- UNOCI Officer-in-charge briefs press on UN's participation in government seminar;
- UNOCI peacekeepers hand over law enforcement responsibilities to Mixed Brigade at Zéalé
- Joint operations by UNOCI and UNMIL along border continue
- Senior UN Human Rights official visits Côte d'Ivoire
Political
UN Operation in Côte d'Ivoire officer-in-charge Abou Moussa today briefed the national and international press on the participation of ONUCI and UN agencies in the government seminar held in Yamoussoukro yesterday. The aim of the seminar was to ensure ownership of the Ouagadougou Accord by the Government and define an action plan for implementing the agreement.
Mr Moussa said the UN system used the opportunity to reaffirm its readiness to be at the side of the government in the post-Ouagadougou process and to serve as a dynamic operational interface, in particular in the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of ex-combatants, the dismantling of militias, identification, the preparation of elections and, especially, sensitizing the population with regard to the peace process. He added that the UN attached much interest and attention to the seminar, which will surely contribute towards making peace irreversible in Cote d'Ivoire. The seminar resulted in the adoption of a draft road map for the post-Ouagadougou process.
Security
Three men found with their throats cut in the western town of Fengolo on 30 April 2007 were formally identified yesterday. They are Sangare Mory, aged 40, Sangare Kalilou (40) and Fofana Abdoulaye (35). All three were traders who lived in Duékoué and were passing through Fengolo on their way to sell their goods. The three men were buried by relatives on 1 May 2007 in the area where their bodies were found. A PAKBATT patrol went on 2 May to the village to further investigate the circumstances surrounding the murders. In a related incident, villagers in Fengolo yesterday apprehended two men suspected of being bandits and handed them over to the newly installed mixed brigade in Bangolo. The mixed brigades, comprising members of the Defence and Security Forces of Côte d'Ivoire (FDS-CI) and the Armed Forces of the Forces Nouvelles (FAFN), are being deployed in locations within the former zone of confidence.
Military
Joint special operations were yesterday carried out by UNOCI and UNMIL peacekeepers along the Liberia/Cote d'Ivoire border for the third day running. As part of the operation, BANBATT, Military Observers (MILOBs) and UN Police (UNPOL) from Danané conducted extensive patrols at Dopleu and Gbentapleu, while BENINBATT and Milobs from Duékoué patrolled in Zriglo, Troya and Seibli villages. No unusual activities were observed in the areas patrolled.
No representatives from the Armed Forces of the Forces Nouvelles (FAFN) were present yesterday when BANBATT peacekeepers handed over responsibility for law enforcement in parts of the former Zone of Confidence to the newly installed Mixed Brigade at Zéalé.
GHANBATT yesterday reported that the construction of an observation post at Kokpingué had begun. [The zone of confidence, whose dismantling began on 16 April, is being replaced by a line of 17 observation posts which are to be progressively reduced.]
Human Rights
On 2 May, Ms. Ize-Charrin, Director of the Operations, Programme and Research Division in the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights, started a three-day visit to Côte d'Ivoire as a follow-up to the High Commissioner's visit to this country in July 2005. Mrs. Ize-Charrin is using this opportunity to assess the need for UN support in the field of human rights following the Ouagadougou Agreement.
During her visit, she will meet with the Prime Minister, ministers whose portfolios touch on human rights such as Defence, Security, Justice and Human Rights, the United Nations Country Team (UNCT), donor agencies and local and international human rights NGOs. She will also pay a field visit to Bouaké to meet with Forces Nouvelles authorities and travel to rural areas where human rights abuses have recently taken place. Prior to coming to Côte d'Ivoire, Ms. Ize-Charrin visited Senegal, where she discussed the opening of the Human Rights Regional Office for West Africa in Dakar with Senegalese authorities.