Highlights

·       
SRSG Choi gives New Year message

·       
Important market burns to the
ground in Abidjan

 

Chief of UNOCI Delivers New Year Message

 

"I would like to reassure all
Ivorians, men and women, that UNOCI will continue to carry out its mandate of
maintaining peace and security and certifying the elections," the Special
Representative of the Secretary General for Côte d'Ivoire Y.J. Choi, said in a
New Year message delivered today on the UN radio station in Côte d'Ivoire, ONUCI
FM. "UNOCI will also continue to accompany the implementation of the Ouagadougou
Political Agreement so as to help Côte d'Ivoire to emerge from the crisis and to
become, once again, the anchor of stability and the centre of prosperity in West
Africa,"  Mr. Choi said in his message, which was also conveyed via a press
release.

  

Security

 

The overall security situation in the country is calm, but there are some
end-of-year tensions in various population centers. UNOCI is closely monitoring
the situation in Seguela, where the Armed Forces of the Forces Nouvelles (FAFN)
are on high alert following rumors of an imminent attack by FAFN soldiers who
support the former zone commander of the western town. UNOCI has held
contingency meetings, and has increased the number of military and police
patrols in and around Seguela.

 

In
Abidjan, the Belleville Market in the commune of Treicheville, which had already
been partially burnt three months ago, was completely destroyed by a fire that
started early this morning. The re-built market had opened its doors for
business six weeks ago. This is the sixth large market to burn over the last 18
months. Others include those in the eastern town of Abengourou, in Gagnoa and
Daloa [centre-west] and in the Abidjan commune of Adjame. The commune of
Treicheville is a diverse population center and is often referred to as the
ECOWAS [Economic Community of West African States] neighbourhood of Abidjan, a
reference to the large number of West African nationals who live there. ONUCI
police, military and civilian authorities visited the burning market.  

 

UNOCI QIP to support the redeployment of the administration

 

A
delegation composed of regional representatives of UNOCI, UNFPA and the Ministry
of Education today visited a newly rehabilitated building in Bouaké, which will
become the center for the production of educational documents. The
rehabilitation, a UNOCI "Quick Impact Project" (QIP), cost 11 million CFA, and
the work was supervised by UNOCI and UNFPA.  

 

HIV-AIDS

 

An HIV-AIDS sensitization campaign undertaken by
the NGO "Association pour la Jeunesse et le Bien-Etre Social" ("Association for
the Well-Being of the Youth") with the support of the HIV-AIDS Unit of UNOCI,
was launched today in the densely populated neighborhood of Broukro in Bouaké.
The campaign, which specifically targets the youth, aims at stressing the need
to promote new approaches that will facilitate the adoption of behavioral
changes in the community. It also seeks to disseminate basic information about
the disease within a population faced with a 4.7 % HIV-prevalence rate.

 

Identification

 

The Rule of Law Section of UNOCI has begun
preliminary contacts with authorities in the Bouake area on ways to ensure that
the prison population in Sector East will be administered during the
identification and electoral census process. UNOCI met with the Director General
of Police and the Regional Vice-President of the Independent Electoral
Commission (IEC) in Bouaké.

 

The Ghanaian Battalion from the eastern town of Bondoukou today gave 200 litres
of diesel fuel to the local commission of the Independent Electoral Commission
(IEC) in nearby Koun-Fao for its generator. UNOCI provides transportation on a
daily basis for agents working in the identification and voter registration
process. It also monitors collection centers each day. 

 

Human Rights

 

On 29 December, a woman sought the assistance of
the Regional Human Rights Office in Bouaké after having been severely
ill-treated and threatened with death by a Mr. Traoré Amoudé, a former FN
element, who accused her of instigating her sister to terminate her relationship
with him. On the previous day, 28 December, Amoudé and six other men armed with
handguns and Kalashnikovs forced their way into the victim's residence in
Bouaké's Air France I neighbourhood and severely punched and beat her with
wooden sticks. They also assaulted her 14- and 17 year-old children. The Office
is following up on the case with FN authorities.

Ends