Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders Annual Report 2003 - Côte d'Ivoire

Pressure on LIDHO³³

Because the Ivorian Human Rights League (Ligue ivoirienne des droits de l'Homme – LIDHO) was in favour of peace and national reconciliation, its members, like all other like-thinking Ivorian human rights defenders, were subjected to various types of pressure. During the first quarter of 2003, as the Linas-Marcoussis agreements were being finalised, the young patriots' Alliance, a group close to President Mr. Laurent Gbagbo, held several demonstrations during which LIDHO members were accused of being "non-national rebels". Statements such as these were taken over in the "media of hate".

Continued harassment against MIDH³⁴

On 5th April 2003, the headquarters of the Ivorian Movement for Human Rights (Mouvement ivoirien pour les droits humains – MIDH) in Abidjan were attacked. Three armed men in civilian dress burst into the office and beat and threatened Mrs. Cissé, who was then on duty. They stole many documents, especially files containing statements made by victims of human rights violations. On the day of the attack, after having a bailiff come and make a report, MIDH lodged a complaint with the police station in Cocody Angré. By end of December 2003, the aggressors had still not been identified and no action had been taken about the complaint.

[Refworld note: This report as posted on the FIDH website (www.fidh.org) was in pdf format with country chapters run together by region. Footnote numbers have been retained here, so do not necessarily begin at 1.]

33. See intervention of LIDHO at 34th session of the African Human Rights Commission.

34. See Annual Report 2002.