Côte d'Ivoire

Historical Background

The most relevant pieces of legislation governing the identification of persons and the stay of foreigners in Ivory Coast relates to the migration policy: Law No. 2004-303 of 2004 and amending Law No. 90-437 of 29 May 1990 on the entry and stay of foreigners in Ivory Coast (IOM, 2019). Law No. 2016-1111 is Ivory Coast’s law against human trafficking while Law No. 2018-571 is aimed at combating the smuggling of migrants (ibid). The asylum law in Ivory Coast is still in draft form and is yet to be adopted. At the regional level, Ivory Coast is a member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) which, among others, aims to facilitate the movement of people within the region and ultimately remove obstacles to the free movement of goods and services, capital, and labour. 

Migrants have access to all public health and education services regardless of their status, although they are not eligible for medical schemes financed by the state. Tertiary education fees for international students are often higher than for nationals, depending on whether they are ECOWAS nationals or not (ibid). In line with the 1999 social security code, all workers in Ivory Coast, regardless of their nationality, are entitled to the benefits of the National Security Fund (Caisse Nationale de Prevoyance Sociale, CNPS) (ibid). Ivory Coast has agreements on the portability of retirement pensions with countries such as Burkina Faso. However, migrants do not have access to the government’s social housing programme and cannot be employed in the civil service. Ivory Coast grants nationality to migrants through marriage, naturalisation, declaration, and adoption (ibid). 

Timeline of Migration Policies in Ivory Coast. Source: SIHMA

In 2013, Ivory Coast ratified the 2009 African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (Kampala Convention), the 1954 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, and the 1961 United Nations Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. In 1998, the country ratified the 1969 Organisation of African Unity (OAU) Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa. In 1961, it ratified the 1961 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (Geneva Convention) and in 1991, it ratified the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The implementation of these treaties will assist in providing durable solutions to people on the move.

In the 1960s, internal migration was encouraged in Ivory Coast when the country enjoyed economic prosperity. Like in most parts of Africa, Ivory Coast experienced rural-urban migration. This movement contributed massively to the urbanisation of Ivorian cities, causing more than 50% of its population to live in cities (Dick & Schraven, 2021). The 1998 Ivorian census data indicates that there were 4,405,328 internal migrants in Ivory Coast, constituting 28.7% of the total population, and that most of these migrants live in cities (Maastricht Graduate School of Governance, 2017). The development of cities at the expense of rural areas triggers movement from rural areas to cities with the hope of gaining access to better opportunities. According to 2021 census data in Ivory Coast, the urban-rural population differential still skews in favour of the urban areas. According to the census data, 15,428,957 (52.5% of the population) reside in cities compared to 13,960,193 (47.5% of the population) who reside in rural areas (UN-Habitat, 2022). The four most populous cities, which are also overconcentrated according to the census report, are Abidjan (5,616,633), Bouake (832,371), Korhogo (440,926), and Daloa (421,879) (ibid). The overconcentration of people in cities causes housing challenges, increases the cost of living, increases poverty, and accelerates environmental degradation. The imbalance in the development plan of the country that prioritises urban areas causes a developmental deficit in rural areas which, in turn, puts strain on services in urban areas. Hence, there is a need for balanced development in the country.

The search for economic opportunity is one of the main drivers of female international migration in Ivory Coast. In 2010, 46.6% (1,102,789) of the international migrant stock were women. In 2015, the female international migrant stock stood at 46.6% (1,150,088). In 2019, it was estimated to be 46.6% (1,187,881) of the international migrant stock (UN DESA, 2019). Even though as a percentage of the total migration stock into Ivory Coast female migrant stock has been stable from 2010 to 2019, the actual numbers have slightly increased as the number of male migrants increased. Female migration into Ivory Coast, especially from other parts of Africa, is informed by factors such as the search for seasonal jobs and the ongoing political instability characterised by civil wars in the sub-region. Within the sub-region, Ivory Coast is one of four countries (the other countries being Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone) with the lowest number of female migrants as a percentage of the total migration stock (ILO, 2020). However, the percentages of women migrants from Ivory Coast as a stock of the total Ivorian migrant population are higher for migrant girls (54.1%) and young women (69.3%) than for boys and young men (ibid). The conflict in the region has turned some of the women into the sole providers of their households and these women are using migration as a means of survival and providing for their families left behind.

