CIVICUS discusses the challenges facing civil society in Côte d’Ivoire with Marthe Coulibaly, National Coordinator of the Ivorian Coalition of Human Rights Defenders (CIDDH).

Ivorian civil society is concerned about a decree on civil society organisations (CSOs) that restricts the fundamental rights of CSOs and human rights defenders. The decree limits freedom of association, imposes sanctions and allows the authorities to dissolve CSOs.

What’s the role of civil society in Côte d’Ivoire?

Ivorian civil society plays a crucial role in identifying and denouncing human rights violations, submitting alternative reports to regional and international human rights mechanisms and making recommendations to improve the situation. Its advocacy tools include press releases, written and oral statements to the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and advocacy meetings with diplomatic missions and international organisations.

However, civil society faces challenges in carrying out its work, including the adoption of legislation that restricts its activities, such as presidential decree 2024-368 of 12 June 2024 on CSOs.

Why did the government issue the decree?

The government issued this decree while we were discussing a new law to replace an outdated law from 1960. The old law made no distinction between NGOs, community or neighbourhood associations and other types of organisations, and did not address the issue of funding for CSOs.

CSOs have advocated for a new law that reflects their current reality and have participated in several workshops with the Ministry of the Interior and the National Council for Human Rights, an opportunity that has been much appreciated. The last workshop on the preliminary draft law was held in September 2021 and resulted in a second version of the draft, which did not include all the amendments civil society requested. Several CSOs, including our organisation, sent a letter to the Ministry of the Interior with proposed amendments and asked for a meeting to discuss them, but in the meantime the decree was issued and published in the Official Journal.

The decree contains provisions restricting freedom of association, including about the submission of declarations and inspection of CSO premises. It allows the Council of Ministers to dissolve by decree any CSO whose activities it deems to be a threat to public order, public security or territorial integrity, or which they view as a danger to social cohesion or as provoking hatred between ethnic or religious groups. It includes an article on the dissolution of CSOs whose objectives are deemed to be contrary to public morality. Existing CSOs now have a year to comply with the new regulations on pain of a fine of FCFA 1 million (approx. US$1,700), with the possibility of dissolution in the event of non-compliance.

The decree provides for fines of between FCFA 36,000 and 720,000 (approx. US$60 to US$1,200) for failure to comply with registration or documentation requirements, and up to FCFA 3 million (approx. US$5,000) for members of a CSO that is illegally maintained or reconstituted after its dissolution.

How are you advocating against these changes?

Together with other CSOs, we’ve identified the provisions of the decree that restrict the fundamental freedoms enshrined in the 2016 Ivorian Constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

We’ve taken several actions. First, we advocated on the sidelines of the review of Côte d’Ivoire’s report by the UN Committee against Torture in July 2024 and submitted a statement about the decree. We also participated in the pre-sessional meeting of the Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review of Côte d’Ivoire in August and made an oral statement mentioning the impact of the decree on fundamental freedoms. We shared our analysis with the UN Special Rapporteurs on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association and on the situation of human rights defenders, as well as with the African Commission.

In September, we sent a letter containing our joint analysis with sister CSOs to the Minister of Home Affairs, with a copy to the Minister of Human Rights. We also organised advocacy meetings with diplomatic missions, domestically and in Geneva, and with our technical and financial partners.

We will continue our advocacy with the UN and the African Commission, and plan to organise a workshop bringing together like-minded CSOs, and a consultation with the Ministry of the Interior, civil society and other stakeholders, such as the National Human Rights Council.

Ivorian civil society is trying to work in synergy, pooling its efforts and speaking with one voice with the means at its disposal. Given its limited financial resources, it needs the technical and financial support of international allies to continue this advocacy work.