Photo Credit: Refugees International
10/27/2006

Since 2002, Cote d’Ivoire has been wracked by internal conflict over national identity, voting rights, and land tenure, which has divided the land of nearly 18 million people in two. The government estimates that there are 2 million internally displaced people in the country. The majority of the internally displaced moved in with relatives or friends, following West African traditions, but most have depleted their own resources and those of their families. In 2005 the UN Development Program estimated that 44 percent of the country had fallen below the poverty line. The United Nations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), largely funded by the European Union to date, have prevented humanitarian emergencies, but displacement, continued violation of human rights, and an undetermined level of humanitarian need plague the nation.