It is a joyful week for Alassane Ouattara. On Saturday he will be inaugurated as president of Ivory Coast, finally. However in the shadow of the upcoming festivities looms a huge task: dealing with a decade of human rights abuses.

Ahead of the ceremony, Human Rights Watch sent Ouattara its congratulations. But it also reminds the fresh president that he "will be sworn in as head of a deeply fractured nation still reeling from the horrors of recent months." The watchdog's West Africa researcher Corine Dufka warns Ouattara that he "should waste no time in moving Côte d'Ivoire out of this dark period through justice that is blind to political affiliation or rank."

Ouattara's inauguration comes almost six months after his rival Laurent Gbagbo refused to hand over power. The following presidential stalemate sparked a wave of massacres, enforced disappearances and sexual violence. All sides have blood on their hands. That includes the Republican Guard (under the overall command of Ouattara's prime minister, Guillaume Soro), pro-Gbagbo militia and foreign mercenaries.

Since Gbagbo's arrest in April, Ouattara vows to bring justice and rebuild a shattered country. Saturday's inauguration, says HRW, is a good time to send a clear signal that "the crisis of impunity that has fuelled human rights violations in Côte d'Ivoire has ended." The ingredients for a successful transition into peace are justice, truth and reconciliation. But these efforts should be genuine and credible, HRW underlines.

Credibility
Ouattara proves he understands international politics. In December, he already sent the International Criminal Court (ICC) a letter acknowledging its mandate to probe atrocities. Besides seeking the help of international prosecutors and judges, he is creating a South African-style truth and reconciliation commission to explore the deeper backgrounds behind the political and ethnic violence. 

Two weeks ago he sent another letter to The Hague, this time directly addressed to chief prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo. He expressed his "wish" that the prosecutor's office carry out independent and impartial inquiries into the most serious crimes committed", in the entire Ivorian territory, but only since 28 November 2010.

In the letter - dated 3 May but published on the ICC's website on Wednesday - Ouattara also asks Ocampo "to ensure that the persons bearing the greatest criminal responsibility for these crimes are identified, prosecuted and tried" in The Hague. Ocampo was quick to react and said he intends to open an investigation on his own initiative.

Decade of violence
Ouattara's gesture to the international prosecutor is a smart move. Clearly, as HRW points out, human rights abuses were committed before the last years elections as well, beginning with the 1999 coup d'état by General Gueï, the violence-marred 2000 elections and the 2002-2003 civil war and its aftermath.

Clearly, since the ICC can only investigate crimes committed after July 2002, Ouattara should also look into national possibilities to deal with the legacy of conflict and violence in his country and into crimes by his forces.

Is the truth and reconciliation commission enough? And does Ouattara's invitation to the ICC also mean he will cooperate if Ocampo looks into crimes committed by his own forces? Or are the fresh president's words just a facade? Time will tell.