Security Council urges parties to implement Côte d'Ivoire peace deal 'constructively'

Voicing satisfaction at the agreement to end nearly four months of civil strife in Côte d’Ivoire, members of the United Nations Security Council today urged the parties to implement the peace accord constructively, without delay and to avoid further violence.

The Council's reaction, read in a statement to the press by the President of the 15-nation body, Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sablière of France, came after a closed-door briefing by Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who had just returned from Paris, where the accord was signed late last week.

"Members of the Security Council thanked the Secretary-General for the important role that he has played in the talks, either directly or through the intermediary of his Special Representative" for West Africa, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, Ambassador de La Sablière said. "They expressed the wish that the United Nations support the implementation of the peace process, [and] stated their intention to consider promptly the Secretary-General's recommendations to that end."

Ambassador de La Sablière added that Council members stressed once again the importance of the support of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to the restoration of peace and security in Côte d'Ivoire. "They welcomed the continued efforts to deploy the ECOWAS Military Observer Group (ECOMOG) force, under Senegalese command," he said.

Council members also voiced appreciation for the work of the African Union to bring about a settlement, and thanked France for its diplomatic efforts and military deployment aimed at facilitating a political settlement of the crisis.