Top UN official urges end to rights violations

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Sergio Vieira de Mello, expressed concern on Wednesday at the "deterioration of the humanitarian and human rights situation in Cote d'Ivoire". He urged the government and armed groups to take steps to end the suffering of civilians and comply with the Fourth Geneva Convention, which relates to the protection of civilians during wars. Various rights violations, he said, had been committed since 19 September 2002, when armed men attempted to topple the Ivorian government and took over towns in central and northern Cote d'Ivoire. These included "summary executions, arbitrary arrests, attacks based on nationality, ethnicity or religious beliefs, violations of the rights of the child, destruction of private property and population displacement". Such acts, Vieira de Mello noted, "constitute serious violations of human rights which can be prosecuted either before the national judiciary or the International Criminal Court, whose statute has been signed by Côte d'Ivoire". The high commissioner deplored the absence of a cease-fire agreement. He called on the government and armed groups to cooperate with negotiations being conducted by West African mediators and the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General who, he said "are searching with both parties for ways to guarantee the respect for human rights and to improve the humanitarian situation". "Only mediation and starting a dialogue between all the components of Ivorian society in the spirit of tolerance which the country is known for, will end the conflict," he noted.