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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BAN WELCOMES NEW DATE FOR LONG-AWAITED IVORIAN ELECTION

BAN WELCOMES NEW DATE FOR LONG-AWAITED IVORIAN ELECTION
New York, May 15 2009 3:00PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed the announcement by the Government of Côte d'Ivoire of 29 November 2009 as the date for the West African nation's long-awaited presidential election.

"He urges all Ivorian parties to respect this date and to work together to complete the remaining tasks related to the electoral process," his spokesperson said in a <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=3852">statement.

Last month Mr. Ban had called for a realistic timetable for the holding of credible and transparent polls, which he said would bring to a successful conclusion the current transitional arrangement in the country, which has been divided since 2002 between the Government-held south and a northern area dominated by the rebel Forces Nouvelles.

"Côte d'Ivoire is now at a stage where only two critical processes need to be completed in order to restore normalcy: reunification and elections," he wrote in a report covering the activities of the UN mission in the country, known as <"http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unoci/">UNOCI.

The mission has been providing technical and logistical support for preparations for the elections, including in areas such as voter identification and registration. Nearly 6 million voters have been identified so far.

In today's statement, Mr. Ban assured the Ivorian parties that the UN will continue to provide the necessary support to help them organize and conduct free, fair and credible elections, including through the certification mandate of his Special Representative for Côte d'Ivoire, Y. J. Choi.
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WHO Sees Chemicals Risk For Poor Country Healthcare.

"Growing use of chemicals in poor countries as they develop their economies is putting increasing strain on their healthcare systems and medical workers, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday. 'The health sector is faced with additional roles and responsibilities due to increased production and use of chemicals in developing countries and those in economic transition,' the WHO said in a paper... submitted to the second International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM2)....

The WHO paper said the introduction of new chemicals into a society requires the health sector to expand its traditional roles and responsibilities. It highlights several incidents such as an outbreak of sodium bromide poisoning in Angola in March 2008 affecting 467 people, the death of 18 Senegalese children in February this year when a district of Dakar was contaminated by lead from recycled batteries, and eight deaths and about 85,000 health-related consultations from the dumping of toxic waste in Ivory Coast in 2006...." [Reuters/Factiva]

ICRC News Release - Côte d'Ivoire: Some 17,500 people to resume farming

Abidjan (ICRC) – The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) will today begin to distribute seed and tools to 2,500 families – 17,500 individuals – in Toulepleu, Blolequin and Guiglo.

"The distribution is taking place a few weeks before the rainy season. It is intended mainly for people who fled during the events of 2004 but have decided to return to the area now that it is calm again. The distribution will also benefit those who lost a high proportion of their harvests when flooding occurred in December 2008," said Yves Van Loo, who heads the ICRC sub-delegation in Guiglo.

Those receiving the aid are people whose primary occupation is farming but who cannot afford to buy high-quality seed for the upcoming growing season. "Obtaining basic seed has been my main concern since returning to the village almost five months ago. Now I feel relieved to be able to cultivate my fields again thanks to support from the ICRC," said Goho Gabriel, a man in his fifties living in Toulepleu.

The aid distributed in cooperation with Ivorian Red Cross volunteers – rice and corn seed, and hoes – should enable those receiving it to resume, after a long interruption, the farming activities they carried out in former days. Eventually, they will be able to build up their seed stocks again using proper grain preservation techniques.

The Guiglo sub-delegation opened in 2005. It is one of five local facilities under the supervision of the ICRC's delegation in Côte d'Ivoire. The delegation's work consists mainly in visiting places of detention, enhancing economic security, upgrading water-supply systems, promoting hygiene and supporting medical services. The ICRC also provides support for the efforts of the Red Cross Society of Côte d'Ivoire to help needy people, and spreads knowledge of international humanitarian law among personnel of the country's defence and security forces.

LACK OF FUNDS FORCES UN TO GROUND WEST AFRICA HUMANITARIAN AIR SERVICE

LACK OF FUNDS FORCES UN TO GROUND WEST AFRICA HUMANITARIAN AIR SERVICE
New York, Mar 17 2009 4:00PM

The United Nations said it is shutting down its Humanitarian Air Service in West Africa due to a serious lack of funding, seriously impairing aid operations in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire.

The UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) flies aid workers from the UN and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), as well as journalists and others, to some of the hardest-to-reach emergency operations around the world.

Run by the World Food Programme (WFP), UNHAS plays a vital role in areas in accessing remote locations and in cases where insecurity prevents travel by road.

WFP's Emilia Casella told reporters in Geneva that UNHAS will ground its West Africa coastal air service for good on 20 March. This follows the temporary suspension of its service in Niger on 28 February, also due to lack of funds.

About 30 NGOs working in the West African coastal area have pleaded with WFP not to close the Service, saying that they would be shut down or unable to perform their operations without this essential partner. However, it looked as if the Service will have to shut down this week.

Ms. Casella noted that UNHAS Chad is also significantly under-funded, with a shortfall of 92 per cent of its $11.4 million budget. This is particularly worrying the Service is expected to carry about 43,000 humanitarian workers over the course of 2009 in Chad.

For the Central African Republic, the shortfall is 83 per cent and there is no confirmed funding for that country beyond the end of this month. In addition, Ethiopia only has enough funding until the end of April.

This means that aid agencies will not be able to get to the people who need help, and that the UN will not be in a position to do urgent medical and security evacuations in a timely manner in some of these areas, noted Ms. Casella.

In 2008, UNHAS carried more than 360,000 humanitarian passengers and 15,000 metric tons of humanitarian cargo in 16 countries, on 58 chartered aircrafts.
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