Highlights

 

• 
  
  
• Ivorian electoral
  process is on course, SRSG tells diplomats in New York

Identification
restarts in Boguedia after protest by Young Patriots

 

SRSG's activities

 

The Special Representative of
the UN Secretary-General for Côte d 'Ivoire, Y.J. Choi declared in New York
yesterday that with more than three million people already identified, the
Ivorian electoral process was on course. Addressing a gathering of diplomats and
experts in political sciences organized by the International Institute of Peace,
Mr. Choi said that this progress had been achieved as part of the identification
and voter registration which had been taking place without major incidents. He
added that just one year ago, nobody would have expected the issue of
identification, which had for a long time been a thorny subject in Cote
d'Ivoire, to find a definitive solution. The Special Representative also
highlighted the fact that there had been a massive response to the operation,
which boded well for the future of a country that was once the shining light in
the West Africa region.

 

Electoral process

 

The identification and voter
registration operation restarted this morning in Boguedia, 30 km south of Daloa
(centre west) after disgruntled youths yesterday seized equipment needed for the
process, thereby preventing it from continuing. The youths, who were finally
persuaded to hand back the equipment by the local Member of Parliament, had
complained that a local activists for one of the opposition parties was planning
to defraud the operation with the help of local immigrants. They claimed that
500 had already been identified compared to just 200 local people.

 

Security

 

A
violent confrontation between the members of the Federation
Estudiantine et Scolaire de Côte
d'Ivoire
(FESCI) and residents of the Abidjan neighbourhood of Adjame resulted in the
destruction of ten shops before the police were able to bring the situation
under control. Trouble reportedly started when some members of FESCI caught and
beat up a resident suspected of theft.

 

Arms embargo

 

UNOCI peacekeepers conducted arms embargo inspections
at the Armed Forces of Forces Nouvelles' (FAFN) 73rd battalion in Ouaninou, near
Man (west), at its 64^th battalion in Guizreu, near Danané (west), at
its Armor Battalion in Korhogo (north), at its 35^th Anaconda
battalion in Bouaké, as well as at the Defence and Security Forces of Côte
d'Ivoire's (FDSCI) regrouping site in Bloléquin (west), at its Air Base
in San Pedro and its gendarmerie brigade in  Agboville (south east)

 

Human Rights

 

The Regional Human
Rights Office in Daloa (centre west) is following up claims by two alleged
eyewitnesses that an FAFN soldier known as "Major", who was arrested in the wake
of the November 2008 events in Séguéla (centre-west) has been killed by other
FAFN soldiers. According to these witnesses, the soldiers were acting on the
orders of Captain "Delta", Chief of Security of Zone 5 commander, Issiaka
Ouattara alias "Wattao". Captain Delta has denied the accusations.

 

The representative of the
international NGO Prisonniers Sans Frontière (PRSF) yesterday discussed
the poor conditions in some detention centres in Cote d'Ivoire during a working
session with the Human Rights Division. PRSF also raised the acceleration of
rehabilitation work in Odienne's and informed the division that the works were
in the final phase and the prison would be handed over to local authorities by
20 January 2009.