Côte d'Ivoire - One year on: Evicted Gesco Rivière farmers must be compensated for devastating loss of livelihoods
The Ivorian authorities must urgently compensate the 133 farmers, their employees and families whose livelihoods were destroyed following the forced evictions on the Gesco Rivière site in Abidjan, Amnesty International said on the first anniversary of the demolitions.
On 21 February 2024, as part of a series of forced evictions in Abidjan neighbourhoods, farms and fishponds belonging to members of the Agro-Past Eburny association were demolished without prior consultation or notice. The farmers had settled on the Gesco Rivière site, a 4.6 hectares area which had been granted to them in 2011 by a state-owned company for the creation of an agro-pastoral zone, according to Guillaume Ballé Zilé, the association's president.
One year after the demolitions, despite the suspension of forced evictions in November 2024 and the authorities' repeated commitments to compensate and rehouse those affected, none of the farmers has received compensation for their losses, estimated to be at around 650 million FCFA, or 1 million euros, according to president of the Agro-Past Eburny association.
'While we have welcomed the authorities' commitment to suspend evictions and demolitions in Abidjan and to implement compensation measures, the Gesco Rivière farmers have so far not benefited from any of these plans. It is essential that all those affected by forced evictions who have not received compensation are able to benefit from it without delay,' said Marceau Sivieude, Amnesty International's interim regional director for West and Central Africa.
Guillaume Ballé Zilé said: 'Since February 2024, no government body, in particular the Ministry of Animal Production and Fisheries Resources, to which we were reporting, has reacted, nor has the Yopougon town hall or the Autonomous District of Abidjan.'
More than 300 families plunged into poverty
In addition to the 133 farmers and their families affected by the demolitions, three of whom have since died, 171 people were employed on the site, where many also slept in makeshift huts.
'Before the demolitions, these farmers and their employees supported their families and paid for their children's schooling. Since the demolitions, they have lost their sources of income and suffered other violations of their rights, including access to health and education. Many of their children no longer go to school because of lack of money, and some have to work to contribute to their families' income,' said Hervey Delmas Kokou, Executive Director of Amnesty International Côte d'Ivoire.
One of the farmers, whose foot was amputated after an accident occurred several years ago, had invested all his insurance money in rabbit and fish farming in Gesco Rivière. Following the demolitions, he had to move to his mother's house with his wife and child because he could no longer pay his rent. Another retired farmer had to leave his home and set up in a makeshift hut in the Banco forest, near his demolished farm.
The demolitions and the consequent loss of livelihood also forced several farmers to halt their medical treatment. 'I have diabetes and a sore that must be treated. I no longer go to the hospital since 21 February 2024 because I have no money,' a 65-year-old widow told Amnesty International.
Compensation measures must be urgently implemented for all affected people
In August 2024, Amnesty International documented human rights violations affecting tens of thousands of families evicted without due prior notice and/or compensation from four Abidjan neighbourhoods between January and June 2024, including the Agro-Past Eburny association farmers.
In March 2024, the Ivorian authorities announced the payment of 250,000 FCFA (around 372 euros) per household already affected in two neighbourhoods, Boribana and Gesco, as forced evictions were continuing. On 21 November 2024, they announced the suspension of evictions in Abidjan, rehousing solutions and support for income-generating activities, as well as the implementation of the support measures announced in March 2024 for all affected people.
Amnesty International called for the urgent implementation of these measures, including for people who were neither tenants nor homeowners but who lost property during the demolitions. People affected by forced evictions since January 2024 are still being counted by a development unit for precarious neighbourhoods conducting a census, according to information gathered by Amnesty International.
'Where evictions are unavoidable, the authorities must fully adhere to national and international human rights standards and uphold the rights enshrined in the African Charter on Human and People's Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, both of which Côte d'Ivoire ratified in 1992,' said Marceau Sivieude.
Background
Between January and June 2024, extensive demolition operations were carried out in four neighbourhoods in Abidjan, which led to tens of thousands of residents being forcibly evicted. The demolitions formed part of a plan announced on 26 February 2024 by the Autonomous District of Abidjan, targeting the destruction of 176 sites deemed vulnerable to flooding.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Amnesty International.
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