CÔTE D’IVOIRE

AT A GLANCE
Head of Government:  Prime Minister Guillaume Soro
Next election: undetermined
Capital: Yamoussoukro
Population:   19.6 million (UN, 2008)
Independence: 1960 from France
Human Development Index (HDI):   166th of 177 countries (2007/08)
Gender Gap Index (GGI):  N/A, but gender-related development index (GDI): 166th of 177 countries (2007)
Gross National Income (GNI) per capita: US$910 (World Bank, 2007)

Strengthening Civil Society Organizations

Status: Operational
Local Organization: National Governance and Capacity Building Secretariat (SNGRC)
Canadian Expert: Yves Poulin

Preventing conflict and promoting human rights are priority issues in Côte d’Ivoire as it seeks national reconciliation after years of conflict. The crisis in Côte d’Ivoire will only deepen as the long-awaited elections appear on the horizon. 

Côte d’Ivoire’s National Governance and Capacity Building Secretariat (SNGRC), the organization responsible for producing national policy on governance post-conflict, has asked for assistance from the CIDA-funded Deployment for Democratic Development (DDD) to strengthen its endemically weak civil society organizations. Civil society groups do not have the capacity to identify and implement human rights and conflict prevention projects and therefore cannot achieve their significant role in the building of a peaceful, democratic country.

Canadian expert Yves Poulin is providing guidelines and training on the formulation and implementation of human rights projects and is helping to build the capacity of the SNGRC and civil society organizations to obtain additional human resources and financing.