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AFRICA

Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI)

Recent Developments
The November 30 Presidential Statement urging the Ivorian parties to reach an agreement on the appointment of a prime minister and indicating the Council’s readiness to impose targeted sanctions on individuals-broadly interpreted as the Council’s last warning-appears to have had an impact. On 4 December, Charles Konan Banny, the governor of the Central Bank of West African States, was appointed interim prime minister of Côte d’Ivoire.

The Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Juan Méndez, visited Côte d’Ivoire between 29 November and 3 December. After numerous interviews, he declared that the ethnic orientation of the conflict could lead to “massive and serious violations of human rights”.

On 15 December, sanctions imposed by resolution 1572 (2004) expired and, on the same day, the Council adopted a resolution extending those measures for a year and creating a new Group of Experts of five members. The resolution also contained provisions for an embargo on the export of Ivorian diamonds and requested the rebel Forces nouvelles to provide an inventory of their weapons. This resolution did not impose individual targeted measures stipulated by paragraphs 9 and 11 of resolution 1572 (2004). In light of the positive news of the appointment of the prime minister, Council members now appear to agree that the activation of these measures should wait and be considered in the light of progress with the establishment of the new government.

Expected Council Action
In January, the Council is expected to receive the seventh progress report of the Secretary-General on the UN Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI). The mandate of UNOCI will expire on 24 January. The Council is expected to renew it and, depending on the Secretary-General’s recommendations, consider an increase in the troop level and a possible modification of the mandate.

Key Facts
The failure to conduct presidential elections before the end of President Laurent Gbagbo’s constitutional term of office on 30 October 2005 resulted in a crisis that led to action by both the African Union and the Security Council. It was decided in resolution 1633 (2005) that:

• President Gbagbo would remain in power for a maximum of 12 months after his term ended;
• a new prime minister acceptable to all parties would be appointed to exercise executive powers;
• an International Working Group (IWG) responsible for the evaluation and monitoring of the peace process be set up and produce a road map leading to elections;
• a new type of mediation would be conducted daily by a subgroup of the IWG composed of the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Côte d’Ivoire, the Secretary-General’s High Representative for the Elections in Côte d’Ivoire, and representatives of ECOWAS and the African Union; and
• the threat of sanctions against individual spoilers would be strengthened.

At its 6 December meeting in Addis Ababa, the IWG decided to provide the prime minister with the right to enact legislation until the end of the transitional period arising from resolution 1633 (2005). The IWG will hold its next meeting on 15 January in Côte d’Ivoire.

Sanctions against individuals found to be obstructing the peace process, violating human rights, publicly inciting hatred and violence and violating the arms embargo provided for by resolution 1572 (2004) have not come into effect for specific individuals because of differences within the Sanctions Committee and because the AU mediator has believed that this might be counterproductive. The Group of Experts repeatedly recommended to the Council that it act on its earlier decisions in this regard.

Key Issues
Discussions are underway on whether an increase in the troop level of UNOCI would be necessary and feasible. The Secretary-General has been requesting a substantial increase in the troop level and is very likely to renew this recommendation in January, given the current needs in terms of security and with regard to the implementation of the roadmap.  There is some opposition within the Council on this matter.

A further issue is the question of a possible mandate change to permit UNOCI troops to better monitor the arms embargo.

The progress of government formation will also be a possible issue. The designation of key ministries such as finance, defence and interior are likely to be controversial and could result in backsliding in the peace process.

And the issue of possible renewed violence will be closely monitored as the resolution is being prepared.

Finally there is the issue of past human rights violations, which simmers below the surface, notwithstanding the decision to defer any individual sanctions at this stage.

Council Dynamics
For the past year, the Council took its cue from the AU mediator and followed his recommendation to refrain from activating sanctions aimed at individuals. Frustrated by the parties’ failure to advance the political process, the Council by late November appeared ready to act on its earlier decisions. In light of the parties’ compliance with the demand to appoint a prime minister, however, the Council seems now to be willing once again to give the parties the benefit of the doubt and to postpone further the possibility of the imposition of these individual measures. For similar reasons, while some members of the Council have argued for inviting the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide for a briefing, others felt that such a briefing at this moment could be counterproductive for the political process.

Furthermore, Russia, China and Algeria have been opposed to sanctions against individuals violating human rights, as well as to additional measures related to the functioning of the arms embargo, such as the audit of the country’s cocoa revenues, recommended by the Group of Experts. China and Russia have also been opposed to an increase in troop levels of UNOCI and measures that would facilitate the tightening of the arms embargo.

Options
With regards to the renewal of UNOCI, the Council has the following options:

• increase the troop level and modify the mandate to allow the mission to better monitor the arms embargo and to protect the civilian population more effectively;
• consider the redeployment of troops from the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) to Côte d’Ivoire, as allowed by resolution 1609 (2005) “within the authorized personnel ceiling of a given mission”, an option that would require addressing various financial, procedural and political obstacles;
• a technical roll-over and continued discussions; and
• mandate renewal without change.

A further option would be for the Council to decide to consider the report of the international commission of inquiry on serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law in Côte d’Ivoire from 19 September 2002. The report was requested by Presidential Statement of 25 May 2004 and transmitted to the Council in December 2004. The Council has not considered the report and, thus, the report has not yet  officially been made public.

The Council may also decide to invite the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide to brief on his recent trip to Côte d’Ivoire.

Depending on the developments on the ground, another option would be for the Council to activate the targeted sanctions against individuals found to be obstructing the peace process, violating human rights, publicly inciting hatred and violence and violating the arms embargo provided for by resolution 1572 (2004).

Underlying Problems
The lack of financial and human resources for UNOCI to help in the implementation of all components of the roadmap is a real problem and has been raised by the Secretary-General.

An Independent Electoral Commission was created in 2001 with the task of conducting the electoral process and clarifying questions regarding nationality, identification and naturalisation. According to the terms of the Linas-Marcoussis and Pretoria agreements, this commission’s composition was amended in order to achieve a better representation of all the parties. However, because of disagreements between the parties within the Commission over the election of its bureau, the Commission is still not operational. Since 15 July, it has been headed by Antonio Monteiro, the High Representative for the Elections in Côte d’Ivoire, appointed by the UN Secretary-General. If the commission does not become quickly operational, it could jeopardize the elections due in October 2006.

Human rights violations have continued, and there has been little or no progress on disarming rebels in the northern half of the country.

The obstruction of the work of UN peacekeepers has also hindered the peace process. For this reason, the Council has emphasised in resolution 1643 (2005) that activities impeding the actions of UNOCI would not be tolerated.

The failure to consider and make public the 2004 report of the international commission of inquiry on serious violations of human rights has led to questions being raised on the ground, especially by members of civil society, about the value of UN investigations and UN’s commitment to transparency.

UNOCI does not have good intelligence and lacks technical skills to fulfil its mandate regarding the monitoring of arms embargo on land.

UN Documents

Other Relevant Facts

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