Abstract:
Cote d’ivoire in the west African sub-region, recently faced political crisis that emanated from the presidential election that was conducted in October 2010, this present unique features of armed conflicts that aroused the interest of international community such as the United Nations, ECOWAS, African Union, France etc in the country’s peace process. African Union, a defunct of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) was created to handle the issue of resolving conflicts in the African continent to maintain and promote African unity. The AU was able to set up the Peace Security Council and Wise Men Panel to oversee the conflict situation in Cote d’ivoire. This study posits that the post election crisis of 2010/2011 is a watershed of the several variables that are central to conflicts situations in Africa. Using the functionalist theory, the study interrogated the following questions whether the African Union Peace Process mechanisms in Cote d’ivoire enhance the resolution of the conflict and If there is a link between the post-election crisis and the violation of human rights. Qualitative method of data collection was employed to gather data/information for the study while the method of data analysis relied on descriptive analysis and this study notes that the apparent success recorded by the African Union in reducing the escalation of the conflict lies in the collaboration between the organization and other concerned mediators and the commitment of factions in the conflict in a way of finding a solution to the political crisis in the country.
