S/PV.6506 Security Council

I thank Mr. Khare for his briefing. I now give the floor to the representative of Côte d’Ivoire.

As this is the first time that I am taking the floor in the Security Council since having been appointed and begun my work as Permanent Representative by the President of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, His Excellency Mr. Alassane Ouattara, on this solemn occasion I should like to convey the profound and sincere gratitude of the people, the Government and the President of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire to the members of the Security Council for having paid tireless attention to the Ivorian crisis. The obligation and responsibility to protect civilians in situations of imminent danger is at the heart of the concerns of the international public opinion, given the situation that has prevailed in Côte d’Ivoire since 28 November 2010 and despite the presence of the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI), which is mandated, inter alia, to protect civilians in imminent danger of violence. Over the past three months, Mr. Gbagbo’s forces have committed massive violations of human rights and massacred more than 500 civilians with their hands tied. In the light of this duty and responsibility to protect civilians, my delegation calls on the Security Council, acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, to authorize the strengthening of the mandate and current posture of UNOCI. The thirty-ninth Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), held in Abuja, Nigeria, on 23 and 24 March, adopted resolution A/RES.1/03/11 of 24 March. The resolution, inter alia, “requests the United Nations Security Council to authorize the immediate implementation of the Authority Decisions of December 2010. In this context, [it] requests the United Nations Security Council to strengthen the mandate of the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire… enabling the Mission to use all necessary means to protect life and property, and to facilitate the immediate transfer of power to Mr. Alassane Ouattara”. The resolution also recalled “the decisions of the Extraordinary Summits of the Authority of 7 and 24 December 2010, particularly regarding paragraph 10 of the latter, which states: ‘In the event that Mr. Gbagbo fails to heed the immutable demand of ECOWAS to hand over power, the Community would be left with no alternative but to take other measures, including the use of legitimate force, to achieve the goals of the Ivorian people’”. Therefore, taking into account the deep involvement of ECOWAS in addressing the Ivorian crisis, the application of Chapter VIII in this regard seems relevant to us, with a view to ensuring the necessary coordination and cooperation between UNOCI and ECOWAS in order to effectively protect Côte d’Ivoire’s civilian population, millions of whom were born in other ECOWAS countries. In its decision taken at the 265th meeting, held in Addis Ababa on 10 March, the African Union Peace and Security Council definitively confirmed the legitimacy of Mr. Alassane Ouattara as President of Côte d’Ivoire. It also called on Mr. Gbagbo, for the last time, to peacefully cede power in no more than two weeks. A high representative of the African Union is to be appointed to implement that decision. With the deadline having passed yesterday, a high representative is yet to be named. Assistant Secretary-General Khare referred to the escalation of violence currently taking place in Côte d’Ivoire, which is a matter of genuine concern. Ivorians are dying every day. Human rights violations are taking place daily. Every Ivorian is experiencing the traumatic effects of this situation. I would just refer to two incidents. On the morning of 3 March, women who had gone out to demonstrate — in a joyous, carnival-like atmosphere — were machine-gunned by Mr. Gbagbo’s forces. Like members of the Council, many people were shocked by the images broadcast around the world. Four days later, artillery shells were fired at a market in the neighbourhood of Abobo. The mortars that fell in the centre of the market, during the busiest period, killed 40 and injured 60. My delegation is concerned, and has asked to speak here to draw the Council’s attention to this unbridled escalation of violence in Côte d’Ivoire. Moreover, we wish to reiterate our condemnation, voiced some time ago, in connection with what is a situation of ethnic cleansing or premeditated genocide. Those being targeted include, first, Ivorians of Dioula and Baoulé ethnicities, whose members include, respectively, President Alassane Ouattara and President Henri Konan Bédié, his ally in the coalition with the Rally of Houphouëtistes for Democracy and Peace; secondly, nationals from other ECOWAS States living in Côte d’Ivoire, including from Burkina Faso, Niger, Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Ghana, Togo and Benin; and, thirdly, Africans of the Muslim faith. Civilians living in Côte d’Ivoire are victims of Mr. Gbagbo’s reign of terror, whose atrocities include a propensity by his militias to desecrate mosques and assassinate Muslim clergy, in the hope of provoking a similar reaction by the Muslim community, thereby sparking an inter-ethnic conflict of incalculable consequences. Fortunately, in their great wisdom, leaders of the Muslim community have echoed the calls for calm and restraint, which have been heeded by their followers. The toll of the atrocities since the beginning of the post-electoral crisis up to 18 March is as follows: 859 killed by gunfire; 1,886 injured, 542 of them seriously; 100 persons disappeared; and 876 arrests, with 45 persons still being held. As expected, this situation has set off an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe in Côte d’Ivoire, with negative consequences for the region. The Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations has already cited statistics, so I shall not repeat them. Faced with a situation that is further deteriorating on a daily basis, the tragedy being experienced by our people and the danger of increased crimes against humanity, my delegation solemnly calls on the Security Council to immediately adopt robust measures against former President Gbagbo and all those who support him. Those measures should include, first, the immediate establishment by UNOCI and the Licorne force of a comprehensive plan throughout the country to provide security for civilians in imminent threat of danger, especially in Abobo and Anyama, by putting in place a security cordon; second, the destruction of military weapons used by Mr. Gbagbo’s forces to carry out the massacre of civilians; third, completely isolating Mr. Gbagbo by not recognizing his representatives, in particular in Africa; fourth, a prohibition on the issuance of visas to Mr. Gbagbo and members of his family and inner circle; fifth, the strengthening of monitoring of the embargo on weapons and the application of sanctions against countries that contribute to its violation; sixth, freezing the assets held abroad by Mr. Gbagbo, his family and his inner circle; seventh, submitting the serious violations of human rights and crimes against humanity in Côte d’Ivoire to the International Criminal Court; and, lastly, emergency authorization of the legitimate use of force to safeguard Côte d’Ivoire’s population, democracy and peace, as well as to install President Alassane Ouattara fully into office. We have recently learned that Mr. Gbagbo’s militias have acquired weapons of mass destruction, including BM-21 multiple rocket launchers and a Mi-24 helicopter, which they are preparing to use against civilians. In addition, we have been informed that heavy weapons are pointed at the Golf Hotel, where the President of Côte d’Ivoire is temporarily lodged. Those weapons pose an ongoing real threat against the personal security of the country’s President, his Government and all those inside the Golf Hotel. The question that arises is, Can the Security Council content itself with remaining a passive observer in the face of the calculated extermination of many thousands of people living in Côte d’Ivoire? In his latest message to the nation, President Ouattara expressed his desire to bring together, without distinction, all the people of Côte d’Ivoire, carrying out a concrete programme for national reconciliation and the unification of the army and the country as a whole. President Ouattara believes that we must close the chapter on violence and civil war. Côte d’Ivoire should once again become the country of peace and hospitality it has always been, and once again follow its calling, in the words of its national anthem, as a united and welcoming country.

I now invite Council members to informal consultations to continue our discussion of the subject.