Security Council votes to extend Côte d’Ivoire’s transitional Government for final year

The United Nations Security Council today voted unanimously to extend the transitional government in divided and strife-torn Côte d’Ivoire for a final year and gave new powers to the country’s Prime Minister to implement a peace plan and prepare for long-delayed elections.

The resolution endorses an African Union decision to renew the mandate of Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny and President Laurent Gbagbo from 1 November 2006 “for a new and final transition period not exceeding 12 months,” and also urges that the Prime Minister must have “all the necessary powers” to prepare for the polls.

“The Security Council, stresses that the Prime Minister shall have a mandate to implement all the provisions of the road map [for peace drawn up by a group of mediators] …and of the agreements concluded between the Ivorian parties with a view to holding free, open, fair and transparent elections by 31 October 2007 at the latest,” it states.

Such provisions include disarming, demobilizing and reintegrating militias, as well as restoring State authority and other measures, the resolution adds, stressing that for these tasks, Prime Minister Banny “must have all the necessary powers… [and] must also have the necessary authority over the Defence and Security Forces of Cote d’Ivoire.”

The resolution by the 15-member body also “demands that all Ivorian parties refrain from any use of force and violence…guarantee the security and freedom of movement of all Ivorian nationals throughout the territory,” and also “cooperate fully” with the UN Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) and the French forces that support it.

The Council also “underlines that it is fully prepared to impose targeted measures against persons… who are determined to be, among other things, blocking the implementation of the peace process, including by attacking or obstructing the action of UNOCI” or others.

UNOCI has almost 9,000 uniformed personnel and is mandated to monitor the cessation of hostilities between Government and rebel forces that split the country in two in 2002, and support the organization of elections. In his most recent report on the West African country last month, Secretary-General Kofi Annan warned that the “manifest lack of political will” among the main political leaders was undermining UN efforts to restore stability.