DECLARATION OF THE COMMITTEE OF AMASSADORS OF THE AFRICAN, CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC GROUP OF STATES (ACP) ON THE KILLING OF WOMEN IN ABIDJAN
The ACP Committee of Ambassadors, – meeting in its 838th session on 10 March 2011, in Brussels,
DEEPLY CONCERNED by the continuing deadlock in the post-electoral crisis in Côte d’Ivoire characterized by the denial of the democratic rights of the Ivorian people, and by the escalation of the violence inflicted on the citizens of that country;
HORRIFIED by the use of arms against women who, on 3 March 2011, in the Abobo neighbourhood in Abidjan, were demonstrating peacefully for the restoration of peace and security, which resulted in the death of several of them;
FULLY SUPPORTING the recent commemoration of the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day on 8 March 2011, which underscored the tremendous role that women play not only in nurturing life, but also in the prevention and resolution of conflicts, as well as in the consolidation of peace and the promotion of economic and social development;
STRONGLY CONDEMNS this massacre which was carried out in conditions reminiscent of crimes against humanity;
CALLS FOR an immediate halt to such acts and all killings perpetrated in Côte d’Ivoire since the start of the post-electoral crisis;
REAFFIRMS ITS SUPPORT for all ongoing international initiatives to find a solution to the Ivorian crisis and, in particular, the efforts of the specially appointed Panel of Heads of State set up by the 16th Summit of African Union Heads of State and Government, in an attempt to resolve the crisis.
URGES the UN Human Rights Council to open an inquiry and send an international mission to investigate the crimes committed against the civilian population in Côte d’Ivoire, so as to ensure that they do not go unpunished.