Civil society actors in Guiglo have made a commitment to becoming more involved in activities aimed at improving the monitoring of Government action in their locality. This was done at a lunchtime discussion organised on 28 April 2016 by the Security Sector Reform Section of the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI).

The theme of the discussions, which brought together leaders of non-governmental organisations (NGO), members of the security forces and representative of women’s and youth organisations and the Mayor’s Office, was «Citizen monitoring of state action ».

A presentation of theme was made by Brigitte Becho of the Legal Aid Clinic of Guiglo, in which she highlighted parts of the Ivorian Constitution, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and international conventions upon which citizens control of public action are founded.

UNOCI’s Sector West RSS coordinator, Sylvestre Kibeceri, said that the activity was the seventh edition of a discussion framework which was created as a way of exchanging ideas between key actors in the region, so that they can become more vigilant with regard to Government action. He then urged participants to ensure that their discussion become institutionalised. « The hope is that your reflections and actions continue and end in concrete results for the well-being of the people of Guiglo », said Mr. Kibeceri told participants.

At the end of the discussions, participants made a number of commitments which were read out by their spokesperson, Pierre Bégnan. They promised to sensitise other civil society actors on the importance of monitoring state action, build the capacity of civil society actors, participate in public meetings organised by municipal and regional councils, involve local radio stations in their sensitisation activities, promote texts on public monitoring of state actions, and revitalise the civil society platform in Guiglo and make it more dynamic. In addition, the participants also asked for assistance from UNOCI and the Legal Aid Clinic in carrying out their commitments.

For his part, the Prefect of Cavally Region, Messamba Koné, who chaired the closing ceremony of the discussions, encouraged participants to spread the knowledge they had gained to the counterparts.