S/PV.4746 Security Council

In accordance with the understanding reached in the Council’s prior consultations, and with the consent of the Council, I shall take it that the Council agrees to extend an invitation to His Excellency Mr. Nana Addo-Dankwa Afufo-Addo, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ghana, to participate in the discussion, without the right to vote, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Charter and rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure. There being no objection, it is so decided. On behalf of the Council, I extend a warm welcome to His Excellency Mr. Nana Addo-Dankwa Afufo-Addo, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ghana.

In accordance with the understanding reached in the Council’s prior consultations, and with the consent of the Council, I shall take it that the Council agrees to extend an invitation to His Excellency Mr. Mamadou Bamba, Minister of State and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Côte d’Ivoire, to participate in the discussion, without the right to vote, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Charter and rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure. There being no objection, it is so decided. On behalf of the Council, I extend a warm welcome to His Excellency Mr. Mamadou Bamba, Minister of State and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Côte d’Ivoire.

In accordance with the understanding reached in the Council’s prior consultations, and with the consent of the Council, I shall take it that the Council agrees to extend an invitation to His Excellency Mr. Dubem Onyia, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Nigeria, to participate in the discussion, without the right to vote, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Charter and rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure. There being no objection, it is so decided. On behalf of the Council, I extend a warm welcome to His Excellency Mr. Dubem Onyia, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Nigeria.

In accordance with the understanding reached in the Council’s prior consultations, and with the consent of the Council, I shall take it that the Council agrees to extend an invitation to the representative of Senegal to participate in the discussion, without the right to vote, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Charter and rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure. There being no objection, it is so decided.

I should also like to welcome the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Guinea, His Excellency Mr. François Lonsény Fall, who is with us today as head of the delegation of Guinea. I should like to inform the Council that I have received a letter dated 25 April 2003 from the Permanent Representative of Ghana to the United Nations, which reads as follows: “I have the honour to request that the Executive Secretary of the Economic Community of West African States, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, be invited to address the Security Council on Tuesday, 29 April 2003, in accordance with rule 39 of the provisional rules of procedure of the Council.” That letter has been published as a document of the Security Council under the symbol S/2003/500. If I hear no objection, I shall take it that the Council agrees to extend an invitation under rule 39 to His Excellency Mr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas. There being no objection, it is so decided. On behalf of the Council, I extend a warm welcome to the Executive Secretary of the Economic Community of West African States, Mr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, and invite him to take a seat at the Council table. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. The Security Council is meeting in accordance with the understanding reached in its prior consultations. As President, I am pleased to welcome the Ministers or Ministers of State for Foreign Affairs of Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea and Nigeria, who are part of the ECOWAS mission, to address, with the members of the Security Council, the situation in Côte d’Ivoire. This meeting follows up on the statement of Mr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, Executive Secretary of ECOWAS, at the Council’s public meeting on 11 April 2003, when we discussed the relationship between the Security Council and regional and subregional organizations in facing the new challenges to international peace and security. We favour strengthening mechanisms of cooperation and coordination between the United Nations and ECOWAS, to create a process leading to lasting and stable peace in Côte d’Ivoire and to implement measures designed to achieve security and stability in that country and in the rest of the West African region. I am happy now to welcome the Secretary- General, His Excellency Mr. Kofi Annan, to whom I give the floor.

First, let me warmly welcome the distinguished Foreign Ministers of countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) who are here with us today, and to thank ECOWAS, as well as France, for the important role they are playing in the search for peace and stability in Côte d’Ivoire through their support for the implementation of the Linas-Marcoussis Accord. On the military front, their peacekeeping activities have played a key role in averting escalation in the fighting. Secondly, let me thank the members of the Council for the consistent attention they have given to the crisis in Côte d’Ivoire and to the role of the United Nations in the peace process. My Special Representative, Mr. Albert Tevoedjre, is currently chairing the follow-up committee established in accordance with the Linas-Marcoussis Agreement, and I am pleased at the progress that Prime Minister Seydou Diarra has made in establishing the new Government. The presence of such a high-level ECOWAS delegation shows today how seriously West Africa takes the problem immediately confronting us; namely, how to replenish the depleted financial resources of the ECOWAS Peace Force for Côte d’Ivoire (ECOFORCE) so that it can continue playing its essential role in promoting peace in Côte d’Ivoire. In this context, we must acknowledge the help already given by those donor countries and institutions that have been assisting ECOWAS since the beginning of its involvement in Côte d’Ivoire, and particularly for the deployment of ECOFORCE. At this critical time, when the various Ivorian parties have at last begun taking important steps to implement the Accord, ECOWAS has found it necessary to decide on a substantial increase in the size of ECOFORCE in order to make it more effective. I appeal to members of the Council, and the broader international community, to quickly provide ECOWAS with the additional financial resources that will be required to sustain ECOFORCE for the next six months. In order to complement the peacekeeping efforts launched by ECOWAS and France, I have recommended the establishment of a small United Nations operation comprising military liaison components, as well as human rights, civil affairs and media components. I hope that Council members will shortly authorize this mission so that the United Nations can strengthen its role in the Ivorian peace process. In conclusion, let me assure the ECOWAS ministers that the United Nations will continue to cooperate with them as we work together to help the Ivorian people recover the stability and prosperity for which their country was so well known in the past.

