Legal framework on freedom of religion and actual application
The Republic of Ivory Coast (officially Côte d’Ivoire) is home to around 60 different ethnic groups. Religious affiliation is divided between animist religions—which still have many followers—, Islam, and Christianity. Islam is practiced by a large proportion of the population in the north of the country, and also by immigrants from neighbouring countries. The umbrella organisation of Ivorian Muslims is the Conseil National Islamique de Côte d’Ivoire. Most Christians live in the south. Abidjan, Bouaké, Gagnoa, and Korhogo are the seats of the Catholic archdioceses.
The country has faced significant political strife in its recent past. Notably, a protracted civil war raged between 2002 and 2007. The conflict’s consequences, which include forced displacement and violence, were still felt years after the end of the war.
Despite the country’s ethnic and religious diversity, Christians and Muslims have traditionally lived side by side in peace. Consequently, most regional violence tends to be a consequence of economic factors (more than 45 per cent of the population live below the poverty line) and political divisions, which have plunged the country into civil war twice over the past two decades (2002–2007 and 2010–2011).
A new Constitution came into effect on 8th November 2016 and was further amended in 2020. In its Preamble, the Constitution acknowledges the country's “ethnic, cultural and religious diversity” and supports “political, ethnic, religious tolerance”. Under Article 10, it states that “the secular private sector and religious communities may also contribute to the education of children, under the conditions determined by law”. Article 14 states that “Everyone has equal access to public or private employment”, and bans discrimination “on the basis of sex, ethnicity or political, religious or philosophical opinions”.
Article 19 guarantees “freedom of thought and freedom of expression, particularly, freedom of conscience, of philosophical and religious conviction or of worship”, which includes “the right to express and disseminate their ideas freely”, limited only by respect “for the law, for the rights of others, for national security and for public order. Any propaganda whose objective or outcome is to elevate one social group above another, or to encourage racial, tribal or religious, hatred is prohibited”.
Under Article 23, “anyone persecuted because of their political, religious, philosophical convictions or their ethnicity may have the right of asylum”. Article 25 bans “political parties and groups organized along regional, religious, tribal, ethnic or racial lines”. Finally, Article 49 states that “the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire is one and indivisible, secular, democratic and social”.
Incidents and Developments
Traditionally, relations between Muslim and Christians—the country’s two largest religious groups—have been good at both community and leadership levels. Given the role that religion plays in Ivorian society, religious leaders remain influential in defusing ethnic, religious, social, and political tensions.
Indeed, for a country with so many ethnic groups and religious communities, this is a basic requirement for peace. A good example of this was reported on 19th May 2021 when student and youth groups undertook an initiative to “promote brotherhood between Christians and Muslims [...] focused on sporting activities”.
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 provided government and religious leaders with an opportunity to work together to mitigate its effects. There were, however, reports of conflicting land claims involving a place of worship which pitted Christian and Muslim groups against each other.
In May 2021, Nigerians living in Ivory Coast were the victims of xenophobic attacks after a fake video was posted on social media. Fr Donald Zagore, an Ivorian theologian member of the Society for African Missions (SMA), denounced this disinformation, noting that “xenophobia is the denial of the teachings given by the Gospel and the Koran”.
The Ivory Coast suffered a string of four terrorist attacks by suspected militant Islamists in 2021. On 29 March, an estimated sixty gunmen attacked two military outposts in Kafolo and Kolobougou killing at least three soldiers. On 12 April, a military vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device, and on 21 April, an armed group attacked a military base near Abidjan, wounding a soldier. A month later, gunmen, thought to be jihadists, carried out an attack near the Burkina Faso border, killing one Ivorian soldier.
While no groups have claimed responsibility for the attacks, official speculation is that the perpetrators are Islamist groups based in nearby Burkina Faso. Bernard Emie, the head of French foreign intelligence, confirmed in February 2021 that al-Qaeda’s Sahel branch was targeting Ivory Coast and Benin. He stated: “These countries are themselves now targets. The terrorists are already financing men who are spreading out in Ivory Coast and Benin”.
The Ivory Coast continued to suffer from inter-ethnic clashes during 2021 and this violence was often linked to land ownership, especially in the south of the country; as a result, the authorities took conflict resolution measures on property rights.
In July 2021, the Ivorian clergy held an extraordinary congress to discuss the economic conditions that priests currently face in order to find ways to avoid the inequalities prevalent among them.
During their 120th general assembly in January 2022, Ivorian bishops debated the importance of the coming generations and the necessity of a global educational plan that seeks “the service of integral human development”.
Prospects for freedom of religion
Historically, Ivory Coast’s diverse religious communities have had good relations with each other. The prospects, thus, remain positive for the country, and should continue into the foreseeable future. Nevertheless, as evidenced by the violence perpetrated in the 2021 attacks, the country is increasingly threatened by jihadist groups, whose activity in the wider West African region is expanding. To counter, the Ivorian authorities are increasing investment in schools, hospitals, and jobs in its northern region to provide alternatives to those offered by violent extremism, but this may need support through a regional strategy if the advance of Islamist extremism is to be contained.
Ivory Coast