Highlights

- SRSG Choi holds talks with UNOWA Chief
- Militiamen hold HRC staff hostage during protest in Duekoué

Political

The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Cote d'Ivoire, Y.J. Choi, yesterday held talks with the visiting Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for West Africa (UNOWA), Said Djinnit, who is in Abidjan to meet with Ivorian leaders. They discussed issues of common interest and the situation in Cote d'Ivoire. Mr. Djinnit, who arrived in Abidjan on Tuesday, also met with President Laurent Gbagbo and the President of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), Robert Beugré Mambé.

Security

Angry ex-militiamen yesterday held four UNHCR monitors hostage for more than two hours during a protest against the non- payment of their allowances in Duekoué. The monitors had gone to the office of the National Programme for Reintegration and Community Rehabilitation (PNRRC) for a meeting, when some 200 protesters invaded the office, threatened workers and prevented anyone from leaving for two and half hours. The former militias said that they had been promised allowances by the Ivorian Government at the end of the crisis but had still not received any money. The UNHCR monitors, who were released after the intervention of the local authorities, said that they were threatened during their detention. UNOCI is closely monitoring the situation.

A shop owner was attacked by three masked individuals armed with Kalashnikovs at his residence in Guiglo on 12 December 2008. The individuals told the man that they had come to kill him while shooting at him, injuring his hand and face. They fled when the police arrived and the victim was taken to Guiglo hospital for treatment.

Arms embargo

An arm embargo inspection was successfully carried out by UNOCI peacekeepers at the Armed Forces of the Forces Nouvelles' (FANCI) 11th Battalion HQ at Bouna (north).

Human Rights

In the northern town of Odienné, the Regional Human Rights Office in collaboration with the Préfecture of Madinani held a mass human rights sensitization programme for the population in Lossingué, situated some 96 km south-east of Odienné. The event, which was presided over by the Sous Préfet of Madinani, was attended by more than 600 persons including traditional and religious leaders from the neighbouring villages of Fandasso, Tora and Mahadiana Coura. The Human Rights Office explained the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to the crowd and highlighted how it could affect their day to day life. The Sous Préfet appealed to the population to massively participate in the identification process, which he said would enable them to acquire the necessary documents to exercise their civil and political rights in the upcoming elections. A human rights club was established at Lossingué primary school during the ceremony.

The Regional Human Rights Office in Duekoué yesterday sensitised pupils in a primary school in Toa-Zeo village, 11 km west of Duekoué, on the right to education, during a ceremony organized by the Force Licorne to donate school bags, t-shirt, benches and sports equipment to them. The ceremony was attended by traditional chiefs and community leaders.