Monitoring Group reports progress in follow-up to peace pledges in Côte d'Ivoire

Reinforcing its commitment to a 2003 peace pact that ended Côte d'Ivoire's fierce civil war, the Government has followed through on pledges made last month at a summit co-hosted by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan by transferring sweeping powers from the President to the Prime Minister, a group set up to monitor progress says in a report released today.

The submission by the tripartite Monitoring Group, made up of representatives of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Union (AU) and the UN Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (ONUCI), are forwarded to the Security Council by Mr. Annan.

Under the Accra III agreement signed by Côte d'Ivoire's political leaders in late July, President Laurent Gbagbo pledged to turn over multi-faceted responsibilities to Prime Minister Seydou Diarra, who is from the North and viewed as a consensus figure, until the next election.

The Government of Mr. Gbagbo, who was formerly jailed and exiled during a long fight against one-party rule, controls the south, while his opponents control the north. French forces known as Licorne and UN peacekeepers are stationed in between.

On 9 August, Mr. Gbagbo issued a decree to the effect that the Prime Minister shall "initiate and coordinate" government policy, receiving "some of the authority" vested in the President, including the authority to define national reconciliation policy with respect to the 2003 Linas-Marcoussis Agreement.

Among many other duties, Mr. Diarra would translate government policy into a national reconstruction programme, coordinate relations with development and financing agencies, and ensure implementation of the Government's policy on the cantonment, demobilization, disarmament and reintegration of combatants. In addition, he would prepare schedules for credible and transparent elections.

Other decrees issued earlier this month restored three opposition leaders to their ministerial duties. They were the Minister of Technical Education and Professional Training, Youssouf Soumahoro, Minister of State in the Ministry of Communications, Guillaume Kigbafori Soro, and the Minister of State in the Ministry of Economic Infrastructure, Patrick Achi.