SECURITY COUNCIL PRESS STATEMENT ON CÔTE D’IVOIRE

The following Security Council press statement on Côte d’Ivoire was read out today by Council President Dumisano S. Kumalo ( South Africa):

The Members of the Security Council heard a briefing by Abou Moussa, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, and Gérard Stoudmann, High Representative for the Elections, on the situation in Côte d’Ivoire.

The Members of the Security Council welcomed the agreement signed by President Laurent Gbagbo and Guillaume Soro in Ouagadougou on 4 March, under the auspices of the Chairperson of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), President Blaise Compaoré of Burkina Faso.

The Members of the Security Council commended President Gbagbo and Guillaume Soro for their determination to reach a positive result in the framework of their direct dialogue.  They commended also President Compaoré for his efforts to facilitate the conclusion of the Ouagadougou agreement.

The Members of the Security Council took note of the commitments of the parties to all United Nations resolutions on Côte d’Ivoire, including resolution 1721 (2006), and underlined that the Ouagadougou agreement provides a good basis for a comprehensive and all-inclusive settlement of the crisis in Côte d’Ivoire through the organisation of credible elections.

The Members of the Security Council encouraged the signatories of the agreement to fully implement all their commitments and welcomed their recent statements to this effect.

The Members of the Security Council supported the intention of the Secretary-General, expressed in his last report, to engage discussions with President Compaoré and the parties concerning the role that the United Nations should play to help them in implementing all provisions of the Ouagadougou agreement.

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For information media • not an official record