January 2008: Cote d’Ivoire has not yet ratified the Rome Statute, but in January 2005 the government asked the International Criminal Court to conduct investigations, to determine whether crimes committed in the Cote d'Ivoire since September 2002 come under its jurisdiction.  

However, in April 2007, a new law provided for amnesty for crimes committed since 2000 and does not exclude war crimes and crimes against humanity. Amnesty International emphasises that international law expressly forbids amnesty for crimes under international law, especially crimes against humanity, war crimes and torture. [AI]

The United Nations and leading non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have expressed concern at the slow pace with which the April peace agreement is progressing, arguing that the economy, and consequently living standards, are declining while the reconciliation process is prolonged. The UN has specifically emphasised delays in the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) program, and in the process of identification of undocumented Ivorians, and has therefore renewed arms and diamond sanctions against the Ivory Coast in an attempt to encourage the implementation of the peace accord. [Phillip Wellman]