Press conference by humanitarian coordinator for Côte d’Ivoire

Abdoulaye Mar Dieye, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Humanitarian Coordinator for Côte d’Ivoire, warned today that the prevailing peace in the West African nation could be undermined if the widespread poverty crisis was not addressed and essential funding for humanitarian activities was not forthcoming.

Briefing correspondents at a Headquarters press conference this afternoon, Mr. Dieye said Côte d’Ivoire was at a turning point, adding that, with positive developments on the political front, space was opening up for peace to blossom.  However, while the political crisis in the country had been contained, the “underground crisis” of poverty could potentially threaten the hard-won peace.  The poverty crisis was getting deeper and deeper, with some 2 per cent of the population -- about 400,000 people -- falling below the poverty line annually.  The country also had to deal with some 700,000 internally displaced persons, 90 per cent of whom were living with host families.

The humanitarian needs of the population had become “more vivid” with the destruction of the United Nations humanitarian assets in January in the west of the country, he said.  But the United Nations was able to respond with the assistance of the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), which provided $950,000 to invest in life-saving activities, thereby stabilizing the situation.

There were high expectations put on the Organization by the people on the ground, he noted.  A recent survey revealed that 82 per cent of the local population had confidence in the United Nations, for several reasons.  First, the United Nations was present on the ground, which gave the people a sense of protection and security.  Second, in some parts of the country, including the north and the west, there was no government administration to perform basic duties.  Third, many development partners had disengaged from Côte d’Ivoire, leaving only the United Nations.

“But we need resources”, he stressed, noting a shortfall in funding for United Nations activities.  While thanking donors for what they had done to help the United Nations contain the humanitarian crisis, he stated that the size of the problem called for a scaling up of contributions.  If poverty was not addressed, he warned, the confidence of the people to “buy into the political process” could be undermined.

Although the programmes carried out had been successful, he emphasized the need to scale up activities.  The United Nations had “triggered” the return of internally displaced persons by managing to build minimum security in some areas, to resume social dialogue and to invest in basic services.  Where those three elements were combined, people tended to return spontaneously.  He pleaded to donors to keep providing funds, so the Organization could continue to scale up its activities.

“Donors don’t see Darfur in Côte d’Ivoire, and maybe that’s why they’re not forthcoming”, he said, responding to several questions on funding.  He noted that, while previous humanitarian appeals had received about 50 to 60 per cent of the needed funding, the current consolidated appeal was very under-funded, with perhaps less than 10 per cent of the needed amount having been pledged so far.

He reminded correspondents that, prior to the political crisis that began in 2002, Côte d’Ivoire’s economy had been growing at 6 per cent annually.  Since then, the country’s economy had been contracting at a rate of about -2 to -3 per cent annually, which had led to higher poverty levels.  That had significant repercussions for the country with the largest economy in West Africa.  The prevailing insecurity in some areas, along with a lack of local administration, had led to the development of “black markets”, especially in the northern part of the country.  That, in turn, contributed to the fact that some 30 per cent of the over 1 million tons of cocoa produced in Côte d’Ivoire was going out of the country, and was not going through the formal channels of trade.  In addition, investigations had shown smuggling in the gold and diamond fields in the west of the country.

As positive developments in the political sphere usually trickled down to better security, he urged all political actors to continue to invest in the political process, so that the benefits could be seen in the security situation.  Once that happened, he was confident that the pernicious acts and black market activities would subside.

Asked if it was still feasible to hold the elections scheduled for the end of October, Mr. Dieye said that technically it was feasible, adding that Côte d’Ivoire was an “exceptional situation”, where the timeline for the holding of elections had to be compressed.  Successful preparations for the election would hinge on starting the two big components of the peace process:  the identification process for the election; and disarmament.  Once those elements had gathered momentum, he was confident that the other elements of the peace process could be further compressed, in order to meet the October deadline.

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For information media • not an official record