CÔTE D’IVOIRE CARRIES OUT NATIONWIDE POLIO CAMPAIGN WITH HELP OF UN MISSION

The Government of Côte d'Ivoire is wrapping up a nationwide campaign to immunize children against polio today, carried out with the help of the United Nations mission which provided logistical support to the effort to stamp out the highly infectious and incurable viral disease.

Some 6 million children were targeted in the four-day campaign, which began on 14 August and is part of the National Immunization Days.

The UN Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) transported medical teams and equipment in 41 localities in the departments of Odienné and Daloa. UN Police were also mobilized to assist throughout the campaign.

The mission will continue to assist authorities over the next few days as they evaluate the immunization efforts, which were also supported by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Polio – contracted through contaminated food, water and faeces – was almost eradicated in Côte d'Ivoire until a case was confirmed in December 2008 in Adiaké in the country's east.

The disease attacks the nervous system and mainly affects children under five. One in 200 infections leads to irreversible paralysis, usually in the legs, and among those paralyzed, five to 10 per cent die when their respiratory muscles become immobilized.
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AHEAD OF POLLS, SECURITY COUNCIL EXTENDS UN FORCE IN CÔTE D’IVOIRE BY SIX MONTHS

The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) by another six months, expressing its support for the long-awaited presidential elections now slated for late November.

In a unanimously adopted resolution, the 15-member Council voted to keep the mission – and that of the French forces supporting it – in place through 31 January next year.

It stressed that "the Ivorian political actors are bound to respect this timeline to demonstrate their political commitment towards the holding of free, fair, open and transparent elections," originally intended to be held as far back as 2005 but now scheduled for 29 November.

Welcoming the successful registration of all voters, the Council said that postponing the polls "would be inconsistent with a credible process and with the Ouagadougou Political Agreement," the 2007 blueprint for political reconciliation in the West African country which has been divided since 2002 between the Government-held south and a northern area dominated by the rebel Forces Nouvelles.

It underscored the need for all civil society groups to take part in the electoral process, as well as ensuring the protection and respect for human rights.

In particular, the Council emphasized the importance of "respect for freedom of opinion and expression, and removing obstacles and challenges to women's participation and full involvement in public life."

Last week, the top UN envoy to Côte d'Ivoire told the Council that bureaucratic complications involved in planning and running the long-delayed polls "are not to be underestimated," noting that the identification and registration of more than 6 million voters, intended to wrap up in six weeks, took more than nine months.

Y.J. Choi, the Secretary-General's Special Representative and head of UNOCI, said that "a public electoral timeline with detailed stages shall constitute one of the most important remedies to this chronic and pervasive problem," adding that the Ivorian electoral management body seems to be struggling with the operation of the elections.

The month of September, he said, could prove decisive to the overall peace process as that is the deadline for many electoral planning and reunification-related issues – such as reintegrating members of the rebel Forces Nouvelles into the army, police and gendarmerie – to be solved ahead of the presidential polls, which were supposed to be held in 2005 and then 2008.

He warned that, "given this mixed picture of worrying signs amid solid progress," it may be necessary "to develop options [by October]… with a view to finding a way to reconcile the contradictions currently facing the Ivorian electoral and reunification process."
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IVORIAN POLITICAL PARTIES MUST ENSURE ELECTIONS WILL BE FREE AND FAIR – UN REPORT

Côte d'Ivoire's political parties have the responsibility for ensuring that much-delayed presidential elections, now scheduled to take place on 29 November, are held on time and are free, fair and transparent, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says, urging them to act appropriately.

In his latest report on the work of the UN Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI), Mr. Ban writes that he has been encouraged by the progress so far to identify and register more than 6.4 million eligible voters, the ongoing pre-electoral campaigning activities, and the parties' reaffirmation that all signatories of a 2003 peace accord are eligible to stand as candidates in the upcoming polls.

"It is important that the Ivorian parties sustain the progress achieved so far and complete, in a timely manner, the remaining stages of the peace process," the report states. "The parties should also preserve the prevailing positive political climate."

Mr. Ban says he looks forward to the immediate publication of what he called a "consensual and realistic timeline" for completing the remaining tasks ahead of the elections, including the publication of provisional and final lists of voters.

