Security Council

6076^th Meeting (PM)

SECURITY COUNCIL EXTENDS MANDATES OF UN CÔTE D’IVOIRE OPERATION, FRENCH SUPPORTING

FORCES UNTIL 31 JULY, UNANIMOUSLY ADOPTING RESOLUTION 1865 (2009)

Reduces Troop Strength; Endorses Reconfiguration, Benchmarks for Further Drawdown;

Urges Political Actors to Reach Agreement on New Election Time Frame ‘Without Delay’

The Security Council today renewed, until 31 July 2009, the mandates of the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) and the French forces that support it, while reducing the mission’s strength by one battalion and endorsing the adjustment of UNOCI’s posture and configuration.

By the terms of resolution 1865 (2009), which was unanimously adopted today, the Council endorsed the recommendations contained in the report on UNOCI (document S/2009/21), in which the Secretary-General concluded that, even with increased stability, the delicate electoral process and the implementation of the remaining tasks of the peace agreement require that UNOCI maintain its core capabilities and a deterrent posture to respond to anticipated risks.  (See Press Release SC/9577)

As suggested by the Secretary-General, the Council, while extending the mandate of UNOCI for six months, decided to reduce the Operation’s troop level from 8,115 to 7,450, and endorsed the recommendations on the adjustment of the force’s posture and configuration, under which UNOCI would be placed in fewer, but more concentrated, positions, from which sufficient troop numbers could be rapidly deployed as airborne quick-reaction detachments.  As outlined in the report, the force’s mobility would be enhanced with adequate air capabilities, including additional utility helicopters, taking into the account continued support of the French forces in terms of quick reaction capabilities.

Taking note with deep concern of the postponement of the presidential election, which had been initially scheduled for 30 November 2008, the Council urged the country’s political actors to find without delay an agreement on a new and realistic time frame for the elections, which should elaborate such key stages as publication of provisional and final versions of the electoral list, preparation and distribution of identity and voter cards, and the date of the elections.  It also welcomed the progress in the identification of the population and registration of voters, and called upon the Ivorian parties to continue to take, as a priority, concrete steps to complete those operations before the end of next month.

While welcoming the signature on 22 December of the fourth Supplementary Agreement to the Ouagadougou political Agreement of 2007, the Council took note of the delays in the implementation of that accord, urging the parties to make progress in order to create a secure environment for the elections; disarmament and dismantling of militias; the cantonment and disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programme; unification and restructuring of defence and security forces; and restoration of State authority throughout the country.

The Council also endorsed the benchmarks that had been proposed for a further drawdown of UNOCI, which include completion of a credible disarmament, demobilization and reintegration process and dismantling of militias; successful completion of the elections; commencement of security sector reform, in particular confidence-building measures within a broader framework for democratic governance and oversight of the security sector; reunification of the Army and establishment of functional and republican Ivorian Armed Forces and security services; and restoration of State authority throughout the country.

By the resolution, the Council also reaffirmed its intention to authorize temporary reinforcement of UNOCI, through inter-mission cooperation with the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), during the period immediately before, during and after the elections, in the form of military and air capability support within the framework of Security Council resolution 1609 (2005).

The meeting was called to order at 3:12 p.m. and adjourned at 3:14 p.m.

Resolution

The full text of resolution 1865 (2008) reads as follows:

“The Security Council,

“Recalling its previous resolutions, in particular resolutions 1739 (2007), 1765 (2007), 1795 (2008), 1826 (2008) and 1842 (2008) relating to the situation in Côte d’Ivoire, and resolution 1836 (2008) on the situation in Liberia,

“Recalling also the statements of its President relating to the situation in Côte d’Ivoire and in particular that, in the statement dated 7 November 2008 (S/PRST/2008/42), it took note that the delays that had occurred since the launch of the identification and voter registration process had proven greater than expected and expressed its deep concern about a possible third consecutive delay of the presidential elections since the signature of the Ouagadougou political Agreement,

