Post-election violence has claimed 173 lives in Ivory Coast, the UN says, as international pressure mounts for Laurent Gbagbo to quit the presidency.
The US says it is exploring ways to strengthen the UN presence in Ivory Coast, where Mr Gbagbo's forces are in a tense stand-off with supporters of his rival, Alassane Ouattara.
Liberian mercenaries are helping Mr Gbagbo's troops, the UN has confirmed.
The UN's rights council (UNHCR) ordered an official inquiry into the violence.
After a special meeting in Geneva, the council issued a statement condemning violations including "abductions, enforced or involuntary disappearances, arbitrary detentions, extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, acts of sexual violence, denial of right to peaceful assembly, the loss of lives and the acts of destruction of property".
The BBC's Imogen Foulkes in Geneva says the commission's unanimous stand will increase pressure on Mr Gbagbo to step down and for the UN to remain in Ivory Coast. BBC News
