U.N.: Support African Action on Conflicts
Accra Summit Needs to Take Concrete Steps on Crises in Cote d'Ivoire,
Darfur

(New York, July 29, 2004) - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan should
bolster initiatives by African leaders meeting today in Accra to address the
conflict in Sudan's Darfur region as well as the crisis in Cote d'Ivoire,
Human Rights Watch said today.

"Kofi Annan needs to help accelerate African efforts to end these
conflicts," said Peter Takirambudde, executive director of Human Rights
Watch's Africa Division. "Both the U.N. and African leaders need to
consider sanctions against those who undermine peace agreements."

The head of the African Union (AU), Nigerian President Olusegun
Obasanjo, is chairing a special summit of African leaders in the Ghanaian
capital to focus attention on the conflict in Darfur in Sudan and the
ongoing crisis in Cote d'Ivoire, both of which are characterized by serious
violations of human rights and humanitarian law.

"President Obasanjo should use this opportunity to press regional leaders
for support on the African Union's new initiatives on security and peace-
building," said Takirambudde.

In Darfur, Human Rights Watch has documented crimes against humanity
and "ethnic cleansing" and reported on the Sudanese government's
support for the Janjaweed militias that carry out atrocities against civilians
in joint operations with government forces. In Cote d'Ivoire, human rights
abuses have also become rampant as political unrest followed a civil war
in 2002-2003 between the government and northern-based rebels, which
came in the wake of the 1999 military coup. Violence towards civilians
based on their ethnicity, nationality or political affiliations continues to
occur in a climate of impunity.

"The crisis in Cote d'Ivoire threatens regional stability, and so does the
conflict in Darfur," said Takirambudde. "The Accra Summit needs to
deliver on the African Union's recent pledges to ensure peace and security
for African communities."

Obasanjo, as president of the African Union, should urge regional leaders
to boost the AU ceasefire monitoring mission in Darfur by providing more
military observers and strengthening it through a mandate that includes the
protection of civilians, as the AU Peace and Security Council noted in a
communiqué on July 27.

As the U.N. Security Council debates a resolution on Darfur, Annan
should support measures to strengthen the AU mission through a stronger
mandate under Chapter VII of the U.N. Charter that would allow the
mission to protect civilians and provide it with adequate resources.

Human Rights Watch urged Annan and Obasanjo to call for measures that
would establish an international commission of inquiry on Darfur under a
U.N. Security Council mandate. The commission would investigate abuses
committed by all parties to the conflict and make recommendations on
how to bring the perpetrators to justice.

At the Accra Summit, the U.N. secretary-general and Nigerian president
will also address the crisis in Cote d'Ivoire and the stalled peace process in
that country. Both leaders should strongly condemn the violations of
international human rights and humanitarian law and call on the Ivorian
government and rebel forces to end all ongoing abuses.

The West African leaders meeting in Accra should insist that the Ivorian
government disarm and disband "parallel forces" and other pro-
government militias. The government should also take concrete steps to
properly investigate and hold accountable those responsible for serious
human rights violations in the Cote d'Ivoire crisis.

In particular, Obasanjo should insist that governments in West Africa fully
comply with the moratorium on the small arms trade to Cote d'Ivoire,
imposed by the Economic Community of West African States
(ECOWAS). The process of granting exemptions to this moratorium
should be made fully transparent and public.

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