“Reaffirming its strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and unity of Côte d’Ivoire, and recalling the importance of the principles of good-neighbourliness, non-interference and regional cooperation,

“Recalling that it endorsed the Agreement signed by President Laurent Gbagbo and Mr. Guillaume Soro in Ouagadougou on 4 March 2007 (“the Ouagadougou political Agreement”, S/2007/144), and the three following Supplementary Agreements, as recommended by the African Union,

“Expressing again its appreciation to President Blaise Compaoré of Burkina Faso (“the Facilitator”) for his continued efforts to support the peace process in Côte d’Ivoire, in particular through the Ouagadougou political Agreement follow-up mechanisms, commending and encouraging the continued efforts of the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (“ECOWAS”) to promote peace and stability in Côte d’Ivoire, and reiterating its full support for them,

“Stressing again the importance of the international consultative organ participating in the meetings of the evaluation and monitoring committee, as an observer,

“Reiterating its strong condemnation of any attempt to destabilize the peace process by force, and expressing its intention to examine without delay the situation after any such attempt, on the basis of a report by the Secretary-General,

“Having taken note of the report of the Secretary-General dated 8 January 2009 (S/2009/21),

“Recalling its resolution 1674 (2006) on the protection of civilians in armed conflicts and condemning all violations of international humanitarian law,

“Noting with concern, in spite of the sustained improvement of the overall human rights situation, the persistence of cases of human rights violations against civilians in different parts of the country, including numerous acts of sexual violence, stressing that the perpetrators must be brought to justice, and reiterating its firm condemnation of all violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in Côte d’Ivoire,

“Recalling its resolution 1612 (2005) on children and armed conflict and the subsequent conclusions of the Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict pertaining to parties in the armed conflict of Côte d’Ivoire (S/AC.51/2008/5), and expressing its deep concern that children continue to suffer from various forms of violence,

“Recalling also its resolutions 1325 (2000) and 1820 (2008) on women, peace and security, condemning any sexual violence, stressing again the importance of women’s equal participation and full involvement in all efforts for the maintenance of peace and promotion of peace and security and the need to increase their role in decision-making with regard to conflict prevention and resolution, and encouraging the Secretary-General to mainstream a gender perspective in the implementation of the mandate of the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (“UNOCI”),

“Emphasizing the importance of the continuing support of the United Nations system and the international community for strengthening the capacity of the Government of Côte d’Ivoire and of the electoral bodies to organize the electoral process,

“Determining that the situation in Côte d’Ivoire continues to pose a threat to international peace and security in the region,

“Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations,

(“Supporting the Ouagadougou political process”)

“1.   Welcomes the progress of the operations of identification of the population and of registration of voters and calls upon the Ivorian parties to continue to take immediately and as a priority the concrete steps necessary to complete these operations before the end of February 2009;

“2.   Takes note with deep concern that the presidential election scheduled for the 30 November 2008 has been postponed, pursuant to the communiqué of the 10 November 2008 of the permanent consultative framework established by the Ouagadougou political Agreement (S/2008/694);

“3.   Urges the Ivorian political actors to find without delay an agreement on a new and realistic time frame leading quickly to free, open, fair and transparent elections, recalls that this time frame should elaborate some key stages such as the publication of the provisional and final versions of the electoral list, the fabrication and distribution of the identity and voter’s cards and the date of the presidential elections, and urges again the President of the Independent Electoral Commission to share publicly such a timeline, as requested in the statement of President of the Security Council dated 7 November 2008 (S/PRST/2008/42) and pursuant to the communiqué of the permanent consultative framework mentioned in paragraph 2 above;

“4.   Expresses its intention in this regard to examine as soon as possible the new time frame referred to in paragraph 3 above, which will bind the Ivorian political actors and reflect their level of political commitment towards free, open, fair and transparent elections, and reiterates its determination to bring its full support to a credible electoral process in Côte d’Ivoire;