I thank the Secretary-General for his statement. The next speaker is His Excellency Mr. Nana Addo-Dankwa Afufo-Addo, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ghana and current Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States, on whom I call.

We are here as a result of a mandate given to us by the Mediation and Security Council of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to try to advance the peace process in Côte d’Ivoire. On 7 April, the Council mandated a team of Foreign Ministers of five ECOWAS countries — Guinea, a member of the Security Council, Senegal, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana — to come to the West to apprise Governments and the Security Council of the measures that are being taken to try to consolidate the process of peacemaking in Côte d’Ivoire and to seek the Council’s support for those measures. As the Council knows, since the crisis broke out in Côte d’Ivoire, ECOWAS has been active, within its means, to try to contain and stabilize the situation in Côte d’Ivoire. It has done so principally, first of all, by negotiating a ceasefire among those who are fighting, and also by contributing to the negotiations on a new Government of national reconciliation in Côte d’Ivoire. That Government is now in place, and the developments that have taken place since it came into being are convincing all of us that, indeed, Côte d’Ivoire is now returning to the path of normalcy and peace. It is, therefore, essential on the part of the Community to give the new Government and that process the maximum amount of support. It is in the light of that that the Defence and Security Commission of ECOWAS decided that it would be necessary to expand the force that was put into Côte d’Ivoire from a force of 1,200-odd soldiers to a force of some 3,200 soldiers. The mandate given to the original force was essentially a role in monitoring the ceasefire. It has now been decided that that mandate should be transformed to include several other elements: first, the protection of the new Government; secondly, the ability to patrol the borders, especially the western border of Côte d’Ivoire, which is a source of great concern; thirdly, responsibility for the demobilization and disarmament of the various militias in Côte d’Ivoire; and, lastly, the creation of the conditions that would allow the new Government to have full control of the national territory. Clearly, the redefinition of this mandate and the expansion of the force have obvious financial implications. Despite the willingness of ECOWAS to find a home-grown solution to the problem, the means available to the Community are not what they should be. It is for that reason that the Mediation and Security Council decided to mandate this group that is before the Council today to tour certain capitals and to come to this body to seek its support for the financing of this expanded force in Côte d’Ivoire. We began our journey yesterday in Washington, where, in our view, we had an extremely fruitful interchange. We have come here today, and from here we shall be going to Europe — principally to Paris, Rome, Berlin, London, The Hague and Brussels — to press the case for assistance in financing the force. The intention is to conclude our tour at Brussels on 12 May with a meeting of those who are interested in assisting — a donors’ conference. We are very grateful to the President and the other members of the Council for the opportunity they have given us to present our case and to say one fundamental thing: Côte d’Ivoire is an extremely important nation within the West African region. Both economically and politically, it is one of the most important States in West Africa. The Ivorians themselves have shown a willingness to try to find accommodation and understanding among themselves within the context of the very difficult circumstances in which they have found themselves during the last six months. It is our belief that it is the duty of the Community — and, indeed, if I dare say so, the duty of the international community as assembled here in the Council — to support the process that the Ivorians themselves have initiated. The most concrete support that can be given to that process is to enable this force to operate and to create the conditions that will allow Côte d’Ivoire to return to full normalcy and peace and to be able — at the end of the process, in October 2005 — to conduct credible, free and fair elections, which we believe will be the most effective way of bringing this crisis to an end. I am grateful for the opportunity to have addressed the Council.

The next speaker is his Excellency Mamadou Bamba, Minister of State and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Côte d’Ivoire, on whom I now call.

