S/PV.5078 Security Council

I should like to inform the Council that I have received a letter from the representative of Côte d’Ivoire, in which he requests to be invited to participate in the discussion of the item on the Council’s agenda. In conformity with the usual practice, I propose, with the consent of the Council, to invite that representative 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.

The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. The Council is meeting in accordance with the understanding reached in its prior consultations. Members of the Council have before them document S/2004/892, which contains the text of a draft resolution submitted by Chile, France, Germany, Romania, Spain, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America. I wish to draw the attention of members to document S/2004/895, containing the text of a letter dated 10 November 2004 from the representative of the Gambia addressed to the President of the Security Council, and to document S/2004/896, containing the text of a letter dated 9 November 2004 from the representative of Nigeria addressed to the President of the Security Council. It is my understanding that the Council is ready to proceed to the vote on the draft resolution (S/2004/892) before it. Unless I hear any objection, I shall now put the draft resolution to the vote. There being no objection, it is so decided. A vote was taken by show of hands. In favour: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Brazil, Chile, China, France, Germany, Pakistan, Philippines, Romania, Russian Federation, Spain, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America

There were 15 votes in favour. The draft resolution has been adopted unanimously as resolution 1572 (2004). I shall now give the floor to those members of the Council who wish to make statements following the voting.

We are deeply concerned at the current situation in Côte d’Ivoire. We condemn the air raid conducted against the French peacekeepers. We are also concerned about the civilian casualties caused by this conflict. We call upon the various parties to exercise restraint so as to avoid further escalating the crisis. China has always supported the peace process in Côte d’Ivoire. We have always maintained that the crisis in that country should be resolved by political means. We hope that the situation in Côte d’Ivoire will be stabilized as soon as possible so that the peace process can be put back on the right track. We support the mediation efforts of the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States and the Secretary-General. In particular, we appreciate the efforts of President Mbeki of South Africa. We sincerely hope that those mediation efforts will yield positive results at an early date. In the light of the current serious situation in Côte d’Ivoire, China, like other members of the Security Council, favours further Council action. At the same time, we believe that the objective of such action should be to encourage the various parties to comply with the ceasefire and to resume the peace process. On the basis of that principle, and taking into account the views of the countries members of the African Union, we voted in favour of the resolution. The early achievement of peace and reconciliation will advance the fundamental interests of the people of Côte d’Ivoire and will help to stabilize the region. We urge the various parties in Côte d’Ivoire to cooperate with the mediation efforts of the international community — particularly those of the African Union — and to implement the Linas- Marcoussis Agreement and the Accra III Agreement as soon as possible. We hope that the resolution adopted by the Security Council today will assist in the attainment of those objectives.

The resolution just adopted unanimously by the Security Council pursues an essential objective — to promote the political situation that the Council has endorsed and has always supported: implementation by all the Ivorian parties of the Linas-Marcoussis Agreement and compliance with all the commitments made at Accra in July. The Security Council has never ceased to reiterate that there is no military solution to the crisis in Côte d’Ivoire. There is only a political solution: the one set out at Linas-Marcoussis and specified at Accra. For months now, we have noted and deplored the impasse in the situation owing to the refusal by all the Ivorian parties to honour their own commitments. The basic legal text defined at Linas-Marcoussis has not been adopted; the conditions for eligibility for the presidency of the Republic have not been revised; the disarmament process has not been undertaken. Those impasses are unacceptable. I must recall that the Council, when it visited Abidjan in June, recalled solemnly and with great firmness the statements made in April and May (S/PRST/2004/412 and S/PRST/2004/417). We should act today, when Côte d’Ivoire is experiencing the situation that know well, by adopting an immediate arms embargo and by deciding on a mechanism for individual sanctions if the commitments made by the parties have not been honoured by 15 December. By adopting this resolution, the Council is demonstrating today that it intends to support the initiatives of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and of the African Union by putting all the weight of the international community behind the African initiatives. Re-launching this national reconciliation process is everyone’s objective. In Côte d’Ivoire, France is committed to helping all Ivorians. We are convinced that the country must move forward towards the elections in October 2005. That presupposes that all the conditions set at Linas-Marcoussis will be met. We are all working to that end.

Today, we are dealing with the conflict prevailing in one of the key countries of our continent: Côte d’Ivoire, a country described in the past as a symbol of prosperity and stability in Africa and an important Member of the United Nations. We therefore have the moral obligation to contribute to its stability at a moment when the tension among the parties has reached alarming proportions. We very much appreciate the constant efforts that the Secretary-General, now present here, has made to bring the parties to the table of dialogue. We deplore the loss of life that has taken place since the start of this conflict. My delegation is of the view that, in such a tense and fragile environment, the Security Council should opt for a kind of pressure that will not radicalize the position of one or another party but that will instead continue to stimulate dialogue. The main concern at this moment is to find the appropriate way to calm the tension and to bring the parties back to the process of the implementation of the Linas-Marcoussis and Accra III Agreements. That should be the main — indeed, the only — objective of the resolution we have just adopted. My delegation joined the consensus, and we trust that the resolution will represent a step forward in the direction of peace and that it will encourage the parties to resume a frank dialogue, as we in Africa know how to do.

The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on its agenda. The Council will remain seized of the matter.