Highlights

- SRSG attends official signing of modus operandi for identification
- Forces Nouvelles arrests defectors in Danané

Electoral

The technical operator Sagem and the National Statistics Institute (INS), which are both in charge of the identification and the electoral census processes have agreed a modus operandi. The document was signed in presence of the Ivorian Prime Minister Guillaume Soro and the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Cote d'Ivoire,
Y. J. Choi. The modus operandi has been validated by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) and will be submitted to the Government for the final adoption, thus enabling the reconstitution of destroyed or lost civil registers, the identification and the voters' registration processes to start in the near future. Ivorian local authorities however have already started taking an inventory of places where the civil registers have either been completely or partly destroyed or lost.

Forces Nouvelles

A group of nine former Armed Forces of the Forces Nouvelles officers who defected three years ago to Government forces, along with approx 200 men were arrested late on the night of 29 May 2008, while trying to travel across Danané to Zouan Hounien. They were arrested at the FAFN checkpoint just outside Danané and are currently in custody. The former FAFN members reportedly defected to Government Forces after receiving an undisclosed amount of money and were involved in minor skirmishes with the FAFN near Danané in 2005.

Arms embargo

Arms embargo inspections were successfully carried out on 30 May 2008 at the Defence and Security Forces of Cote d'Ivoire camp in Guitry near Gagnoa (south west) and at its Gendaremerie Brigade in Toumodi (central).

Humanitarian

GHANBATT peacekeepers, based in Bondoukou, donated cooking oil, rice, sugar, milk among other foodstuff to the orphanage in the town this weekend. The director of the institution thanked the peacekeepers and told them that their gifts had come at a time when they were most needed.

Human Rights

As a way to combatting violence against women, the Regional Human Rights Office in Bondoukou on 29 May 2008, conducted a human rights awareness session for various stakeholders in the region. The one-day session was chaired by the Prefect of the Zanzan Region and attended by local dignitaries, including King Nanan Bibi II and the deputy-Mayor of Bondoukou. King Nanan Bibi II publicly pledged his full support for the fight against female genital mutilation (FGM) in his area. The programme was part of the national tour on "Human Rights through Theatre" initiated in March 2008 by the Human Rights Division and the Manh Boya Theatre Company.