“5.   Encourages the Government of Côte d’Ivoire to make available to the Ivorian institutions involved in the electoral process the necessary resources, and encourages the international community to continue their support to the electoral process, including by providing, with the agreement of the Ivorian authorities, electoral observation capacity and related technical assistance;

“6.   Welcomes the signature on 22 December 2008 by President Laurent Gbagbo and Mr. Guillaume Soro, under the facilitation of President Blaise Compaoré of Burkina Faso, of the fourth Supplementary Agreement to the Ouagadougou political Agreement (S/2008/834);

“7.   Takes note of the delays occurred in the implementation of the fourth Supplementary Agreement referred to in paragraph 6 above and urges the Ivorian parties, pursuant to this Agreement, to make progress, including in order to create a secure environment for the holding of elections, in the disarmament and dismantling of militias, the cantonment and disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programme, the unification and restructuring of defence and security forces and the restoration of State authority throughout the country;

“8.   Urges also the Ivorian parties to implement the processes mentioned in paragraph 7 above in accordance with internationally agreed standards and calls upon the international donors to continue to provide their support to them, as appropriate;

“9.   Recalls that it is fully prepared to impose targeted measures pursuant to paragraph 16 of resolution 1842 (2008), including among other things against persons who are determined to be a threat to the peace and national reconciliation process in Côte d’Ivoire, and recalls further that, pursuant to paragraph 6 of the above mentioned resolution, any threat to the electoral process in Côte d’Ivoire, in particular any attack or obstruction of the action of the Independent Electoral Commission in charge of the organization of the elections or the actions of the operators mentioned in paragraphs 1.33, and 2.11 of the Ouagadougou political Agreement, shall constitute a threat to the peace and national reconciliation process for the purposes of paragraph 9 and 11 of resolution 1572 (2004);

“10.  Urges again the political parties to comply fully with the Code of Good Conduct for elections which they signed under the auspices of the Secretary-General, and in particular urges the Ivorian authorities to allow equitable access to public media;

“11.  Calls upon all concerned parties to ensure that the protection of women and children is addressed in the implementation of the Ouagadougou political Agreement as well as the post-conflict reconstruction and recovery phases, including continued monitoring and reporting of the situation of women and children and that all reported abuses are investigated and those responsible brought to justice;

“12.  Calls also upon all Ivorian parties to take appropriate measures to refrain from, prevent and protect civilians from all forms of sexual violence, which could include, inter alia, enforcing appropriate military disciplinary measures, upholding the principle of command responsibility, and training troops on the categorical prohibition of all forms of sexual violence;

“13.  Stresses the importance of an inclusive participation of the Ivorian civil society in the electoral process, and of ensuring the equal protection of and respect for human rights of every Ivorian as they relate to the electoral system, and in particular of removing obstacles and challenges to women’s participation and full involvement in public life;

“14.  Urges the signatories of the Ouagadougou political Agreement to take the necessary steps to protect vulnerable civilian populations, including by guaranteeing the voluntary return, reinstallation, reintegration and security of displaced persons, with the support of the United Nations system, and to fulfil in this regard their commitments in accordance with the Ouagadougou political Agreement and their obligations under international humanitarian law;

(“Renewing the mandate the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire and the French forces which support it”)

“15.  Decides to renew the mandates of UNOCI and of the French forces which support it, as determined in resolution 1739 (2007), until 31 July 2009, in particular to support the organization in Côte d’Ivoire of free, open, fair and transparent elections;

“16.  Endorses the recommendation contained in paragraphs 46 and 61 of the report of the Secretary-General dated 8 January 2009 (S/2009/21) and decides to reduce the level of authorized military personnel from 8115 to 7450;

“17.  Requests UNOCI, within its existing resources, to support actively the full implementation of the Ouagadougou political Agreement and its Supplementary Agreements, including the fourth Supplementary Agreement, and in particular to continue to contribute to bringing the security needed by the peace process, including by supporting the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programme and the disarmament and dismantling of militias, and by the electoral process and to provide technical and logistical support to the Independent Electoral Commission for the preparation and the holding of the elections;