On behalf of the Government of Côte d’Ivoire, I would like to thank the Secretary-General and the members of the Security Council for their significant contribution towards the restoration of peace and stability in my country. Since the signing of the Linas-Marcoussis Agreement at Accra, political developments overall have been relatively satisfactory. A Government of reconciliation has been formed and is meeting on a weekly basis, with a Government council meeting on Tuesdays and a council of ministers meeting on Thursdays. Having seen the Government at work, I can say to the Council that the general working atmosphere is very good. The ministers, who are drawn from all the political spheres, are determined to make an effort to move Côte d’Ivoire towards peace and stability. The Government’s first important decision pertains to security in Côte d’Ivoire. The Government has therefore banned all demonstrations which are accompanied by violence. It has also banned all militias and so-called self-defence committees. A meeting of the Government council was held today at Abidjan. The Government has taken the decision to mobilize combat helicopters. We have noted that there are increasingly fewer violations of the ceasefire on the front lines. The Government is now establishing security corridors to promote exchanges between Côte d’Ivoire and neighbouring countries. In that context, the Minister of Trade has already visited Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali in order to gain the support of those Governments so that trade can be established with those countries as soon as possible. The Government has also sent a delegation to Burkina Faso so that we may very soon initiate train service between Abidjan and Ouagadougou. The people of Côte d’Ivoire are aware of their country’s role in the subregion. We are also aware of the fact that the problems in Côte d’Ivoire are affecting all the neighbouring countries of the subregion. It is for that reason that we would solemnly like to say here that the Government will abide by all of its international commitments, in particular with the Linas-Marcoussis Agreement of Kleber and Accra. However, despite the Government’s efforts, the situation continues to be fragile. It is not easy to restore confidence among belligerent forces in a very short period. But the Government is determined to make the march towards peace irreversible, and it has made reconciliation among Ivorians and between Ivorians and their neighbours a reality. Our concern today is with the situation in the western part of the country, where there are rebels from Liberia and Sierra Leone. It can be said that there is war in that part of the country today. On the diplomatic level, the heads of State of Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia met two days ago in Kara, Togo. One of the main decisions to come out of that meeting concerned the interposition of forces along the 700 kilometre border between Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia. Those forces will essentially be composed of national forces from Côte d’Ivoire, and forces from Liberia, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Peace Force for Côte d’Ivoire (ECOFORCE) and France in the context of Operation Unicorn. The second decision was to hold a meeting, either today or tomorrow, between the chiefs of staff of the Liberian and Ivorian armies in order to implement the first decision, to which I have just referred. A second major concern pertains to the flow of small weapons in the region. This is a factor for destabilization. For that reason, we believe that what is occurring in Côte d’Ivoire could take place in any country if nothing is done to control the dissemination of such weapons in the subregion. That was a brief summary of the situation. I should like to say that we need the ongoing assistance of the Security Council and of the entire international community in order for us quickly to emerge from this crisis situation and for peace and stability to be restored to Côte d’Ivoire and to the subregion. Côte d’Ivoire needs ECOFORCE, and we hope that it will remain in Côte d’Ivoire until the upcoming elections in 2005. We hope also that, with the support of the international community and with the presence of ECOFORCE, we will be able to implement all the provisions of the Linas-Marcoussis Agreement in an atmosphere of peace and calm. We keenly hope that the international community will agree to contribute to ECOFORCE, so that it can play its role side by side with the French soldiers of Operation Unicorn.

It is always gratifying for me to return to New York and to meet again with all my friends around this table. I wish also to thank you, Mr. President, for convening this meeting with the members of the Security Council. We are very pleased to be able to have this exchange of views under your presidency. We acknowledge and fully appreciate your personal commitment to the development of an effective partnership between the Security Council and regional organizations. Your delegation, on 11 April last, convened an open meeting of the Security Council on that issue, and we welcome that. That meeting was an opportunity to stress the complementary nature of the Security Council’s actions with those of regional organizations and the need to enhance their capacity for intervention. This afternoon’s meeting is therefore taking place in the framework of the active partnership that was set up between the Security Council and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) some time ago. The mission of ECOWAS, our subregional organization, is to create conditions of peace and stability in West Africa in order to facilitate the integration of our States. We were very encouraged by the adoption by the Security Council on 4 February last of resolution 1464 (2003) and especially by its full support for ECOWAS’s efforts to promote peace and security in Côte d’Ivoire. I need hardly stress the consequences of the Ivorian crisis for the whole of our subregion, and especially the need to give ECOWAS the means it requires in order that we may continue our determined efforts to restore peace in Côte d’Ivoire. Indeed, we already have some experience in restoring peace in West Africa. This was made clear in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau, and now we are in Côte d’Ivoire. It would be presumptuous of us to tell the members of the Security Council that peacekeeping or peace-building operations require significant logistical and financial resources, which are, unfortunately, not always within reach of our countries. That is why we are looking to the members of the Council today to work with us in our initiative, which is fully in accord with the Council’s mandate. We have no doubts about the concern of the members of the Council as to the Ivorian crisis, and we count on their support for the efforts of ECOWAS for the benefit of peace and stability, a goal that is so important to the Security Council. That is the fundamental reason for our presence here today. We are convinced that with the Council’s continued support for our organization — if it indeed does continue — and with assistance from our bilateral and multilateral partners, the action that we have undertaken in Côte d’Ivoire will be successful and accord fully with the efforts of the Security Council to restore peace in Côte d’Ivoire and stabilize West Africa.

