SUMMARY

In 2001, Charles Blé Goudé started a youth organisation under the name of COJEP (Congrès Panafricain des Jeunes et des Patriotes, The Pan African Congress of Youth and Patriots). The movement, highly supportive of the presidency of Laurent Gbagbo, quickly became a powerful political tool for the ruling government. By organising events throughout the capital city of Abidjan, Blé Goudé was able to mobilize thousands of young Ivorians highly receptive to messages of propaganda. Addressing the masses, Blé Goudé spread messages of hatred towards the rebels, foreign involvement and ethnicities not considered to be native to the Ivory Coast.

With the attempted rebel coup against the government of Laurent Gbagbo in September 2002, COJEP was mobilised to enter an alliance with the pro-Gbagbo associations and youth groups. The outcome was the creation of the Alliance of Young Patriots for National Revival (AJPSN). Mobilised to support the government of Laurent Gbagbo in its struggle against the rebels, the youth movement was extremely violent prone and was responsible for several human rights abuses including summary executions, rapes and kidnappings during the Ivorian intra-state conflict. Since the creation of AJPSN, the Young Patriots movement has further been structured around several organisations and youth groups, such as the Union for the total liberation of Ivory Coast or the National Coalition of Resistance of the Ivory Coast.

During the presidential dispute of 2011, the Young Patriots, under the command of Charles Blé Goudé, played an important role as a pro-Gbagbo militia. The group actively participated in the targeting of supporters, or alleged supporters, of the opposition.

The Young Patriots have been involved in the one-sided category of UCDP organised violence