S/PV.6071 Security Council

I propose, with the consent of the Council, to extend an invitation under rule 39 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure to Mr. Choi Young-Jin, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Côte d’Ivoire and head of the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire. It is so decided. I invite Mr. Choi to take a seat at the Council table. 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/2009/21, which contains the nineteenth progress report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire. At this meeting, the Security Council will hear a briefing by Mr. Choi Young-Jin, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Côte d’Ivoire and head of the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire. I now give him the floor.

The nineteenth progress report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) Commission to establish an electoral period. Henri Konan Bédié and Alassane Dramane Ouattara also believe that a new electoral timetable must be provided to the Ivorian people and to the international community. Given that unanimous position, I believe that the Commission should provide an electoral timetable with specific stages as soon as possible. That was the first important event. What was the other? It was the signing of the fourth supplementary agreement on 22 December 2008. The agreement contains two important points: the first concerns the completion of disarmament two months before the presidential election, and the second deals with the restoration of State authority in the North by 2 February 2009, at the latest. The provision concerning the completion of disarmament before the presidential election is a crucial change with regard to the third supplementary agreement of November 2007, which provided only for arms control — not for their elimination — before the elections. The restoration of State authority in the North, which also includes the judiciary, would then be linked, inter alia, to the settlement of disputes concerning the electoral list. Thus, the impact of the fourth supplementary agreement on the peace process in general and on the electoral process in particular could be decisive. It is too early to assess the scale of that impact, but it could complicate managing the electoral timetable. I hope to be able to provide a detailed report at the next Security Council meeting on Côte d’Ivoire. I cannot be silent about the frustration that we all share because of the delays experienced in the holding of the Ivorian elections. However, I should like to suggest that we put things in perspective. For the Ivorian people, the peace process will remain incomplete unless the three issues of identification, elections and disarmament are resolved. The United Nations will be unable to design an exit strategy unless credible elections are held and the effective reunification of the country is achieved on the basis of credible disarmament. In that regard, while there is a danger that it could further complicate the electoral process, the fourth supplementary agreement, by placing disarmament before the elections — and despite the possibility that it may be used as a pretext to delay the elections — could be seen as a mechanism to help resolve those issues. process launched with the signing of the Ouagadougou Political Agreement. We also wish to thank the French presidency of the Security Council for this month. On behalf of the Government of Côte d’Ivoire, we wish once again to express our deep appreciation to Ambassador Jean- Maurice Ripert and his team for their outstanding leadership of the work of the Council. The Government of Côte d’Ivoire has carefully considered the latest report of the Secretary-General, which covers the situation in Côte d’Ivoire and offers criteria for a possible progressive drawdown of ONUCI troops. We welcome the strong signal sent by the United Nations through the Secretary-General’s recommendations on reducing the United Nations military presence in Côte d’Ivoire. It reaffirms the significant progress made since the assumption by Ivorians of the process of overcoming the crisis with the signing of the Ouagadougou Political Agreement. We also wish to thank Ambassador Choi, Special Representative of the Secretary-General, for his objective assessment of the situation in Côte d’Ivoire and for his work to restore genuine peace to my country. This progress was consolidated by the signing, on 22 December 2008, of the fourth supplementary agreement to the Ouagadougou Agreement, which identifies the modalities and timetable for operations to disarm ex-combatants of the Forces nouvelles, disband the militias, relaunch the process of reunifying the Ivorian defence and security forces, and complete the redeployment of public administration throughout the territory, including local authorities, the judiciary and the tax and customs administrations. I am pleased to announce that the implementation of the fourth supplementary agreement began on Thursday, 15 January, with the celebration by the Ivorian Government of a dual ceremony marking the return of the financial and judicial administrations to the central, northern and western zones of the country that had previously been occupied by the Forces nouvelles. Regarding the financial administration, I note that, once the current mobilization phase is complete, customs posts will open in Ouangolo, Pogo and Bouaké in less than 10 days, on 2 February. The tax equilibrium. That is why my Government is requesting assistance in financing activities related, in particular, to the demobilization of former combatants, the restoration of State authority, the redeployment of State administration throughout the country and peacebuilding in general. Regarding peacebuilding, I take this opportunity to thank the French Government for its ongoing support to Côte d’Ivoire in the relevant bodies, with a view to substantially reducing Côte d’Ivoire’s debt; this is necessary for reviving our economy and for post-crisis reconstruction. I wish in conclusion to draw the Council’s attention to a situation that is on the verge of becoming a humanitarian issue: the individual sanctions that