The valorisation of agricultural land for cocoa production and the demand for foreign labour in Ivory Coast also encouraged migration from Burkina Faso. Most of the Burkinabes migrating to the Ivory Coast were in search of paid work to support their family members back home through remittances (MIDEQ, nd). In 2013, 60% of the immigrant population in Ivory Coast came from Burkina Faso (Traore & Torvikey, 2022). Recently, through its regional framework ECOWAS, by implementing the protocol of the free movement of people within the sub-region, Ivory Coast has facilitated the movement of migrant labour from other parts of Africa, in particular from within the region. Ordinance No. 2007-604 of 8 November 2007 emphasises that nationals of ECOWAS member states do not need a residence permit to stay in Ivory Coast but fails to elaborate on their access to the labour market. However, the relevant ECOWAS protocol excludes the principle of the labour market test, which logically means that ECOWAS member states are not required to obtain work authorisation to work in Ivory Coast (United Nations, 2015). Although not all immigrants are part of the labour force, in Ivory Coast, 85.5% of the immigrant population do form part of the labour force (ibid). In 1977, the Ministry of Labour and the Ivorisation of Executives introduced legal frameworks to limit the recruitment of non-nationals to the education system and public enterprise (Silue, 2019). By 1997 such measures were strengthened and echoed by the 2015 Labour Code (ibid). These legal frameworks created pathways for the unequal treatment of migrant labourers in the country as they enforced the notion of othering within the labour market.

According to the US Department of State (2024), Ivory Coast is a Tier 2 country as the government is making significant efforts in some respects but does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking in persons. The Ministry of Solidarity is the lead agency for combatting trafficking in persons while the Ministry of Employment is responsible for combating child labour with the support of the Inter-Ministerial Committee for the Fight against Trafficking, Exploitation, and Child Labour. Overall, the government is making a significant effort to meet the minimum standard. 

Ivory Coast is a source, transit, and destination country for victims of human trafficking, specifically forced labour and sex trafficking, and partly also drug trafficking (ibid). In line with the National Strategy and National Plan for Combating Trafficking in Persons, the National Committee against Trafficking of Persons oversees the implementation of these laws (IOM, 2019b). Ivory Coast has concluded formal agreements with countries such as Burkina Faso to combat human and child trafficking. 

Despite the commitment through a legal framework to combat human trafficking in Ivory Coast, resources, inspections, remediation, and penalties are inadequate (ibid). According to the US Department of State (2024), the government identified and referred to care facilities 2,292 victims of human trafficking (461 sex trafficking victims, 1,532 labour trafficking victims, and 299 victims for unspecified forms of trafficking), mostly Ivorians and nationals from Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Ghana, and other West African countries. However, an NGO estimated that there were more than 790,000 children aged 5 to 17 exploited on Ivorian cocoa plantations (ibid). The discrepancies between the two figures are huge, highlighting possible gaps in the identification process of victims of human trafficking in the country. The government reported investigating 98 trafficking cases in the current reporting year (2024) and continued 13 investigations from the previous reporting year (2023), prosecuted 109 alleged traffickers, and obtained convictions for 46 traffickers (ibid). The limited support provided by adults to children, and the lack thereof in some instances, makes these children vulnerable to re-victimisation. The government runs shelters for child victims of exploitation in Soubre and refers child trafficking victims to NGOs for long-term care (ibid). 