He also emphasizes the need for more progress towards reunification – in 2002 Côte d'Ivoire became divided between the Government-controlled south and the rebel Forces Nouvelles-held north – before the elections, which were previously supposed to be conducted in 2005 and 2008.

"It is the political will and calculations of the main Ivorian political players that will ultimately determine whether or not the election date will be respected… Their successful conduct will place Côte d'Ivoire on the path to reclaim its place as a pillar of stability, democracy and development in the subregion."

The Secretary-General also states that if the elections can be staged successfully, they will constitute a benchmark that would provide a basis for devising an exit strategy for UNOCI, which was set up in 2004 to replace an earlier UN political mission.

In the interim, he recommends that UNOCI's mandate be extended through the end of January 2010.
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UN HELPS PLAN ELECTION SECURITY IN CÔTE D’IVOIRE

UN HELPS PLAN ELECTION SECURITY IN CÔTE D'IVOIRE
New York, Jun 3 2009 4:00PM
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Côte d'Ivoire said today it had begun, together with national authorities, planning the deployment of mixed units – made up of former rebels and government forces – to provide security during the presidential elections scheduled for November.

The head of the UN Police in Côte d'Ivoire, Pierre André Campiche, met with the Ivorian Defence Minister Michel Amani N'Guessan and Interior Minister Désiré Tagro to discuss details of the joint operations and Ivorian requests for security support for the elections, the mission, known as <"http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unoci/">UNOCI, said in a news release.

Prime Minister Guillaume Soro announced two weeks ago that presidential elections will be held on 29 November. The ballot had been repeatedly postponed after President Laurent Gbagbo's mandate expired in October 2005.

Mr. Amani N'Guessan said that 500 members of the Defence and Security Forces had been redeployed thus far in Bouaké and 100 Armed Forces of the New Forces (FAFN) members had been redeployed to Abidjan.
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CÔTE D’IVOIRE: UN MISSION URGES PROMPT RESUMPTION OF VOTER REGISTRATION

New York, May 21 2009 6:00PM
The United Nations Mission in Côte d'Ivoire (<"http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unoci/">UNOCI) today called for a prompt resumption of voter registration to allow for broad participation in the November presidential elections.

UNOCI spokesman Hamadoun Toure told reporters in Abidjan that the Mission "stresses the importance of a strong commitment to expedite the remaining tasks for organizing free, fair and transparent elections in the country."

Of primary importance, he said, was the opening or re-opening of hundreds of closed registration centres and the recovery of documentation damaged in disturbances.

Last Thursday Prime Minister Guillaume Soro announced 29 November as the date for the long-delayed election. Welcoming the announcement, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged "all Ivorian parties to respect this date and to work together to complete the remaining tasks related to the electoral process," in a statement issued by his spokesperson. The elections have been repeatedly postponed, most recently in December of 2008.

Mr. Toure said UNOCI specifically encourages all parties to the ballot to begin registration, help in the publication of provisional electoral lists, confirm voter lists, print and distribute electoral materials and consolidate the legal framework for the electoral campaign and the organization of presidential elections themselves. He added that UNOCI was committed to helping the process.

The Mission has been providing technical and logistical support for preparations for the elections, including in areas such as voter identification and registration.

Some 6 million voters had been registered, or about 70 per cent of the country's eligible voter pool.
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INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE IN CÔTE D’IVOIRE MUST TURN TO REUNIFICATION – UN OFFICIAL

International efforts in Côte d'Ivoire, long focused on elections, must now prioritize uniting the country, which has been divided since 2002 between the Government and the rebel Forces Nouvelles, a United Nations envoy said today.

"Henceforth, the progress in the electoral process is now contingent on the evolution of the reunification issue," Choi Young-Jin, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Special Representative for the West African country, told the Security Council.

Last year, Mr. Choi explained, the UN Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI), which he leads, focused its attention on a citizen identification and voter registration operation, providing technical, logistical and financial support for these pre-election needs.

In his latest report on UNOCI, Secretary-General Ban called for a realistic timetable for the holding of the long-postponed elections as a matter of urgency, saying that the polls would bring to a successful conclusion the current transitional arrangement in Côte d'Ivoire.

However, at the onset of 2009, the momentum toward elections weakened when reunification became a precondition for the polls, under new accords reached under the Ouagadougou Political Agreement that guides the country's peace process.

