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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