“18.  Endorses to this end, taking into consideration the progresses achieved by the Ivorian parties in the implementation of the peace process and of the electoral process as well as the remaining challenges, the recommendations on UNOCI posture and configuration contained in paragraphs 48 to 54 and in paragraphs 61 of the report of the Secretary-General dated 8 January 2009 (S/2009/21);

“19.  Endorses further the benchmarks proposed by the Secretary-General in the paragraph 47 of its report dated 8 January 2009 (S/2009/21) for a possible further drawdown, requests the Secretary-General to monitor progress on their achievement, encourages him to continue to refine and update these benchmarks and to report to the Security Council, and expresses its intention to review these benchmarks before the 31 July 2009;

“20.  Reiterates its full support to the efforts of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Côte d’Ivoire, recalls that he shall certify that all stages of the electoral process provide all the necessary guarantees for the holding of open, free, fair and transparent presidential and legislative elections in accordance with international standards, requests UNOCI to continue to sensitize actively the Ivorian population to this certification role and reaffirms its support to the five-criteria framework elaborated by the Special Representative and referred to in document S/2008/250;

“21.  Recalls that the publication of the electoral list is a crucial step in the electoral process, calls upon the Independent Electoral Commission, the technical operators, the authorities of Côte d’Ivoire and the political parties to redouble their efforts in this regard and requests the Special Representative of the Secretary-General to certify it explicitly;

“22.  Commends the Facilitator for continuing to support the process to settle the crisis in Côte d’Ivoire, and requests UNOCI to continue to assist him and his Special Representative in Abidjan in the conduct of the facilitation, including by helping the Facilitator, as appropriate and upon his request, to carry out his arbitration role according to the provisions of paragraph 8.1 of the Ouagadougou political Agreement and paragraphs 8 and 9 of the third Supplementary Agreement;

“23.  Reaffirms its intention, as expressed in Resolution 1836 (2008), to authorize the Secretary-General to redeploy troops, as may be needed, between the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) and UNOCI on a temporary basis and in accordance with the provisions of resolution 1609 (2005), as recommended by the Secretary-General in paragraphs 52 and 62 his report dated 8 January 2009 (S/2009/21);

“24.  Underscores the importance that the military concept of operations and rules of engagement be regularly updated and be fully in line with the provisions of this resolution, in particular paragraphs 15 and 17 above and requests the Secretary-General to report on them to the Security Council and troop-contributing countries;

“25.  Requests UNOCI to continue to contribute, pursuant to paragraph 2 (k) of its resolution 1739 (2008), to the promotion and protection of human rights in Côte d’Ivoire, with special attention to violence committed against children and women, and to continue to support the efforts all parties should take pursuant to operative paragraph 12 above, and requests further the Secretary-General to continue to include in his reports to the Security Council relevant information on progress in this area;

“26.  Requests the Secretary-General to continue to take the necessary measures to ensure full compliance in UNOCI with the United Nations zero-tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and abuses and to keep the Council informed, and urges troop-contributing countries to take appropriate preventive action including predeployment awareness training, and other action to ensure full accountability in cases of such conduct involving their personnel;

“27.  Requests the Secretary-General to keep it regularly informed, at least every three months, of the situation on the ground, including a specific update on the security situation, and of the preparation of the electoral process, including the process of the establishment of the electoral list;

“28.  Requests further the Secretary-General to inform the Security Council in his upcoming reports on the development of a strategic workplan containing indicative timelines to measure and track progress on the implementation of the benchmarks referred to in paragraph 19 above;

“29.  Expresses its intention to review by 31 July 2009 the mandates of UNOCI and the French forces which support it, the level of troops of UNOCI and the benchmarks referred to in paragraph 19 above, in light of the progress achieved in the electoral process and in the implementation of the key steps of the peace process, and requests the Secretary-General to provide to it a report to this end three weeks before this date;

“30.  Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.”

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For information media • not an official record