Unfortunately, reunification, in turn, has gotten bogged down due to differences over the centralization of the treasury, the transfer of authority from Zone Commanders to administrative and other necessary, but contentious, issues.

"In sum, as it stands, the prospect for the early elections and reunification cannot be described as encouraging," Mr. Choi said.

On the other hand, the restoration of peace, security and normalcy is making steady progress in the country, and not a single major incident has marred the identification process, which has topped six million people.

Achievements highlighted in Mr. Ban's report included the end of hostilities between the Forces Nouvelles and national troops, the removal of the zone of confidence that had physically divided the country, and the restoration of free movement of people and goods throughout its territory.

In today's statement, Mr. Choi added that ministries remain in place, along with some 40,000 State security forces supported by about $200 million in funds out of a $5 billion annual national budget.

However, he also pointed out that all State institutions are somewhat hampered by the transitional nature of the Government, making political progress necessary.

"This complicated picture of the Ivorian political and electoral map requires some hard thinking on our part," Mr. Choi told the Council.

Noting that the international community up until now had not been heavily involved in reunification, he concluded, "Now that the electoral process is predicated on the reunification issue, we may have to [make] some meaningful contributions to reunification, by extension accelerating the electoral process."
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CÔTE D'IVOIRE: UN CALLS ON PARTIES TO FOCUS ON PEACE PROCESS, STALLED ELECTIONS

The United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) has urged political leaders to show restraint and focus on the peace process aimed at unifying the country, which has been divided since 2002 between the Government-held south and a northern area dominated by the rebel Forces Nouvelles.

"It is also imperative to avoid an escalation of verbal confrontation which would only divert attention from the issues that real concern Ivorians," UNOCI spokesperson Hamadoun Touré told journalists in Abidjan.
In response to a question on the call by elements of the Forces Nouvelles for the Prime Minister to resign, Mr. Touré said that it was an internal matter and underscored the importance of the institutional framework established by the Ouagadougou Political Agreement. "We are counting on this system, otherwise we are going to find ourselves in situations which could be beyond our control and take us back."
He noted that there are urgent challenges to overcome in order to organize open, free, fair and democratic elections as soon as possible.

After a meeting with the West-African nation's Prime Minister yesterday, Y. J. Choi, head of UNOCI, told correspondents that there is now peace and stability in the country, with commercial activity in the south, north and west, and the identification and voter registration operation making strides.

However, he said, there have been delays in the electoral process, which now lacks a timetable, along with slow implementation of the latest addendums to the Ouagadougou Political Agreement, especially with regards to the transfer of authority, the centralization of the treasury and the redeployment of the administration in the north.
Earlier, the spokesman had announced that Mr. Choi, who is also the Special Representative of Secretary-General for Côte d'Ivoire, would be presenting the Secretary-General's latest report on the country to the Security Council on 28 April.
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UN-BACKED WORKSHOP TO BOOST THE STATUS OF POLICEWOMEN IN CÔTE D’IVOIRE

UN-BACKED WORKSHOP TO BOOST THE STATUS OF POLICEWOMEN IN CÔTE D'IVOIRE
New York, Feb 25 2009 7:00PM

Improving the status and effectiveness of women, whose numbers have risen steadily in the past decade, in the police force of the Côte d'Ivoire is the subject of a new training course organized by the United Nations mission known as UNOCI in the West African country.

Some 30 Ivorian police officials are taking the course – created by the UN Police (UNPOL) and the Gender Unit of UNOCI and financed by the German cooperation agency, GTZ – which examines "the reception, work and environment of women in the national police, a milieu previously exclusively for men," according to the mission.

Women now number around 1,700, which is around 10 per cent of national police in Côte d'Ivoire, says UNOCI, which is assisting the implementation of the peace process in the country, following its division into a Government-controlled south and a rebel-dominated north in 2002.

At the launch of the three-day training session, which took place in the city of Grand-Bassam, east of the capital Abidjan, the head of UNOCI's Gender Unit, Eva Dalak, said that the seminar could bring about a better integration of women into the national police.

Reaching that goal, she said, depended on individual responsibility, on leadership and the engagement of participants, who would develop a follow-up plan of action during the course.
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