ties with their countries of origin while promoting political and social integration in their host countries. Houphouët-Boigny faced staunch opposition from within the ranks of his party and the project was defeated in the National Assembly. The Dual Nationality Convention was similarly rejected throughout the Conseil de l’Entente in 1965. A resentment of “foreigners” had been latent since colonial times.21 But the Ivorian debate over the Dual Nationality Convention further aroused protectionist views. This translated into amendments to the Nationality Code in 1972, closing the special avenues available for foreigners present in Côte d’Ivoire at independence to acquire Ivorian nationality on a favorable basis, leaving the normal process of naturalization available as the primary avenue for foreigners to acquire Ivorian nationality. Ignoring the national protectionist sentiment, Houphouët-Boigny proceeded to implement his vision promoting liberal immigration combined with highly integrationist policies towards foreigners. The defining feature of Houphouët-Boigny’s “public policy on foreigners”22 was to eliminate distinctions between “foreigners” and “Ivorians” in practice. Foreigners in Côte d’Ivoire were granted full rights as Ivorian nationals, even if they did not acquire Ivorian nationality under Ivorian law. To promote his vision of Côte d’Ivoire as a powerhouse plantation economy, Houphouët-Boigny adopted by decree in 1963 his well-known policy that “the land belongs to those who develop it.”23 The opportunity to cultivate unclaimed land was a tremendous draw that led not only to the arrival of new foreign migrants, but also the internal displacement of some Ivorian ethnic groups. The equal treatment of “foreigners” as Ivorians extended even to core areas typically reserved for nationals such as voting.24 From 1960 to 1980, those of West African origin were allowed to participate in Ivorian elections.25 This was so, even though Article 5 of Côte d’Ivoire’s 1960 Constitution reserved the right to vote to “Ivorian nationals.”26 Despite this, the 1980 Electoral Code relative to the election of parliamentarians in its Article 57 extended the right to foreigners as follows: “non-Ivorians of African origin registered on the voter lists will be able to take part in the vote.”27 Pursuant to this, foreigners of African origin were allowed to register and vote in the 1990 multi-party elections, which saw President Houphouët-Boigny elected over his rival Laurent Gbagbo of the Popular Ivorian Front (Front populaire ivoirien, or FPI). In sum, even though the Nationality Code and other laws distinguish between Ivorians and foreigners, this was not done in practice throughout Houphouët-Boigny’s regime, which granted West African residents of Côte d’Ivoire the same rights as Ivorians in all spheres of life. As long as Côte d’Ivoire’s economy thrived under Houphouët-Boigny, Ivorians accepted Houphouët-Boigny’s pro-immigration and integrationist positions. However, cracks appeared in Côte d’Ivoire’s tolerant diversity as soon as the economic crisis of the 1980s arrived. With the fall in export prices, resources became scarce, and politics became contested with the multi-party system. In the end, the rift 21 Christian Bouquet, Le Poids des Etrangers en Côte d’Ivoire, Annales de Géographie, Vol. 112, No. 630, 2003, pp. 115-145. 22 Babo, supra note 20. 23 In French the policy is known as “la terre appartient à celui qui la met en valeur." Id. 24 Another area was public service, where Houphouët-Boigny placed many “Ivorian personalities of foreign origins” in high-profile positions in government, the army, and State enterprises. Ousmane Dembele, Migration, Emploi, Pression Foncière et Cohésion Sociale en Côte d’Ivoire, International Organization for Migration, 2009. 25 Id. 26 Article 5 of Côte d’Ivoire’s 1960 Constitution reads: “Suffrage is universal, equal and secret. Are voters, under conditions determined by law, all adult Ivorian nationals, of both sexes, who enjoy civil and political rights.” 27 Epiphane Zoro-Bi, Juge en Côte d’Ivoire : Désarmer la Violence, Paris: Karthala, 2004, p. 81. 9