PRESS CONFERENCE BY CÔTE D'IVOIRE

PRESS CONFERENCE BY CôTE D'IVOIRE

Ethnic tensions had eased in Côte d'Ivoire and the time was ripe to focus on such problems as nationality and immigration, Philippe D. Djangone-Bi, Permanent Representative of Côte d'Ivoire to the United Nations, told correspondents at a Headquarters press conference today.

Mr. Djangone-Bi and Shazia Rafi, Secretary-General of Parliamentarians for Global Action, were briefing reporters on a two-day subregional Parliamentary Seminar on Integration, Immigration and Naturalization, being held from 16 to

18 February in Côte d'Ivoire's capital, Abidjan.  The seminar, organized by the Parliamentarians, will stress democratic dialogue to deter increased ethnic and political tensions in the country.

"We have been able to achieve a certain degree of reconciliation, and that process is still under way," Mr. Djangone-Bi said.  He noted that Côte d'Ivoire had always respected religious and cultural diversity, but sometimes those differences caused socio-political conflict, as had occurred in his country over the past two years.

Côte d'Ivoire's population of 16 million was 28 per cent immigrant, and included 60 ethnic groups, he added.  Those immigrants came not only from bordering countries, but also such regions as the Middle East.  Immigration was encouraged by the French colonial government in the 1930s to build up an inexpensive workforce in the colony.  But, the country's high immigration rate also stemmed from its tradition of hospitality. "People only immigrate when they are well-received," he said.

Ms. Rafi said the Seminar would be an exercise in preventive diplomacy, the first of its kind in the subregion.  Participants would include representatives of nationalities currently living in Côte d'Ivoire, as well as others from Europe and Canada.  Representatives of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations, institutions for economic development and constitutional experts on immigration would also take part.

Asked what the seminar would do for Côte d'Ivoire, Mr. Djangone-Bi said the country was open to any dialogue that would help with the difficult situation it faced.  "This seminar will help us ponder our own situation . . . and find ways to continue the integration we ourselves have begun in trying to solve our problems," he said.

When another correspondent asked him to detail those problems, he replied they were traditional problems that occurred in all countries with high rates of immigration.  Whenever a country had a high level of immigrants in the population, it had problems of coexistence between neighbours -- that was normal.

"When there is no employment, some people feel it is the foreigner who has taken the bread out of his or her mouth," he said.  Côte d'Ivoire was so open that certain sectors, such as butchering, had almost entirely been taken over by foreigners.

"Sometimes there is an impression by the man on the street -- which might be false -- that there are too many foreigners," he said.  Then it is up to the government to ensure that relations between the local population and the foreigners are peaceful."

Ms. Rafia noted that her organization had been asked to assist in the country last year with a problem about political rights in the migrant population. "The willingness of Côte d'Ivoire to discuss this issue so that municipal elections could take place without problems was very commendable," she said.

Mr. Djangone-Bi said some foreigners had tried to participate in internal elections with foreign passports, although they could have obtained Côte d'Ivoire nationality.  "No country around Côte d'Ivoire allows our nationals to vote in their elections, so we cannot allow our friends and brothers who've come from elsewhere to participate in elections."

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