Security Council holds consultations on extension of UN Mission in Côte d'Ivoire
The United Nations Security Council held closed-door consultations today on a quarterly report on Côte d'Ivoire from UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, recommending a six-month extension of the UN mission's mandate there in the hope that governmental authority can be restored throughout the country.
Without the removal of the present obstacles to a lasting peace between the government's Forces Armees de Côte d'Ivoire (FANCI) and the opposition Forces Nouvelles, elections scheduled for 2005 cannot be held, Mr. Annan said.
"In order to keep the Ivorian peace process on track, the fundamental issues behind the current stalemate must be identified and openly addressed," he says, adding, "In the meantime, I recommend that the mandate of MINUCI (the UN Mission in Côte d'Ivoire) be renewed for a further period of six months."
The peace process, including the composition of the Government of National Reconciliation, has been governed by the Linas-Marcoussis Agreement, signed in France last January.
The Forces Nouvelles and six other signatories to the agreement have protested, however, that President Laurent Gbagbo did not delegate enough power to Prime Minister Seydou Elimane Diarra and the National Reconciliation Government. In September, eight cabinet ministers from the Forces Nouvelles withdrew, severely handicapping the government, the report says.
In the northern areas it controls, Forces Nouvelles has set up roadblocks to collect fees from travellers. Shooting into the tarmac, it held up a UN plane for "four hours of unjustified delays." Forces Nouvelles soldiers have been reported to fight over spoils from three bank robberies and have threatened to kill seven military officers from MINUCI who were reconnoitring, the report says.
Currently 34 UN military liaison officers in the country monitor security and help build confidence. Mr. Annan says he has approved the deployment of the remaining 42 officers in accordance with Security Council resolution 1479, which established MINUCI. The Mission's civilian component is focusing on human rights and the media, as well as on preparations for the elections.
Mr. Annan proposes a $29.9 million budget for the mission from 13 May 2003 to 30 June 2004.