Highlights

- SRSG meets 150 women committed to increasing female representation in public and political arenas;
- MORBATT peacekeepers told to leave Divo site;
- Youths threaten to boycott identification operation in Danané

SRSG's activities

The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Côte d'Ivoire, Y.J. Choi, today met 150 members of the Co-ordination of Women's Associations for Elections and Development at UNOCI's headquarters in Abidjan. During the meeting, the SRSG assured the women of UNOCI's support and the Mission's commitment to gender equality. The aim of the encounter was to present the organization, which is committed to achieving 30% of women's participation in the management of public and political affairs, to Mr. Choi.

Identification

A group of young people in Danané (west) are threatening to boycott the identification and voter registration process which is due to start soon because they claim that most of the agents recruited are supporters of the opposition party, the Rally of Republicans (RDR), who came from Abidjan. According to the local coordinator of the Union Démocratique et Citoyenne (UDCY) party, the RDR youths were being trained at a local internet cafe. The allegations have been denied by the RDR. However, the youth insist that they will raise their concerns with local authorities.

Explosion in Bouaké

A loud explosion was heard in Bouaké on 29 September 2009 just as people were preparing for the Eid ul Fitr celebrations. UNOCI patrols, which were already patrolling the city, discovered that the explosion had occurred at the armoury of the "Guépard" company of the Armed Forces of the Forces Nouvelles (FAFN). The arms store room is located near the commercial centre of Bouaké. Seven soldiers were injured, two of them critically. Preliminary investigations show that the explosion was due to an electrical short circuit.

Security

At a security co-ordination meeting in Guiglo (west) on 29 September 2008, UNOCI peacekeepers and local law enforcement authorities agreed to closely monitor the tension between the Guéré community and immigrants in Toa Zeo and Seoun-Guiglo villages, 25 km south of Bangolo (west). Trouble started between the two communities in Seoun-Guiglo after a group of young Guéré men, former militias members, were accused of being responsible for a series of murders and rapes that took place in and around the village recently. Fearing retaliation by the immigrant community, the Guérés ran away from the village to Guéhiébly and Diourouzon, 10 km and 40 km respectively from Duekoué. The Regional Human Rights Office in Duékoué (west), on 25 September 2008 held a meeting with the commander of Bangolo Mixed Brigade, who informed the Office that he was carrying out a sensitization campaign to prevent an escalation of the growing tension between the two communities.
Licorne peacekeepers stated that the Chief in Binao village (west) had reported that his village was having problems coping the influx of villagers from Seoun-Guiglo. The meeting also agreed that the administrative authorities should be asked to support the actions of the humanitarian agencies.

Human Rights

The Regional Human Rights Office in San Pedro on 29 September 2008, participated in the official investiture of the local chapter of Action pour la Protection des Droits de l'Homme (APDH), in Divo (south west). After the ceremony which was presided over by the Mayor of Divo, the Office held working sessions with the Acting Prosecutor of the Divo Section of Gagnoa Tribunal and with the Police Commissioner of Divo. Main issues discussed during the sessions included the deficiencies in the functioning of the judicial system, which constitute an obstacle to the right to a fair trial, and the lack of judicial personnel to deal with an increasing number of cases and complaints – especially related to land disputes, allegations of witchcraft, abuse of confidence and robberies. The Office also met with the Registrar and Deputy Registrar of Divo prison to discuss the living conditions of 323 detainees. According to information it obtained six out of eight female detainees have been accused of witchcraft. The Acting Prosecutor explained that these allegations of witchcraft, which were usually made after the death of somebody, were a social phenomenon in the Divo and Lakota areas. He explained that individuals were being prosecuted and sentenced for witchcraft on the basis of Article 205 of the Ivorian Criminal Code- "Charlatanisme". Most have these individuals had either confessed or pleaded guilty during trial.

A 22-year-old woman was allegedly abducted by three FAFN soldiers, armed with kalashnikovs, from her home in the Dar-es-Salaam neighbourhood in Bouaké on 21 September 2008. The soldiers reportedly forced the victim into a car and drove her to Napié, 20 km south of Korhogo (north), where she managed to escape. The woman had been threatened since several weeks earlier by one of the soldiers, who demanded that she return to the "husband" whom she had been allegedly been forced to marry in 2002 at the age of sixteen. She ran away from him in August 2008 after what she described as years of abuse.