20/01/2025

Advancing women’s political participation in Côte d'Ivoire

“Without advocacy, our commitment to the UPR process would be incomplete.”

Pédan Marthe Coulibaly 

 

Pédan Marthe Coulibaly’s human rights journey began in 2002 upon learning of the human rights violations faced by women during the military-political crisis in Côte d'Ivoire, sparking within her a passion for human rights. 

 

Twenty-three years later, that passion remains unwavering as Marthe serves as the National Coordinator for the Follow-up Committee on the Recommendations of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR Follow-up Committee), a committee comprised of at least 40 non-governmental organisations from Côte d'Ivoire. Through this role, Marthe has positively impacted human rights changes. 

Marthe has had the chance to make an impact on the cause that started her journey—women’s rights—through facilitating the advancement of women’s political participation in Côte d'Ivoire.  

Enhancing Women’s Political Presence

Statistics from the 2018 elections revealed that women had only accepted around 8% of candidacies, and the country had not yet adopted a parity law, as required by Articles 36 and 37 of the Ivorian Constitution and Articles 36 and 37 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).  

“In 2019, the year of Côte d'Ivoire's review for the third cycle of the UPR, the UPR Follow-up Committee noted the under-representation of women in decision-making bodies and elected assemblies. No statistics on the political representation of women in decision-making bodies had reached 50%.” 

 

The UPR Follow-up Committee submits shadow reports, organises trainings on UN mechanisms, arranges consultations with civil society organisations (CSOs), the National Human Rights Institution (NHRI), and technical ministries, and lobbies at both the national and international levels. The committee’s activities extend even further through offering capacity-building support to NGOs.  These NGOs fall into one of four groups: Civil and Political Rights, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Women's and Children's Rights, and Rights of Vulnerable Groups.

The need for change was evident. Following the election, the UPR Follow-up Committee advocated for the adoption of a parity law or quotas for women at every possible opportunity. Through recommendations, regional and international seminars, and meetings with diplomatic missions, the committee highlighted the need for such a law.  Following the adoption of the 2019 parity law by the Ivorian government, Marthe gave an interview to a print media outlet, the daily ‘l'Expression’. In this interview, Marthe welcomed the adoption of this law but recommended that a monitoring mechanism be set up to ensure rigorous monitoring of the effectiveness of the law on the ground. 

During Côte d'Ivoire's third UPR Cycle, the UPR Follow-up Committee developed an alternative report that, among other issues, emphasizing the lack of women’s representation. 

“With financial support from UNDP-Côte d'Ivoire, the UPR Follow-up Committee has produced a manual entitled "UN Mechanisms for the protection of human rights,” Marthe states.

The UPR Follow-up Committee’s recommendation was as follows: 

“Adopt a law on parity by 2020 in order to increase the rate of representation of women in decision-making bodies - Resolve the problem of the under-representation of women by appointing and electing at least 30% of women to decision-making bodies.” 

This recommendation was highlighted throughout Côte d'Ivoire’s UPR process and was eventually implemented.

Today, Marthe reflects upon the positive changes resulting from the UPR Follow-up Committee’s advocacy in this area. 

“During the local elections in September 2023, one of the conditions for candidacies to be accepted was that candidate lists had to meet the 30% quota for women, and the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) congratulated candidates on meeting this condition. In addition, we note the adoption of Law No. 2019-870 of 14 October 2019 promoting the representation of women in elected assemblies.” 

UPR Info's support 

Marthe highlighted how UPR Info’s capacity building activities and pre-sessions were instrumental in supporting the UPR Follow-up Committee in its advocacy work.  

“These activities were very beneficial for us and helped us to improve the drafting of our shadow reports with SMART recommendations and the conduct of our advocacy actions with the development of advocacy sheets for each issue addressed in the shadow report of the UPR Follow-up Committee.” 

Lessons and Looking Ahead

Reflecting on her work with the UPR Follow-up Committee more broadly, Marthe identifies passion, trust, support from technical and financial leaders, and gaining new experience through trainings as positive aspects of her work as a human rights defender, while acknowledging that new human rights challenges in different contexts can make this kind of work difficult. 

She emphasises the vital role CSOs play in the UPR process, given their firsthand experience on the ground, and advises CSO colleagues in other countries to work together with other CSOs involved in the UPR process and formulate thematic groups in order to draft and submit alternative reports for the UPR and engage in advocacy work. Additionally, she encourages CSOs to share their experience through tripartite collaboration between the government, INHR, and CSOs.  

Marthe’s story of championing human rights through engaging with the UPR process underscores the pivotal role of advocacy.  

 

“Advocacy is a crucial activity in the UPR process as it facilitates the consideration of our recommendations and their implementation by the State.” 

Countries: Cote-divoire