Security Council

6458^th Meeting (PM)

Security Council Extends Mission in Cote d’Ivoire Until 30 June 2011, Strongly

Condemns Attempts to Usurp Will of People, Urges Respect for Election Outcome

Condemning in the strongest possible terms the attempts to usurp the will of the people and undermine the integrity of the electoral process, the Security Council this morning renewed the mandate of the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) until 30 June 2011 and urged all the Ivorian parties and stakeholders to respect the will of the people and the outcome of the election in view of the recognition by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union of Alassane Dramane Ouattara as the newly elected President of Côte d’Ivoire.

Unanimously adopting resolution 1962 (2010) under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, the Council decided to maintain UNOCI’s authorized combined military and police strength at 8,650 and extended until 31 March 2011 the temporary deployment of up to 500 additional personnel.

Also by the terms of the resolution, the Council extended authorization by up to four additional weeks the temporary redeployment from the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) to UNOCI of a maximum of three infantry companies and one aviation unit, and affirmed its intention to authorize redeployment of further troops, as needed, between UNMIL and UNOCI on a temporary basis.  It further extended until 30 June 2011 its authorization provided to the French Forces in order to support UNOCI.

The Council requested UNOCI to support, in coordination with the Ivorian authorities, the provision of security for the Government and key political stakeholders.

Condemning the persistence of reported human rights and humanitarian law violations against civilians in different parts of the country, including numerous acts of sexual violence met with impunity, the Council stressed that the perpetrators must be brought to justice.

The Council urged all relevant Ivorian stakeholders to restore without delay the broadcasting of all non-governmental media and to allow equitable and broader access to media, in particular to State media, and to refrain from using it to incite the population to hatred, intolerance and violence.

The Council reaffirmed its readiness to impose measures, including targeted sanctions, against persons who, among other things, threatened the peace process and national reconciliation, including by seeking to undermine the outcome of the electoral process, obstruct the work of UNOCI and other international actors and commit serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.

The meeting began at 12:02 p.m. and ended at 12:04 p.m.

Resolution

The full text of resolution 1962 (2010) reads as follows:

“The Security Council,

“Recalling its previous resolutions, in particular resolutions 1893 (2009), 1911 (2010), 1924 (2010), 1933 (2010), 1942 (2010), 1946 (2010), 1951 (2010) and the statements of its President relating to the situation in Côte d’Ivoire, and resolution 1938 (2010) on the situation in Liberia,

“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,

“Congratulating the Ivorian people for the holding of the two rounds of the presidential election on 31 October 2010 and 28 November 2010 with a massive and peaceful participation,

“Condemning in the strongest possible terms the attempts to usurp the will of the people and undermine the integrity of the electoral process and any progress in the peace process in Côte d’Ivoire,

“Expressing grave concern at the risk of escalation of violence, recalling that the Ivorian leaders bear primary responsibility for ensuring peace and protecting the civilian population in Côte d’Ivoire and demanding that all stakeholders and parties to conflict act with maximum restraint to prevent a recurrence of violence and ensure the protection of civilians,

“Welcoming the decisions of ECOWAS Extraordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government on Côte d’Ivoire held in Abuja on 7 December 2010 and the decisions of the 252^nd meeting of the African Union Peace and Security Council,

“Taking note of the decision of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), taken on 7 December 2010, to apply the provisions of Article 45 of the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance relating to the imposition of sanctions on Côte d’Ivoire, including the suspension from all ECOWAS decision-making bodies until further notice,

“Taking note of the communiqué of the Chairman of the African Union on 6 December 2010 and the decision of the African Union Peace and Security Council, on 9 December 2010, to suspend the participation of Côte d’Ivoire in all AU activities, until the democratically elected President effectively assumes State power,

“Recalling that it endorsed the Agreement signed in Ouagadougou on 4 March 2007 (“the Ouagadougou Political Agreement”, S/2007/144), and that it welcomed the four subsequent Supplementary Agreements,

“Paying tribute to President Blaise Compaoré of Burkina Faso (“the Facilitator”) for his critical role to support the peace process and the holding and completion of the Presidential elections,

“Commending the constructive role of the Secretary General in Côte d’Ivoire and reaffirming its full support for his Special Representative to carry out his mandate,

“Commending the continued efforts of the African Union and ECOWAS to promote peace and stability in Côte d’Ivoire, and reiterating its full support for them,

“Stressing the need for the Council to pursue a rigorous, strategic approach to peacekeeping deployments, the substantial engagement in which is more likely to lead to a sustainable peace when the parties to a conflict abide by their commitments and obligations, welcoming the intention of the Secretary-General to keep all peacekeeping operations under close review and noting the importance of contingency planning,

“Expressing its appreciation to troop and police contributing countries for their ongoing support to the peace process in Cote d’Ivoire,

“Mindful of the inter-mission cooperation arrangements between the United Nations Operations in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) and the United Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) and the need to support the UNMIL’s ability to carry out its mandate,

“Reiterating its strong condemnation of any attempt to destabilize the peace process in Côte d’Ivoire, in particular by force, and expressing its intention to address without delay the situation should any such attempt take place,

“Having taken note of the Secretary-General’s report (S/2010/600) as dated 23 November 2010,

