U.S. lifts sanctions from Ivory Coast

President Barack Obama on Wednesday lifted sanctions placed on Ivory Coast a decade ago, recognizing the country’s efforts to restore peace and democracy.

The executive order ended the sanctions imposed by President George W. Bush’s administration in 2006 after officials in Ivory Coast (also known as Cote d’Ivoire) blocked a 2003 peace process. The country’s civil war began in 2002 and lasted for five years. In April, the United Nations similarly lifted a 12-year arms embargo on the country and removed bans on six people, including the country’s former president, Laurent Gbagbo. Gbagbo is facing war crimes charges at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

“Cote d’Ivoire has taken important steps to strengthen its governing and economic institutions and reconcile the differences that led to war,” National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said in a statement. “Challenges remain as the country continues to tackle difficult land reform issues and works to ensure that the benefits of economic growth are felt throughout the Ivoirian population.”

The reversed sanctions will remove economic limitations on certain individuals and entities and allow transactions between the country and the United States.

Renewed fighting in Ivory Coast began following the 2010 elections. Gbagbo refused to step down despite President Alassane Ouattara’s internationally recognized victory. The post-election violence resulted in the deaths of some 3,000 people and displaced more than 500,000 others. French forces loyal to Ouattara helped to arrest Gbagbo in 2011 after much resistance.

The country now stands as a model of post-conflict reconstruction for several other warring nations. Ouattara won a second five-year term last year in an election confirmed as credible by U.S. observers.

“Cote d’Ivoire is continuing the vital work of national reconciliation and security sector reform, which includes personalizing its security forces and reintegrating former combatants and refugees,” the U.S. Department of State said in a statement.

Despite the progress, some human rights cases are still pending from the 2010 post-election violence. Antonin Rabecq, the Ivory Coast representative for the International Federation for Human Rights, said the international community should ensure Ouattara’s administration prosecutes the people guilty of human rights abuses.

“It’s a good thing that the economic situation is going in a good direction and the economic sanctions are removed,” Rabecq said. “But the international community should also focus on the judicial aspect that remains one of the main issues.”

The Office of Foreign Assets Control also has issued sanctions on individuals and groups in other African conflict-hit countries, including South Sudan and Burundi.