OCTOBER 2013
978-1-62313-0602
“That Land Is My Family’s Wealth”
Addressing Land Dispossession after Côte d’Ivoire’s Post-Election Conflict
Maps................................................................................................................................... i
Summary ........................................................................................................................... 1
Recommendations.............................................................................................................. 7
To the President, Prime Minister, and National Assembly .......................................................... 7
To the Ministers of Interior, Justice, and Agriculture.................................................................. 8
To the Minister of Agriculture ................................................................................................... 9
To the Minister of Defense and the Authority for Disarmament, Demobilization,
and Reinsertion (ADDR) ........................................................................................................... 9
To the National Assembly ....................................................................................................... 10
To Donors, including the European Union, France, and the United States................................. 10
Methodology..................................................................................................................... 11
I. Background ....................................................................................................................14
Law and Politics of Land in Côte d’Ivoire ................................................................................. 14
Displacement of Migrant Populations by the 2002-2003 Armed Conflict ................................. 20
Post-Election Crisis .................................................................................................................22
Reform to Land Tenure and Nationality Laws in 2013 .............................................................. 26
II. Land Dispossession after the Post-Election Conflict ...................................................... 28
Illegal Sales by Other Guérés ..................................................................................................32
Refusal to Pay Rent .................................................................................................................38
Illegal Extension of Acquired Parcels .......................................................................................39
Occupation by Force ...............................................................................................................44
Destruction or Occupation of Sacred Sites ............................................................................. 48
Impact on Food Security, Livelihoods ..................................................................................... 49
Cause of Cross-Border Attacks, Rising Tensions ...................................................................... 51
Cause of Continued Displacement .......................................................................................... 56