This month, the Cote d’Ivoire government announced a plan to repatriate 200 former rebel fighters who had been exiled to Togo in the wake of Cote d’Ivoire’s post-election violence in 2010. In an email interview, Arthur Boutellis, a research fellow and adviser to the Peace Operations and Africa programs at the International Peace Institute, described the state of Cote d’Ivoire’s security sector reform and the obstacles to further progress.
WPR: What has been the recent trajectory of Cote d'Ivoire's security sector since the violence surrounding November 2010 elections?
Arthur Boutellis: The security sector could have been a key driver of the national reconciliation process in Cote d’Ivoire. By creating the Force Republicaine de Cote d’Ivoire (FRCI) at the end of the electoral crisis, President Alassane Ouattara had opened the way for the unification of ex-rebel Forces Nouvelles (FN) and the former national Defense and Security Forces (DSF). Two years later, however, not much has happened on the security sector reform (SSR) front.