Highlights

- SRSG and Facilitator agree on need to organize elections in 2009
- FDSCI commander disputes militia claims in Nassian
- Redeployed magistrates brief UNOCI staff in Korhogo

Political

The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Côte d'Ivoire, Y.J. Choi, today briefed the Facilitator of the Inter-Ivorian Dialogue, Burkinabé President Blaise Compaore, in Ouagadougou on the Security Council meetings on Côte d'Ivoire held in New York last month. They welcomed the progress made in the ongoing identification and voter registration operation and underlined the need to implement the 4th supplementary accord of the Ouagadougou Political Agreement. The President and the SRSG agreed on the need to organize elections in 2009.

DDM

A commander from the Defence and Security Forces of Côte d'Ivoire (FDSCI) on 7 February 2009 challenged a group of 200 men in the eastern town of Nassian on the veracity of their claim that they were militias who fought alongside Government troops during the Ivorian crisis. Lieutenant-colonel Alphonse Gouanou, who is in charge of Government troops in eastern Côte d'Ivoire said that there were no militias groups operating in that part of the country. He said he was surprised to hear people now talking about militias in the Zanzan region in general and Nassian in particular. The commander was speaking during a sensitisation session on disarmament and dismantling of militias (DDM). Meanwhile, the profiling of militias in the Yamoussoukro area (centre) did not start today as scheduled because of lack of finance.

Redeployment of the administration

Three magistrates newly redeployed in Korhogo yesterday met with UNOCI personnel based in the northern city. The state prosecutor, Tra bi Jérôme informed the Mission that six magistrates had been redeployed in the Court of first instance in Korhogo. With regard to the courts, the state prosecutor said that as the tribunal had not yet been refurbished, a building once occupied by a former cotton company would serve as a temporary court. He said that the court would only deal with civil matters such as the delivering administrative documents until the police were redeployed. A number of court registrars have also been redeployed but they are currently providing assistance to the reconstitution of the registry operation.

Protest

Some 1000 women today called on UNOCI to help put an end to violence against women in the Moyen Cavally region. The protesters were demonstrating in the centre of Duékoué (west) against the death of a woman who was beaten to death on 22 January 2008 by the man she was living with in Lokosso village, near Duékoué. The victim had a seven-month-old baby. The demonstrators insisted that despite the fact that the perpetrator had been arrested and is still being detained, men who usually commit such crimes generally enjoyed impunity.

Arms embargo inspection

UNOCI peacekeepers yesterday conducted an arms embargo inspection at the 2nd military regional headquarters of the FDSCI in Daloa (centre-west).

Humanitarian

MORBATT provided help to victims of a road traffic accident which left two people dead and 17 others injured, four of them seriously, in Duékoué (west). The contingent provided first aid to the injured at the scene of the accident before evacuating them to the local hospital. The critically injured were evacuated to a hospital in Daloa (centre west)

The Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and UN Humanitarian Co-ordinator for Cote d'Ivoire, Mr. Georg Charpentier, accompanied by the new Representatives of UNHCR and OCHA, Euzèbe Hounsoko and Julie Belanger, yesterday visited Zéaglo administrative offices, which had been rehabilitated with funds from the UNDP. The three officials also met with youths from Béoué village in Zéaglo sub-prefecture, who were previously opposed to the return of internally displaced persons (IDPs) but have now accepted it. They are expected to go to Zou today to monitor the return of IDPs and refugees in the area.

NIGERBATT yesterday handed over a school it had refurbished in Nahoukaha village in Karakoro sub-prefecture, 15km south east of Korhogo, to local authorities. The school was refurbished through a quick impact project and will serve children from five neighbouring villages.

Human Rights

The Regional Human Rights Office in Korhogo met on 6 February 2009 with the Police Commissioner and Police Prefect to discuss the case of a man who had been detained in prison since 24 January 2009 for not paying a debt. The Office also raised a similar case involving a woman who was released from prison on 5 February 2009, after being arrested on 15 January 2009 for the same reason. The Office explained that the practice was against international law.