UN envoy takes part in summit to restart peace process in Côte d’Ivoire

The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for West Africa, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, is in the capital of Burkina Faso today to participate in a one-day summit called to find ways to revive the stalled peace process in divided Côte d’Ivoire.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) also organized the summit in Ouagadougou to help implement Security Council resolutions on Côte d’Ivoire, which has been split between the rebel-held north and the Government-controlled south since 2002.

Earlier this month the Council extended the mandate of the UN Operation in the country, known as UNOCI, and the French forces supporting it until the end of June, and authorized them to cooperate with UN peacekeepers in neighbouring Liberia in preventing arms from crossing the border.

The Secretary-General’s most recent report to the Council urged the parties in Côte d’Ivoire to restart their peace process and resolve their disputes.

The report emphasized that the mandate of both Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny and President Laurent Gbagbo was renewed for a “final transition period not exceeding 12 months” and called on the two leaders to “eschew confrontation and maintain a constructive working relationship.”

As of late last year, UNOCI had nearly 9,000 uniformed personnel supported by some 360 international civilian personnel, 500 local staff and 220 UN Volunteers.