Highlights

-Young Patriots demonstrate against possible eviction from land owned by foreigners in Abidjan
-Ivorian soldier killed in Zou village in western Cote d'Ivoire
-Peacekeepers successfully conduct five arms embargo inspections
-UNOCI's Human Rights Office provides held for rape victim

Demonstrations

A demonstration by members of the Associations of Homeless Patriots (Association des Patriots Sans-Abris -APSA-) was yesterday organized near the Russian embassy in the Riviera area of Abidjan. The Young Patriots, who are occupying land belonging to families from Togo, Benin and Burkina Faso, are refusing to move and threatening to attack all foreigners if they are forced to do so. The landowners meanwhile have asked the local authorities to remove the young patriots from their land. Negotiations are on-going with the supreme Chieftaincy of ''Crobelet Cocody''. The demonstration ended without incident.

In Yamoussoukro yesterday, 1500 students from public schools held a peaceful demonstration during which they handed in a petition to the local authorities protesting over a month-long strike by teachers in the political capital. Earlier this week the students' union FESCI, organized a demonstration against private schools in the city, claiming that a number of the public school teachers who are on strike are teaching at these schools.

Security

A soldier from the National Armed Forces of Cote d'Ivoire (FANCI) who is part of the Support Unit to the Bangolo Mixed Brigade and a civilian were killed by unidentified attackers on the night of the 6th November 2007 in Zou in western Cote d'Ivoire. The two men were travelling from Zou to Bangolo when they were killed in an ambush. UNPOL and the local Gendarmerie are investigating the murders.

A UNOCI patrol travelling from Zoukougbeu to Boguedia was told by villagers in Noukpoudou that the road between Iboguhe and Noukpoudou was dangerous due to frequent armed robberies during the day and night. They said the attacks were usually carried out by groups of five or six men dressed in civilian clothes and armed with AK47s and machetes. The road between the two villages is also in poor condition.

Arms embargo

Five arms embargo inspections were yesterday successfully conducted by UNOCI military and UNPOL at the Gendarmerie Brigade in Abengourou and Prikro, the Ivorian Defence and Security Forces (FDSCI) operational centre in Duékoué, the Forces Nouvelles Unit in Kouibly and its 11th Battalion in Bouna.

Military

A border liaison meeting was yesterday held between UNOCI and UNMIL personnel in the border area of Toulepleu. The peacekeepers discussed border activities on both sides and the unresolved issue of armed militias based in western Cote d'Ivoire.

Human Rights

On 8 November, Regional Human Rights Office in Abidjan met with Save the Children-UK, UNOCI's Rule of Law unit and the human rights NGO Mouvement Ivoirien des Droits Humains (MIDH) to discuss ways to assist a 26 year old woman who was raped on 14 July in Aboudé-Mandéké village (located 80 km north of Abidjan). At the request of the Human Rights Office, UNOCI's medical unit provided medical care to the victim. The Regional Human Rights Office became involved in the care following a request from the victim's family for the Office to intervene in order to ensure the rapist is prosecuted. The alleged rapist was arrested on 13 September by the Gendarmerie in Agboville but was released five days later after the family of the victim rejected an amicable settlement of the case. The meeting also discussed providing the victim with legal assistance.

On 7 November 2007, the Regional Human Rights Office in Odienné met with Colonel Fremory Konaté, the Préfet of the Police, to review the prevailing human rights situation in the 18 Montagnes and Bafing regions. The Office has noted with concern that human rights violations continued to be committed by Forces Nouvelles (FN) soldiers based in Borotou. In the past three months, the Office has documented several cases of arbitrary arrests and detention and the confiscation of goats, sheep and cattle from the local population. In addition, civilians have been subjected to continuous racketeering at roadblocks manned by the FN in these regions. The Préfet told the Office that General Soumaila Bakayoko, Commander in Chief of the Forces Nouvelles has initiated a tour aimed at sensitizing his troops on the necessity to respect the rights of civilians, including their freedom of movement.

On 6 November, the Regional Human Rights Office in Daloa conducted an assessment mission to the Maison d'Arrêt et de Correction de Daloa to assess the detention condition of the 875 inmates. The Office noted the lack of medical care and unhygienic detention conditions. A Burkinabé detainee died on 6 November after contracting tuberculosis during his detention at the prison.

On 7 November, the Regional Human Rights Office in San Pedro participated in the launch of the regional phase of the Schools Caravan - a series of information and sensitization session aimed at school children - organized by UNOCI's Public Information Office on the theme "La contribution de la jeunesse dans le processus de paix et démocratisation". During the ceremony, the Office made a presentation on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child as well as on the mandate of the Human Rights Division. Participants raised questions on social and economic rights, the rights of internally displaced persons and on gender-based violence.