As is the custom each year, the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI), on Monday, 21 September 2015, celebrated International Day of Peace in several cities throughout the country.



This year, the Day coincided with the participation of the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Côte d'Ivoire and head of UNOCI, Aïchatou Mindaoudou, in the inauguration ceremony of a primary school education centre in Gribouo, in Buyo, a sub-prefecture in the Nawa Region, situated at some 180 km from San Pedro.



Speaking on the occasion, the Special Representative highlighted the theme of the International Day of Peace this which is partnership for peace. "The work of the United Nations and UNOCI would not be possible without the initial partnerships we have with national, regional and local authorities and the populations," she said.



She then urged each inhabitant of Gribouo to preserve peace during the 2015 election. She encouraged them to continue their efforts to maintain social cohesion and a peaceful environment, conducive for a free transparent and democratic election.



In Gribouo, a new education centre comprising six classrooms was renovated and a school canteen was built and equipped by UNOCI. The ceremony was attended by 327 persons, including the school children, teachers, elected officials and executives, the Prefect of the department and local people. According to the Special Representative, the UN Mission had financed the project in order to provide the children of Gribouo with a better future.

In other regions of the country, especially in Toulepleu, in the western region of Cavally, International Day of Peace was marked by the organization of a training workshop with political parties, civil society, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) and the Ivorian security and defence forces on their contribution to a peaceful election process.



The 50 workshop participants worked on various topics such as '' Human rights and elections '', '' the roles and responsibilities of political parties and civil society in the protection of children during election period '' and "social cohesion and peaceful elections for a lasting peace".



At the end of the workshop, participants decided to consolidate peace by advocating the creation of a permanent discussion platform. They agreed to sensitize political activists on tolerance, non-violence, acceptance of the democratic game and respect for the verdict of the polls. They finally decided to fight against hate speech and to urge people to massively participate in the election.



In Duékoué, in Guémon region, a discussion on "the rights and duties of traditional leaders for the promotion of peace" helped people celebrate the benefits of peace with the UN agencies. These later encouraged the population to maintain a peaceful electoral environment before, during and after the upcoming elections.



The Prefect of Guemon, Sory Sangaré, recalled the concepts of the respect for authority, tolerance, participatory management of village affairs. The prefect also reminded the population that peace depended on them. "Do not be troublemakers because you have learned to appreciate the benefits of peace for a few years," he said.



In Bondoukou, UNOCI's regional office organized a roundtable discussion on "The role and the participation of the Bondoukou opinion leaders in peace and social cohesion enforcement for a peaceful election in October 2015 ''.

The prefect of the department of Bondoukou, François Germain Goun, and 20 members of civil society, local security forces (police and gendarmerie) and political parties discussed the managing the rumour in an electoral context, the challenges of strengthening social cohesion, conflict prevention and management. At the end of their discussion they agreed to work hard for a peaceful election, and for the implementation of the reconciliation and national reconstruction.



Speaking at a conference in {Toumodi}, UNOCI took the opportunity to encourage young leaders to work for an election without violence. The conference was organized the Mission's Pubklic Information Office on ''Youth associations in Toumodi department support an election without violence in 2015 '' for 20 young participants..



The Prefect of the department, Gando Coulibaly, welcomed the initiative and recalled that "UNOCI is with us to remind you young people how significant it is to work for an election without violence." For Mr. Gando, permanent peace in Côte d'Ivoire depends on the involvement of all. "{If you want to build your future, you should definitely banish violence from your daily life,} " he advised.



In Affery, Akoupé, UNOCI organized an awareness campaign mainly devoted to International Day of peace. Mrs Daniela Lupas, who led the UN delegation, said that the United Nations Secretary-General's message, which comes a few weeks before the next presidential election, was about peace. "Without peace there is no development without peace there is no security," she insisted.



Welcoming the initiative, the deputy prefect of Affery, Moustapha Sylla, praised the population for their massive presence and urged them to transform UNOCI's peace message into actions in their daily reality.



"UNOCI is here to tell us about peace. In this pre-election period, every opportunity to talk about peace is welcomed. I encourage you to be ambassadors of this message to your respective communities," he said. During the celebration of the International Day of Peace in Affery, religious and traditional leaders individually promoted peace and social cohesion.



In Man, International Day of Peace was celebrated on Saturday, 19 September 2015, by the United Nation with the involvement of local administrative authorities and national partners such as the Legal Clinic, youth and women's organizations. The day was marked by a peace procession through the city of Man, followed by a table tennis competition organized by UNOCI and the delivery of UN Secretary General's message calling for sustainable development in a context of peace. This message was read by Ephraim Abwe Diabe, UNOCI's Coordinator in Man in the Tonkpi Region.