The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) has carried out humanitarian assistance activities in Ivory Coast since 2003, and today we operate in the regions of Moyen Cavally and 18 Montagnes in the West, and in the area of Tabou in the southwest of the country.

Our programmes in Ivory Coast target some 35,000 beneficiaries, creating durable solutions for refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and other groups of war-effected populations.

DRC’s activities in Ivory Coast focus on supporting the voluntary return of IDPs by assisting them and their host communities through improving livelihood and income opportunities, and by rehabilitating infrastructure vital to economic development.

DRC also works to facilitate community dialogue and build social cohesion, creating better conditions for lasting return of the displaced to communities. In addition, water and sanitation is a large component of DRC’s work in Ivory Coast.

Xenophobia and Violence
Since September 2002 Ivory Coast has suffered from the conflict between rebels and the national army, effectively separating north from south. Thousands of people have been persecuted, harassed and evicted from their land because they have been perceived as foreigners, resulting in an estimated 700,000 IDPs within the country.

Despite the signing of the Ouagadougou peace agreement in March 2007, violence and displacement continue, resulting in the current situation of ‘no war, no peace’. There are substantial indications that the continuing conflict, which originated as a struggle for control of political power and resources, has become an outright inter-ethnic conflict.

The violence and accompanying climate of lawlessness and impunity have further exacerbated the situation of IDPs and other vulnerable groups. The vast majority of them live in overcrowded and overburdened host communities under dire circumstances and face critical humanitarian needs.

DRC currently receives funding from Danida and UNICEF.