Traffickers exploit Ivorian women and girls in forced labour in domestic service, restaurants, and sex trafficking. Ivorian and Burkinabe boys are also exploited through forced labour in the agricultural and service industries, especially cocoa production (US Department of State, 2023). Victims of human trafficking in Ivory Coast typically come from the rural parts of Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Mali, Senegal, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Morocco, and China. They are mostly located in Abidjan, northern and central Ivory Coast, and the western mining regions near the gold mines in Tengrela (ibid). Nigerian human trafficking victims typically transit through Ivory Coast en route to exploitation in sex trafficking in Asia, the United Arab Emirates, and North Africa. According to the US Department of State (2022), religious leaders also recruit women and girls for work in the Middle East and Europe. During the reporting year (2024), the government reported initiating 10 investigations and continuing 13 investigations, initiated the prosecution of 25 alleged traffickers (23 for sex trafficking and pimping, one for labour trafficking, and one for an unknown form of trafficking), obtained convictions for 19 traffickers, and upheld four trafficking conviction on appeal (ibid). High unemployment levels, the new Labour Code, and the Ivorisation of the labour market increase the vulnerability of both migrants and nationals to human trafficking.

According to the World Bank (2022), Ivory Coast experienced a steady increase in remittance flow from 2008 ($199,721,402) to its all-time high in 2011 ($397,123,339). It dropped to $307,645,128 in 2017 and experienced a slight increase in 2020 ($323,756,447). In 2020, remittance flow constituted 0.5% of GDP. In 2018, the main remittance inflow into Ivory Coast came from France (MicroSave Consulting, 2020). Remittance flow into Ivory Coast is used for various purposes, the main one being household consumption needs. With the decline in income and economic opportunities in times of crisis and uncertainty, remittances play an important role in supplementing household income (Konan, 2019). As one of the top migrant destinations in sub-Saharan Africa, remittance flows from Ivory Coast as much as it flows in. For example, according to Cooper, Esser and Dunn (2018), annual remittance flow from Ivory Coast to other African countries amounted to more than $1.6 billion. Despite the decline in personal remittances since 2011, remittances continue to contribute to the economic growth of the country. 

According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR, 2021c), there are currently approximately 91,000 Ivorian refugees and asylum seekers around the world. Most of them live in West Africa and Europe, with 33,000 in Liberia and a further 22,000 in Europe. Contributing factors to forced migration from Ivory Coast include the civil wars from 2002 to 2007 and 2011 to 2012, and most recently, the violence linked to the presidential and parliamentary elections. Since 2011, some 290,000 Ivorian refugees living in some parts of West Africa have voluntarily returned to their homeland (ibid). A high-level ministerial regional meeting culminated in the government of Ivory Coast and other countries hosting large numbers of Ivorian refugees signing a joint declaration on 7 September 2021 leading to the cessation of Ivorian refugee status on 30 June 2022. According to the UNHCR (2021d), fundamental and durable changes in Ivory Coast have precipitated the desire for a cessation clause regarding Ivorian refugees to be implemented from June 2022. These changes include the following:

• The creation of the Dialogue, Truth, and Reconciliation Commission in 2011 and the National Commission of Inquiry to investigate human rights violations during the political crisis

• The adoption of an Amnesty Law in December 2018

• Political dialogue with the opposition, launched in December 2020

• The release of some detained opposition members

• The creation of a Ministry of National Reconciliation in March 2021

• The return of high-profile opposition leaders since February 2021, including former president Laurent Gbagbo (UNHCR, 2021c).

A UNHCR survey conducted in the region shows that 60% of remaining Ivorian refugees intend to repatriate, 30% are still undecided, and 10% have chosen to stay in their host countries. The UNHCR assists the returnees with transport and financial support to facilitate their reintegration (ibid). 25% of the more than 6,700 voluntary returnees assisted by IOM between 2017 and 2019 were women (ibid). Challenges for these returnees included psychosocial trauma associated with the journey, stigmatisation, being judged and shamed, and even rejection by family members (especially when the women return with a child) (IOM, 2019b). These challenges compromised their integration process.

The World Food Programme facilitates the reintegration process of returnees, welcoming them with food kits and providing them with cash transfers to meet their immediate food and nutritional needs for three months (WFP, 2020).