulfill its aims and objectives, the UN Charter also stipulates the principle of neutrality. As an international body, the UN’s participation in the peace process is unquestionable. Judging the situation in Ivory Coast very detrimental to world peace and security, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1528 (2004) to establish UNOCI. Its peacekeeping force (approx. 10,000 personnel) that was sent to Ivory Coast to act as a Zone of Confidence (ZOC) between the start of the crisis in 2002 to 2005 helped to keep both rebel and government forces apart, demilitarizing and disarming factions (DDR), liaising with other UN agencies, building trust in the population; while participating in paving the way for the organization of the elections.
For the very first time in the history of the UN, the world saw the UN through its UNSGSR interfering directly to affirm or confirm the results of national elections on public media. This move smacks of interfering in a country’s internal affairs and a disregard the principle of neutrality which is a corner stone of the UN. The UN’s neutrality is of great necessity to give it credibility in any conflict-prone country where it operates. Above all, neutrality helps the UN to be able to exercise its duty of helping and assisting the civilian population in any conflict environment without being targeted by any party. Seeing the UN SGSR taking the step to publicly confirm the results of a candidate by the Independent Electoral Commission, a body which is only empowered to give preliminary results, was very embarrassing. It was a reprehensible political, international, diplomatic mistake. The UN had to remain neutral and follow up the situation till the release of the final results by the Constitutional Council. Even if the later action of the Constitutional Council’s action smacked of irregularity and favoritism to the incumbent; doesn’t the Ivorian Electoral Code stipulate in Article 64 that the Council, in case of irregularity, could annul an entire election and re-organize fresh ones within 45 days? Why didn’t the UN follow this course and establish the facts of irregularity, thereby opening the avenue to reorganize fresh, transparent and well supervised elections. That way, its neutrality is preserved and its impact is still felt. It is a stated fact that National laws take precedence over international laws. Thus, the UN had every reason to wait for the final verdict of the Constitutional Council before going public given that, it is the sole body mandated to declare the final results according to the Ivorian electoral code. The UN cannot legitimate a candidate before the national body. It had to wait for the final result from the Constitutional Council. According to many observers and critics, the swiftness with which the UNSGSR confirmed the victory of Alassane Ouatara sounded as a bias move; even though it knew the final verdict wasn’t sounded. By going public before the National body, the UN stirred or set the pace for more controversy, accusations and counter accusations, thereby culminating in this political deadlock situation.

Unconstitutionality versus Western Interests

Although it was appalling to watch the action of UNSGSR Choi, it was crystal clear that the UN had either decided to overstep its boundary and mandated role or dropped the coat of neutrality to defend the “hidden interests” of some of its core members and contributors. France, a two sided-dagger has been playing both the fire fighter and instigator of the conflict in Ivory Coast; knocking heads while tapping resources and flourishing its businesses. Haven fallen out with incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo, it is no doubt that France is vehemently and vociferously pulling strings within the international community to lampoon Gbagbo and pull his credibility to the smelly mud. We are stuck to a situation here that pits the support for a constitutionally elected leader (Laurent Gbagbo) against the interest of the Western powers (backing a potential client - Alassane Ouattara). It is unconstitutional to try to unseat a candidate (Gbagbo) who has been declared victorious by the national organ empowered to have a final say in the elections ( the Constitutional Council); in favor of one who has the full and unconditional backing of external support. Alassane Ouattara has been a former World Bank Staff, making him a good ally and guarantor of the interests of the Western powers. This is why the entire international community has thrown their weight on Ouattara while mounting pressure on Gbagbo to accept “defeat”. WHO IS THE DEFEATED CANDIDATE IN THIS MATTER? The candidate declared by the UNSGSR or the one declared by the Constitutional Council? This fact needs to be clear.

What is right for the West must not be right for the rest of the world. Ivory Coast is a sovereign country and no foreign body has the right to influence the decision, wishes and aspirations of the citizens of the country. If the majority of Ivorians voted for Gbagbo, their decision must be respected by the international community in general and the UN in particular. By backing the constitutionally defeated candidate – Alassane Ouattara- the UN is not only compromising its neutral image, but also supports and protects an illegal government made of rebels and ensuring their safety. The United Nation needs to review its actions in the face of conflicts in Africa if it still desires to be a credible body to cater for world peace and security. Already, the UN has suffered a lot of image soiling with diamonds and sex scandals by some of its peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo and other missions. The world is fast changing and the challenges are getting more multifaceted and multi-complex. Despite the mistakes of the United Nations, the world still needs its presence and assistance to calm the tensions of the human heart and actions. But the UN needs to step up its frame of action and come out clear in support of its core principles and founding mission. The UN was created to help the world and not compromise its genuine role to please some Western big guns. The UN needs to rethink its actions before it loses the trust and credibility of Africa and developing countries in particular and the world in general.