West African Women’s Statement on the Killings of the “Ivorian 7”. Signed:WIPSEN Africa, WACSOF and WAWA
The women of West Africa strongly condemn the killing of seven Ivorian women expressing their rights to protest on March 3, 2011. This incident has reminded women across the region of the dark days of the civil wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone where women's lives were expendable commodities. We refuse to be drawn back to that past. These women embodied all the aspirations of West African women and indeed women across Africa; to be able to speak our minds, air our views, show our support for whomever we wish without fear of intimidation, reprisal attacks, or even death.
We call on ECOWAS to no longer maintain a low-key stance on Cote d'Ivoire. The stakes are clearly high, the causalities are increasing and the audacity of the parties in conflict is becoming blatant. These women were not shot in secret, they were gunned down in full view. We believe the conflict in Cote d'Ivoire is challenging the courage and humanity in all of us. We cannot let this incident remain simply a news item on international and local media. These women deserve more. They command our attention, our outcry and activism.
Those of us who have protested in the past, know how easily we could have been one of them. Therefore, this is not an Ivorian problem, it is a human problem.
The world stated clearly after Rwanda that "never again" will the collective international community stand by while crimes against humanity unfold. The Responsibility to Protect norm, which was adopted by the Heads of States during the UN World Summit in 2005 agreed that each state has the responsibility to protect its citizens and where that state has failed to execute that responsibility, the international community should intervene. While we acknowledge the ongoing efforts to seek a peaceful political solution to the current impasse in Cote d'Ivoire, the killing of these women has revealed that more stringent actions need to be taken to end the escalating situation. We also stress that the perpetrators of this crime should be brought to justice. The culture of impunity that has existed where crimes committed against women are concerned should not occur here.We therefore call on the following actors/institutions to take action:
-All Parties in the Ivorian conflict:We strongly urge all parties in the conflict to prioritize human life and security above political agendas and mandates;
-ECOWAS:ECOWAS should take a more visible role in intervening in the situation in Cote d'Ivoire. ECOWAS' inaction on this issue will contradict its commitment of moving to an "ECOWAS of Peoples" where citizens in the region have security, freedom of movement and expression
-International Criminal Court (ICC):The ICC should investigate this incident to ascertain if these women were deliberately targeted and what measures can be taken against the perpetrators;
-The Africa Union:Members of the AU should "speak with one voice" against these types of crimes in Cote D'Ivoire and begin credible mediation processes to mitigate the conflict;
-Civil society:National, continental and international civil society actors should petition their governments to take a vocal stance on this issue; they should monitor investigation processes conducted by national and international institutions to identify the culprits;
The Ivorian 7 did not die in vain. Their voices for justice must be heard.
