Ivory Coast

History

Between 2002 and 2011 Ivory Coast suffered two civil wars and endured a decade as a divided nation. Hundreds of people died. The first war lasted until 2007, the second was a short-lived, post-election conflict that led to the arrest of former President Laurent Gbagbo in April 2011.

Problem

The Ivory Coast's decade as a divided nation led to unsecured and unsafe storage of weapons and ammunition, presenting a risk to the people of the Ivory Coast. Whilst considerable progress has been made in securing and destroying obsolete weapons and stockpiles of landmines, ammunition and aircraft bombs, small-scale theft and the cross-border proliferation of weapons and ammunition is still a concern.

Solution

HALO has been active in Ivory Coast since May 2011 providing support for the clearance of the debris of war, disarmament and stockpile management.

Funded by the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), our technical specialists built and rehabilitated - to international standards - 188 armouries and ammunition stores managed by the police, military, customs agency and gendarmerie.

As part of this process, 12,000 weapons and 184 metric tonnes of ammunition, from grenades through to aircraft bombs and missiles, were collected and destroyed. We provided training to the national authorities, to enable them to work independently.

In addition, HALO provided technical support to the UN and national authorities at Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) events for the duration of the UN mission.

Next Steps

HALO is currently working with the Ivorian Government to ensure the sustainability of our activities.