S/PV.7607 Security Council

The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. Members of the Council have before them document S/2016/47, which contains the text of a draft resolution submitted by France, Japan, New Zealand, Senegal, Spain, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United States of America, Uruguay and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. I wish to draw the attention of Council members to document S/2015/940, which contains the thirty- seventh 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. 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 2260 (2016). I now give the floor to those members of the Council who wish to make statements after the vote.

Egypt voted in favour of resolution 2260 (2016), concerning the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI). We had hoped that the resolution would highlight the request of the Government of Côte D’Ivoire for the sanctions imposed against it to be lifted. However, given the importance of the resolution and the positive message it sends to the Government and the people of Côte d’Ivoire, in particular regarding the country’s decisive achievements in its democratic and political development and in the light of the progressive drawdown of UNOCI, the delegation of Egypt joined in the unanimous adoption of the resolution. Egypt continues to believe that it would be appropriate to lift the measures imposed against the Government of Côte D’Ivoire in the context of the discussion regarding the future of UNOCI. It is important to undertake efforts, in parallel with the UNOCI drawdown, to reform the security sector in order to enable the elected national Government of Côte d’Ivoire to assume its responsibilities in the maintenance of peace and security throughout its territory, given the major regional security challenges facing the country. Efforts towards economic and political reform and national reconciliation must therefore continue to be pursued. We look forward to engaging in an in-depth discussion on the lifting of sanctions and to the review of the Côte d’Ivoire sanctions regime to take place in March.