I should like to say how gratified we are to see the representative of Guinea once again occupying his country’s seat at the Council table. I give the floor to Mr. Dubem Onyia, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Nigeria.

I wish fully to align myself with the statement made by the leader of the delegation of Guinea, the Foreign Minister. He has said all that needs to be said. I wish simply to add that there is a need for us to come together and for the Security Council to take seriously the issue of Côte d’Ivoire. It is important, because we cannot stand by and watch Côte d’Ivoire deteriorate to the level of Sierra Leone before the intervention of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) and of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL). If we want to look at the problems of the subregion holistically and ensure peace and stability there, this is the time to come to the aid of Côte d’Ivoire. Looking at the problem in Côte d’Ivoire will contribute to the resolution of all the other problems within the subregion. I personally do not have anything to add to what the leader of the delegation said earlier.

The next speaker on my list is Mr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, Executive Secretary of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), to whom I give the floor. Mr. Chambas: Mr. President, you have been very kind to the ECOWAS secretariat. Under your presidency, this is the second time you have given the opportunity to the executive secretariat to address the Council, which we deeply appreciate. We have had the privilege of participating in two meetings organized by the Council in the past two months. Under the Guinean presidency, there was a meeting on 18 March on the proliferation of small arms and mercenaries in West Africa. Then, as you will recall, Sir, under your presidency, on 11 April, we had a meeting in this Council on regional organizations and the Security Council facing new challenges to international peace and security. Certain themes were common in the discussions at these two meetings: first, the link between instability and deepening poverty; secondly, the link between the easy availability of arms and the existence of a system of violence and instability in certain subregions, including our own; and thirdly, the link between prolonged crisis and the emergence of a network of mercenaries and unemployed youths ready for hire in various conflicts. The discussions of the Council at the two meetings underscored the importance and the role of regional organizations in breaking the cycle of violence in their respective subregions and in taking the necessary diplomatic and political measures — supported, of course, by member countries in the subregions to create conditions for peace and stability, which are essential for fighting poverty and nurturing democratic Governments. ECOWAS has taken up this challenge. We have shown no lack of political will to act and intervene in conflicts in the subregion, whether in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau, as seen in the past, or now in Côte d’Ivoire. Of course, our major limitation has been the lack of financial wherewithal: the financial resources to carry through with our commitments. That is what faces us as we attempt to stabilize Côte d’Ivoire and restore normality, peace and prosperity. I believe that the Council is now challenged to find ways in which it can support worthy subregional efforts to maintain peace and security, which, after all, is the primary responsibility of the Security Council. I know that in this discussion there have been suggestions, inter alia, that we might begin to look at cases of successful subregional deployment of troops under Chapter VIII to stabilize crisis situations and ask ourselves whether it might not be prudent for the Council to provide the requisite resources for such forces. We think that the Council should indeed encourage ECOWAS and other subregional organizations to continue to play a leading role, for instance, as we are doing in Côte d’Ivoire. Indeed, it should encourage the creation of the right synergy and collaborative working relationships between ECOWAS and the Council to deal with these problems of peace and security. In that regard, we very much welcome the scheduled visit by the Security Council to the subregion during the presidency of the United Kingdom. We look forward to continuing these discussions during that impending visit.

I thank the Executive Secretary of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for the kind words he addressed to me. We have listened attentively to statements by the Secretary-General, by the Ministers or Ministers of State for Foreign Affairs of Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea and Nigeria and by the Executive Secretary of ECOWAS. In accordance with the understanding reached in the Council’s prior consultations, I should now like to invite Council members to a private meeting to continue our discussion of this subject.