S/PV.7471 Security Council

In accordance with rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I invite the representative of Côte d’Ivoire to participate in this meeting. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. Members of the Council have before them document S/2015/471, which contains the text of a draft resolution submitted by Angola, Chad, Chile, France, Jordan, Lithuania, Malaysia, Nigeria, Spain, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America. I wish to draw Council members’ attention to document S/2015/320, which contains the thirty-sixth progress report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire. The Council is ready to proceed to the vote on the draft resolution before it, contained in document S/2015/471. I shall put the draft resolution to the vote now.

The draft resolution received 15 votes in favour. The draft resolution has been adopted unanimously as resolution 2226 (2015). I now give the floor to the representative of Côte d’Ivoire.

At the outset, my delegation would like to thank the Security Council for the attention given to Côte d’Ivoire for more than a decade following the political and military crisis that took place in the country. My thanks also go to the Secretary-General and, through him, to his Special Representative, Ms. Aichatou Mindaoudou Souleymane, to the staff of United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) and to the French forces in Côte d’Ivoire. My delegation notes with satisfaction the Council’s deliberations today that renewed the mandate of the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire, maintaining the current uniformed personnel component. The Council decision to extend the mandate to 30 June 2016 fully accords with the desire of the Ivorian authorities, who expect to benefit from the invaluable support of UNOCI with regard to the major challenges that remain. Despite the progress that has been achieved, as duly recognized by resolution 2226 (2015), which was just adopted, the Government of Côte d’Ivoire is aware that it is important to tirelessly continue its efforts. My country is particularly attentive to the issue of human rights and intends to make every effort in the ongoing search for specific and comprehensive solutions to the problem. The political dialogue with the opposition continues within the permanent dialogue framework in order to arrive at national reconciliation and social cohesion, as well as the organization of peaceful, open, inclusive and transparent elections. The reforms undertaken in the security sector, which have enjoyed unprecedented success, will be continued. The disarmament, demobilization and reintegration work — whose reinsertion section will be continued so as to absorb former combatants who have not yet been taken into account — will be completed by 30 June 2015. The year 2015 will be marked in Côte d’Ivoire by the organization of a presidential election. That will be a crucial step for the re-establishment of peace and the consolidation of our institutions. It is understood that the successful organization of that election is the primary responsibility of the Government, as the resolution just adopted asserts so well. Nevertheless, the support of the United Nations and the international community will be useful with the approach of this crucial deadline in the political life of Côte d’Ivoire. From that perspective, my delegation welcomes the Security Council’s decision to allow UNOCI to provide logistical support to Côte d’Ivoire for the election planned for October 2015. Among other things, that support will enable access to the areas most difficult to reach. Ensuring security around the upcoming elections again presents the problem of providing the national police and the Force Républicaines de Côte d’Ivoire with adequate and sufficient material to maintain order and secure the borders. In that regard, my delegation would like to reiterate the Ivorian Government’s request regarding the total lifting of the embargo on arms coming into Côte d’Ivoire to allow our defence and security forces to appropriately fulfil the State mission and to protect and secure future elections. My delegation also takes note of the Security Council’s wish to see UNOCI, the United Nations Mission in Liberia and the country teams in the region closely cooperate for greater oversight of the embargo and of the fight against the proliferation of and illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons. In conclusion, my delegation would like to renew its expression of gratitude to the Security Council and to reiterate the Ivorian Government’s commitment to make its cooperation with UNOCI a perfect example of success that can be cited throughout the world.

The Council has thus concluded its consideration of the item on its agenda.