Côte d'Ivoire: UN peacekeeping mission would cost $303 million for 6 months

Deploying a multifaceted United Nations peacekeeping force in Côte d'Ivoire for six months would cost about $303 million, Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the Security Council in a letter made public today.

"The projections take into account personnel and assets of the United Nations Mission in Côte d'Ivoire already on the ground and provide for the deployment of 6,240 military personnel, including 200 military observers, 120 staff officers, 350 civilian police officers and 435 international and 529 national staff, as well as 119 United Nations Volunteers," he said.

The current UN mission in Côte d'Ivoire (MINUCI) comprises 34 military officers and a small number of civilian employees. Peacekeeping is being carried out by the West African military force known as ECOMICI and a French peacekeeping operation called Licorne.

If the Security Council decided to place peacekeepers in Côte d'Ivoire, assessments levied on UN Member States would be credited to a special account for that purpose, Mr. Annan said.

An agreement signed in Linas-Marcoussis, France, in January last year ended fierce fighting between the Government and the then-rebellious Forces Nouvelles. They have now formed a government of national unity.

In the original report, to which the letter on costs is an addendum, Mr. Annan had said he would recommend that the Security Council launch a full peacekeeping operation in Côte d'Ivoire if the parties there implemented their peace agreement, maintained a unitary government and disbanded disruptive militant groups.