Côte d’Ivoire: UN mission welcomes formation of new Government

The United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) today welcomed the formation of a new Government in the divided West African country – a move which followed in-depth consultations between the parties.

In a statement released in the commercial centre of Abidjan, UNOCI called the consensus “a new, important breakthrough within the framework of the peace process.”

It also underscored the “major challenges that await Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny and the team he has just formed.”

The mission called on all Ivorian parties to “unequivocally supportthe new Government and to grant it all the assistance it needs to respond positively to the expectations of the population, who have paid the heaviest price in a crisis that has lasted all too long.”

The statement also reaffirmed UNOCI’s full backing for the new Prime Minister, who was a prominent banker, in the execution of his duties, and pledged to do its part as a member of the International Working Group (IWG).

That body also includes the African Union (AU), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the European Union (EU), the International Organization of the Francophone, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), six African countries, France, the United Kingdom and the United States. It receives reports from its officials charged with mediating, called the Mediation Group, and the Security Council sanctions committee monitoring the weapons and diamonds ban on Côte d’Ivoire as well as travel restrictions against key individuals.

The Mediation Group maintains contact with the Government, which controls the northern part of the country, and rebels, who control the southern half. It “will verify that the Prime Minister has all the resources he needs to carry out his mission successfully,” ONUCI said today.

“This support is aimed at enabling the new Government to lead Côte d’Ivoire to peace and national reconciliation by successfully carrying out the disarmament and dismantling of the militias, the disarmament of ex-combatants, the identification process and the organization of free, fair and democratic elections,” the mission said.