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Blood at the Crossroads: Making the case for a global Arms Trade Treaty
United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire - UNOCI).59 While the UNOCI peacekeeping forces claimed to have acted in self-defence and that their use of force was proportionate, political parties and groups professing support for President Gbagbo have, for their part, repeatedly insisted that peacekeeping forces fired live bullets at "unarmed demonstrators".60
4.1 Rearming on all sides before the UN embargo The UN arms embargo came too late. Despite the signing of the January 2003 LinasMarcoussis Agreement, that aimed to set forth the conditions for disarmament, the parties to 61 the conflict were already heavily re-arming between January 2003 and September 2003. In 1998, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) had declared a voluntary three-year Moratorium on the Importation, Exportation and Manufacture of Small Arms and Light Weapons62 to control the proliferation of such arms in West Africa. The Moratorium was extended in 2001 and again in 2004. As a Member State of ECOWAS, Côte d’Ivoire government should not have carried out these arms imports until it had first notified the ECOWAS secretariat of the imports and obtained an exemption from ECOWAS. Yet, according to the UN Group of Experts63 the majority of these shipments of small arms and 64 light weapons were left unreported to ECOWAS by the government of Côte d’Ivoire. Number of air shipments of Small Arms and Light Weapons to Ivory Coast not reported to ECOWAS65 Year Shipments
2002 29
2003 35
2004 16
Between 2002 and 2004, and prior to the UN arms embargo, several Eastern European countries supplied large consignments of arms to the Government of Côte d’Ivoire. These consignments included heavy equipment, and small arms and light weapons. The UN 59
The UN peacekeeping forces were deployed following UNSC resolution 1528 of February 2004; Amnesty International visited Ivory Coast in April 2006 in order to investigate the circumstances in which a Bangladeshi contingent of UNOCI used lethal force in the town of Guiglo, in the west of the country, killing five people and wounding at least 20 others 60 Amnesty International, AI Index: AFR 31/005/2006, p.1. 61 See statements in Reports of the Secretary-General on the UN Mission in Cote d’Ivoire for example, S/2003/801, paragraph 6: “There are also confirmed reports about continuing rearmament by FANCI, as well as suspicions that the Forces nouvelles are rearming…”. There were also 35 air shipments of small arms and light weapons to the Cote d’Ivoire. Report of the UN Group of Experts, S/2005/699, p.8. 62 The voluntary nature and the lack of enforceable sanctions impaired the effectiveness of the Moratorium and it was superseded by the ECOWAS Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons, Their Ammunition and Other Related Materials signed on 14 June 2006. 63 Established by paragraph 7 of UN Security Council Resolution 1584 (2005). 64 Report of the Group of Experts pursuant to paragraph 7 of the Security Council Resolution 1584 (2005) concerning the Cote D’Ivoire ( S/2005/699), paragraph 11, (Report of the Group of Experts pursuant to paragraph 7 of the Security Council Resolution 1584, paragraph 11). 65 Report of the Group of Experts pursuant to paragraph 7 of the Security Council Resolution 1584, paragraph 11
Amnesty International
AI Index: ACT 30/011/2008