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📄 APA-0011 Implemented

Ouagadougou Political Agreement

Also known as: Ouagadougou Agreement

Country
Côte d'Ivoire
Region
West Africa
Date signed
4 March 2007
Type
Political Agreement
Mediator(s)
Blaise Compaoré (Burkina Faso / ECOWAS facilitator)

A directly negotiated settlement between the Ivorian presidency and the Forces Nouvelles rebellion, establishing a joint government, identification and voter registration, and reunification of the country ahead of elections.

Conflict Background

After internationally designed accords (Linas-Marcoussis, Accra, Pretoria) stalled, President Gbagbo's 'direct dialogue' initiative with the rebellion — facilitated by Burkina Faso — produced an African-brokered settlement with genuine local ownership.

Negotiation Context

The war's core driver was contested citizenship ('ivoirité') and northern political exclusion; the agreement's identification programme addressed the conflict's root question of who counts as Ivorian.

Parties

  • Government of Côte d'Ivoire (Laurent Gbagbo)
  • Forces Nouvelles (Guillaume Soro)

Mediators & Guarantors

Mediators
  • · Blaise Compaoré (Burkina Faso / ECOWAS facilitator)
Guarantors
  • · ECOWAS
  • · African Union
  • · United Nations (UNOCI)

Key Provisions

Soro appointed Prime Minister in a joint transitional government
Nationwide identification and voter registration exercise
Dismantling of the zone of confidence; redeployment of administration northward
Integrated command centre and phased DDR
Elections following reunification

Implementation

Implemented; Côte d'Ivoire's subsequent stability and growth trace to the reunification it achieved, with the 2010–11 electoral crisis standing as the settlement's violent epilogue rather than its failure.

Timeline

  1. 2007-03-04
    Signed in Ouagadougou
  2. 2007-04
    Soro sworn in as Prime Minister; zone of confidence dismantling begins
  3. 2008–2010
    Identification and registration completed after delays
  4. 2010-10/11
    Elections held; post-electoral crisis erupts over results
  5. 2011-04
    Gbagbo arrested; crisis ends outside the agreement's framework

Challenges

  • Repeated electoral postponements tested the framework
  • DDR remained shallow — ex-combatant networks resurfaced in the 2010–11 crisis
  • The agreement could not bind the loser of the election it enabled

Outcomes

  • Reunified the country's administration and ended the north–south partition
  • Resolved the identification question at the heart of the conflict
  • Delivered the long-delayed elections and a durable (if crisis-tested) peace trajectory

Lessons

  • Root-cause provisions (identification) outperform positional power-sharing
  • Regional facilitators with leverage over a belligerent (Compaoré–Forces Nouvelles) can deliver compliance
  • Elections are the highest-risk milestone of any peace process

Related CRCA Resources

References

  • Ouagadougou Political Agreement (4 March 2007).
  • ICG reports, Côte d'Ivoire series (2007–2011).