Socio-Political Crises and Street Violence in Côte d'Ivoire: The Phenomenon of Children in "Conflict with the Law" in the Commune of ABOBO

Abstract

Since independence, Côte d'Ivoire has been confronted with various socio-political crises. During the first crises that shook the country, the national question appeared as the search for a solution to the imbalances in the relationship between the populations living in Côte d'Ivoire. The actors in these crises were politicians and most social strata. Moreover, in recent crises, specifically the post-electoral crisis of 2010-2011, other social actors than the military were involved. Indeed, children have been recruited and enlisted into the ranks of combatants of all forces involved, despite existing laws and international law (ACAT, 2005). Gangs of children aged between 8 and 18, known by various names including 'microbes' and 'children in conflict with the law', are rife in the District of Abidjan, especially in the communes of Abobo and Anyama. Acts of violence (murders, robberies and other crimes) with knives are perpetrated on the population. As Kouamé Yao (2017) points out, the violence they perpetrate seems to be a rewriting, in an otherwise fragile context, of that perpetrated by the ziguéhis and nouchis, urban youths in search of social visibility and recognition in the 'conjunctural' Côte d'Ivoire of the post-1970s. It has been observed that during pre-electoral and post-electoral crises, these young people, known as microbes, are solicited in order to create disorder among political opponents. Despite all the measures and strategies put in place by the Ivorian state to eradicate the phenomenon, it persists and is growing. This qualitative study required the use of various sources and data collection techniques and attempts to answer the following question: Why does the phenomenon of children in conflict with the law persist? The objective of our paper is to analyse the reasons for the persistence of this phenomenon in the Ivorian capital.