Conflict Analysis and Peacebuilding Design Consultancy - War in Côte d'Ivoire

Between the Christmas coup of 1999 and the end of the post-electoral crisis in April 2011, Ivoirians witnessed stretches of unsteady, insecure peace punctuated by episodes of acute violence and atrocity. From April to December 2011, UNICEF was actively involved in responding to humanitarian crises based upon operational commitments embedded in the Core Commitments for Children (CCC). Though by early October 2011, widespread armed confrontation appeared to be receding, UNICEF’s Representative remained concerned by the high level of tensions in the West, reports of persistent violence in and around Bouaké, and the stalemate of the reconciliation process. As a result, he determined that it was imperative to engage in formal conflict analysis, the objective of which was to map this complex conflict for the purpose of better understanding its causes, dynamics, and consequences, and to assess the state of tensions in the country. Doing so aided UNICEF in better implementing its recovery and transition mission and thus improved its contribution to the larger peacebuilding enterprise pursued by the Government and the international community. I was selected for this consultancy, which was carried out in 2011-2012. US Ambassador (ret.) Phillip Carter, III assesses the implications of my work this way: "UNICEF needed Dr. O’Bannon to help them improve upon their programming in a conflict sensitive environment. To this end, UNICEF wanted to utilize Brett’s analyses and proposals so that he might aid not just UNICEF in its efforts to contribute to post-conflict peacebuilding, but indeed help inform a more coherent, integrated, and thus effective approach to peacebuilding across the board. From my perspective, this was a goal accomplished. From my perspective as the US Ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire, I think it fair to say that few countries were as susceptible to relapse into conflict as was Côte d’Ivoire in 2011-2012. Our experience in Africa at the time indicated that even under the best of conditions, half of all civil wars reignited within five years. So, with widespread sentiments among the ousted president’s supporters that a Victor’s Justice was being pursued, with so many of the apparent root causes of the conflict being left unaddressed, and with the country simply awash in cheap, easily available light arms, pessimism was perhaps something of a rational position. His report was both insightful and deeply troubling. Having revealed a disturbing and counter-intuitive increase in the prevalence of sexual and gender-based violence in this putatively “post-conflict environment” – a designation Brett was adamant was dangerously premature – I remember noting to Hervé, “A good analyst is worth his or her weight in gold.” But in fact, it was only later, after Simon Tonge, my British counterpart, invited Brett to present to us (the three most active bilateral ambassadors in Côte d’Ivoire, the US, UK, and France) with his proposal regarding the need for a “scaffolded peacebuilding architecture” in Côte d’Ivoire, that one could see the full measure of Dr. O’Bannon’s potential contribution to a lasting peace."