Background
The Security Council met this afternoon to consider the situation in Côte d’Ivoire and to hear briefings by representatives from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). After the briefings, the Council was expected to take up the matter in closed consultations.
The Council took up the situation in Côte d'Ivoire following targeted attacks by rebels on 18 and 19 September in Abidjan, Bouaké and Korhogo. The Government of Côte d'Ivoire sought to end the crisis through negotiations under the auspices of ECOWAS and with the active participation of the United Nations. On 17 October, a ceasefire was signed by the Government and three rebel groups, supervised by troops from France. In December, however, fighting intensified.
On 20 December 2002, in a presidential statement, the Council expressed its full support for the deployment of an Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) force before 31 December, as called for in the final communiqué adopted on 18 December at the extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS in Dakar, Senegal.
On 4 February this year, the Council unanimously adopted resolution
1464 (2003), calling for the immediate implementation of the peace agreement signed by the Côte d’Ivoire political forces in Linas-Marcoussis, France, from
15 to 23 January, which provided for the establishment of a Government of National Reconciliation. The Council authorized, for a period of six months, the deployment of ECOWAS forces –- called ECOFORCE -- together with French troops. That mandate was extended for another six months by resolution 1498 (2002) of
4 August.
On 13 May, the Council, unanimously adopting resolution 1479 (2003), established the United Nations Mission in Côte d’Ivoire (MINUCI) for an initial period of six months. That Mission, consisting of a military liaison group co-located with the field headquarters of the French, ECOWAS, government and rebel forces, was charged with advising the Secretary-General’s Special Representative on military matters; monitoring the military situation, including the security of Liberian refugees; helping build confidence among the armed groups; and providing input on forward planning, disengagement, disarmament and demobilization.
Statement by Secretary-GeneralKOFI ANNAN, Secretary-General of the United Nations, said he was deeply concerned by the current political stalemete created by the withdrawal of the Forces Nouvelles from the Government of National Reconciliation on 23 September. Unless urgent steps were taken to resolve that impasse, the tenuous security situation in Côte d’Ivoire could deteriorate further. There were already signs that the situation in some parts of the northern provinces controlled by the Forces Nouvelles was degenerating into lawlessness.
During the summit of seven ECOWAS leaders in Accra, President Laurent Gbagbo and Prime Minister Seydou Diarra had undertaken to work closely together, he said. It was indeed essential that the Government be able to carry out the tasks assigned to it under the Linas-Marcoussis Agreement with the necessary means and authority. All parties must demonstrate genuine political will to honour their commitments and implement the Agreement in good faith. Implementation of its key provisions must begin without delay.
Urging the Forces Nouvelles to rejoin the Government of National Reconciliation without delay, he said all militias must begin to disband immediately and the armed groups must be cantoned and disarmed as soon as possible. The de facto partition of the country must end at once and the National Assembly must adopt, as soon as possible, the reforms proposed in the Government’s work programme.
He said he intended to send an assessment mission to Côte d'Ivoire to review the situation on the ground, in order to prepare recommendations for the Council, including possible reinforcement of the United Nations presence in the country. He appealed to members of the Council and to the international community as a whole to remain engaged in Côte d’Ivoire and to provide the necessary support to enable the ECOWAS force to continue its useful work in that country.
