"If general indifference keeps conflicts going, we are forced to admit that total awareness is needed to restore peace", the Principal Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Côte d'Ivoire, Abou Moussa, said on Friday 18 September at a round table at the headquarters of the UN Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) in Abidjan. "To achieve this, everyone is needed," he told about 100 representatives of UNOCI, UN agencies, media and civil society.

The event, organized by UNOCI in collaboration with the UN agencies, was aimed essentially at reflecting on the contribution of media and civil society to a calm environment before, during and after the elections in Côte d'Ivoire. It was held in connection with the International Day of Peace, celebrated on 21 September of every year, but commemorated early by the United Nations in Côte d'Ivoire for fear that it coincided with the Muslim feast of Eid ul Fitr.

"We want to involve all opinion leaders in order to consolidate the achievements of the current peace process, " Mr. Abou Moussa stressed. "It is indispensable for you, in your vanguard role, to contribute to a calm electoral environment", he told the civil society representatives.

The support the United Nations has been providing the Ivorian electoral process was highlighted by the principal adviser of the UN Development Programme (UNDP)'s Elections Project, Steven Wagenseil, and Ambroise Dzondault of UNOCI's Electoral Assistance Division.

Mr. Dzondault pointed out the logistical, technical and human resources support provided by UNOCI to the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI). He also underlined the key role of the UN radio in spreading information and raising the population's awareness. Mr. Wagenseil explained the material and financial support provided by UNDP to the Ivorian government, the CEI and civil society. He also asked civil society to monitor attentively each step of the electoral process.

For Ms. Namizata Sangaré, chairperson of the Organization of Active Women of Côte d'Ivoire (OFACI), civil society has a multifaceted role to play in an electoral period. "Civil society must be involved in the electoral process," she stressed. "Its mission ranges from sensitization to education, then to the establishment of a climate of calm during the three steps of the process."

Pointing out the responsibilities of journalists during the electoral period, Mr. Mame Camara, First Vice-President of the Union of Journalists of Côte d'Ivoire (UNJCI), invited his colleagues to respect the code of ethics of their profession and recommended that media open their columns to all political tendencies.

He also called for a special fund for election coverage by the media, and reiterated that the press was determined to contribute to a calm election. "The journalists will be there and will assume their responsibilities," he said.

A few hours earlier, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General for Côte d'Ivoire, Y. J. Choi, read out the UN Secretary-General's special Peace Day message at a town hall meeting at UNOCI's headquarters attended by the mission's civilian and military members.