“Recalling its resolutions 1325 (2000), 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009) and 1889 (2009) on women, peace and security, its resolutions 1612 (2005) and 1882 (2009) on children and armed conflict and its resolutions 1674 (2006) and 1894 (2009) on the protection of civilians in armed conflicts,

“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,

“1.   Urges all the Ivorian parties and stakeholders to respect the will of the people and the outcome of the election in view of ECOWAS and African Union’s recognition of Alassane Dramane Ouattara as President-elect of Côte d’Ivoire and representative of the freely expressed voice of the Ivorian people as proclaimed by the Independent Electoral Commission;

“2.   Requests the Secretary-General, including through his Special Representative, to facilitate, as appropriate, political dialogue between the Ivorian stakeholders in order to ensure peace in Côte d’Ivoire and respecting the outcome of the Presidential election as recognized by ECOWAS and African Union;

“3.   Decides to renew the mandate of UNOCI, as set out in resolution 1933 (2010), until 30 June 2011;

“4.   Decides that UNOCI will maintain its total authorized strength at 8,650 personnel, including a maximum of 7,200 troops and staff officers and 192 military observers, and a maximum of 1,250 police personnel and 8 seconded customs officers, as authorized by resolution 1933 (2010), until 30 June 2011;

“5.   Decides to authorize the Secretary-General, further to resolution 1942 (2010), to extend until 31 March 2011 the temporary deployment of up to 500 additional personnel;

“6.   Decides to authorize the Secretary-General, further to resolution 1951 (2010), to extend by up to four additional weeks the temporary redeployment from UNMIL to UNOCI of a maximum of three infantry companies and one aviation unit comprised of two military utility helicopters;

“7.   Affirms its intention to consider authorizing the Secretary-General to redeploy further troops, as may be needed, between UNMIL and UNOCI on a temporary basis, in accordance with the provisions of resolution 1609 (2005) and calls on troop-contributing countries to support the efforts of the Secretary-General in this regard;

“8.   Stresses the importance of UNOCI’s continued support to the Ivorian peace process in accordance with its mandate, especially the completion of the unfinished tasks including the legislative elections, the reunification of the country, the restoration of State authority throughout the country, the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of ex-combatants, the dismantling of militias, the strengthening of rule of law institutions, the reform of the security sector, and the promotion and protection of Human rights with particular attention to the situation of children and women;

“9.   Condemns the persistence of reported human rights and humanitarian law violations against civilians in different parts of the country, including numerous acts of sexual violence met with impunity, calls upon all Ivorian parties, with the continued support of UNOCI, to ensure the protection of civilians, especially women, children and displaced persons, stresses that the perpetrators must be brought to justice and calls upon all parties to take appropriate measures to refrain from, prevent and protect civilians from all forms of sexual violence and reaffirms paragraphs 14 to 17 of its resolution 1880 (2009);

“10.  Urges all parties to cooperate fully with the operations of UNOCI and of the French Forces which support it, in particular by ensuring their safety, security and freedom of movement with unhindered and immediate access throughout the territory of Côte d’Ivoire, including the administrative and state bodies, to enable them to fully carry out our their mandates;

“11.  Requests UNOCI to support, in coordination with the Ivorian authorities, the provision of security for the Government and key political stakeholders;

“12.  Urges all the relevant Ivorian stakeholders to restore without delay the broadcasting of all non-governmental media in Côte d’Ivoire and further urges them to allow equitable and broader access to media and in particular to State media and to refrain from using it to incite the population to hatred, intolerance and violence;

“13.  Stresses the importance for UNOCI to continue to observe and monitor the continued compliance by the parties with the comprehensive ceasefire agreement of 3 May 2003 in order to prevent a resumption of hostilities;

“14.  Recalls its authorization given to UNOCI to use all necessary means to carry out its mandate, within its capabilities and its areas of deployment;

“15.  Reiterates the importance for UNOCI to implement its protection of civilian mandate, particularly in light of the current risks for human rights and civilians in the country;

“16.  Reaffirms its readiness to impose measures, including targeted sanctions, against persons who, among other things, threaten the peace process and national reconciliation, including by seeking to undermine the outcome of the electoral process, obstruct the work of UNOCI and other international actors and commit serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, as set out by Resolution 1946 (2010);

“17.  Decides to extend until 30 June 2011 the authorization the Security Council provided to the French Forces in order to support UNOCI, within the limits of their deployment and their capabilities;

“18.  Requests the Secretary-General to provide to it a midterm report no later than 31 March 2011 on the situation on the ground, to include an assessment of the need to extend the temporary personnel deployments authorized by resolutions 1942 (2010) and a full report no later than 31 May 2011 on the situation on the ground and the implementation of this resolution;

“19.  Requests the Secretary-General to deploy a technical assessment mission to Côte d’Ivoire, following legislative elections due to take place in early 2011, that will focus on the evolving security situation, as well as the prospects of consolidating the stability of the country following the completion of the electoral cycle, and requests further the Secretary-General to submit to it recommendations on possible adjustments in UNOCI’s structure and strength as appropriate in the final report referred to in paragraph 18 above;

“20.  Decides to remain seized of the matter.”

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For information media • not an official record