Highlights

-SRSG Choi returns to Abidjan after visit to Ouaga to meet Facilitator
-UNOCI patrol denied freedom of movement;
-Inter-agency mission told 50,000 out of 70,000 IDPs have returned home;
-DDR sites inspected by Military Observers;
-Four arrested following clashes between farmers and herders in Béoumi.

Political

The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Côte d'Ivoire, Y. J. Choi, returned to Abidjan today, after a one-day trip to Ouagadougou to meet the Facilitator of the Ouagadougou Political Agreement (OPA), President Blaise Compaore. The two men held wide-ranging discussions on the Ivorian peace process. The meeting came one day after President Laurent Gbagbo and Prime Minister Guillaume Soro, Secretary-General of the Forces Nouvelles, signed a complementary agreement to the OPA under the aegis of President Compaoré.

Under yesterday's complementary accord, the Presidential Camp and Forces Nouvelles agreed that the regrouping of ex-combattants, stocking of arms and dismantling of militias would begin by 22 December 2007, and would be conducted by the Integrated Command Centre (CCI) under the supervision of the impartial forces. The two sides also decided that the civic service would begin by 22 December 2007 and that the redeployment of the tax and customs services would start no later than 30 December 2007, which is also their deadline for the completion of the redeployment of the administration throughout the country.

To ensure the security of all operations linked to the peace process, the two parties agreed that the Defence and Security Forces of Côte d'Ivoire (FDS-CI) would contribute gendarmes and police officers for the establishment of mixed units to be supported by the impartial forces. They further agreed that, to this end, the Armed Forces of the Forces Nouvelles (FAFN) would place some of its members, including 600 police auxiliaries trained under the Pretoria Agreement, at the disposal of the CCI. The issue of the ranks of FAFN officers would be submitted to the arbitration of Facilitator Compaoré, they added.

Further, the reconstitution of lost or destroyed civil registers is to be launched by early December, while presidential polls are to take place by the end of the first half of 2008.

Denial of freedom of movement

In western Côte d'Ivoire, a patrol from Teamsite Danané headed for Goulaleu village to observe the security situation and monitor crossings along the Cote d'Ivoire - Liberian border was temporarily denied freedom of movement at a checkpoint manned by soldiers from the FDS-CI on the main road near Zouan Hounien. The patrol was detained for a while and questioned on its mission in the area, after which it was allowed to continue.

Humanitarian

An inter-agency humanitarian delegation led by the Deputy Special Representative for the UN Secretary-General, Georg Charpentier, which visited Guiglo yesterday to assess the situation of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the west of Côte d'Ivoire, was told by OCHA that 50,000 out of a total of 70,000 IDPs had already returned to their homes.

Security

A UN Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) patrol was yesterday informed by residents of Dohouba near the Liberian border that a 30-year-old man from the neighbouring village of Mahapleu had been reported missing since 20 November after he went hunting. The Gendarmerie at nearby Gbeunta is currently investigating his disappearance.

DDR

A routine patrol yesterday inspected disarmament, demobilization and reinsertion (DDR) sites in the southwestern town of San Pedro. The team checked the 27 platforms, football pitches and a building earmarked for the DDR administration.

Arms embargo

Arms embargo inspections were successfully conducted yesterday at the 92nd Battalion in the central town of Bouaké, the Gendarmerie Mobile Unit in Bondoukou, in the east, and at the Defence and Security Forces of Cote d'Ivoire (FDSCI) Unit in Abidjan.

Military

NIGERBATT provided security and protection at Korhogo Airport for President Laurent Gbagbo and his entourage on Wednesday, the first day of the head of state's three-day visit to the FN-held north. The President, whose tour ends on 30 November 2007, will also go to Boundiali, Tengrela, Ferkéssédougou and Peugekaha.

UNOCI's French engineers based in Yamoussoukro are scheduled to finish dismantling BANBATT's former camp in the west central town of Gohitafla on 8 December 2007.

UNOCI's Force Commander, General Fernand Amoussou, yesterday visited JORBATT in Abidjan. He was given an operational briefing and a conducted tour of the battalion.

Civil Affairs

The Civil Affairs Office in Yamoussoukro yesterday visited the capital's Kokrenou neighbourhood with representatives of the NGO Canaan, which works with women IDPs in the city. The Office discussed the possibility of an income-generating Quick Impact Project in the district, which will benefit not only women IDPs but also other needy women in the area. Kokrenou is reportedly one of the poorest districts in Yamoussoukro. The Office will follow up with the NGO for further collaboration.

Human Rights

On 27 November, the Regional Human Rights Office in Bouaké reported that FN soldiers under the command of the deputy sector commander of the central town of Béoumi, Mr. Bamba Moustapha, arrested four Baoulé men in Petenou village, near Béoumi, on the night of 24 November 2007. The men were placed in detention at the gendarmerie of Béoumi. Their arrest was prompted by ongoing disputes between Baoulé farmers and Peuhl cattle breeders over the destruction of crops belonging to the farmers and the killing of cattle that destroy the farmers' crops. On 22 November, a farmer in Petenou killed a cow belonging to a Peuhl because it had destroyed his rice field. On 23 November 2007, a dispute between three farmers and two cattle breeders over the destruction of other crops resulted in a farmer and a cattle breeder being injured. The Office is following up the case with the FN authorities.

The Human Rights Office in Yamoussoukro made a presentation on 25 November 2007 on human rights aspects of violence against women, including the role of the Human Rights Division in monitoring, documenting and reporting such violations in its quarterly reports. The presentation was made at a round-table on the theme "Tous contre les obstacles à la promotion des droits de la femme" [All against the obstacles to the promotion of women's rights] organized by the local office of the International Rescue Committee to mark the International Day on Violence against Women. The event was attended by 44 participants, including representatives of the Ministry of Family, Women and Social Affairs, NGOs and women.