The sensitisation caravan known as ONUCI Tour organised by the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI), on Tuesday, 18 February 2014, made two stops, the first in Petit Yapo in the department Agboville to talk about the culture of peace and managing rumours and the second at Greikro in the department of Duekoué to promote social cohesion.



In Greikro, UNOCI representatives from the Public Information Office, Civil Affairs Section and UN Police (UNPOL), accompanied by representatives of the National Gendarmerie and the NGO Bonne Action, called on the inhabitants of this locality situated at 447 km northwest of Abidjan, to behave in a civic manner. « Respect the laws of Côte d'Ivoire, the registration of births and your differences. We urge you to maintain the social cohesion which reigns in your area at the moment,» they said. Respect for authority is the consequence of living peacefully together, which in turn comes from respecting the law, the local leaders up to the head of state himself, they added.

The discussions with the population also included human rights, children's rights, reconciliation and peace.



For their part, local people pleaded with the administrative authorities to rehabilitate their school canteen, build homes for teachers and a health centre. They also wanted the roads to be repaired because the bad roads are a hindrance to the development of Greikro which had seen the gradual disappearance of its daily market which was once well-known in the area.



It should be noted that as part of the sensitisation session, the 19th contingent of the Moroccan Battalion based in Duekoué distributed potable water to local people.



In Petit Yapo, situated at 72 km from Adzopé, in the department of Agboville, UNOCI's Public Information Office, Civil Affairs Section, UN Police and a representative of the commander of the Jordanian Battalion presented their respective sensitisation activities to promote the peace process and provide security to civilians.



The UNPOL representative talked about the collaboration between his component and the local forces in providing security and protecting civilians.



For his part, the Civil Affairs Officer made a presentation on its section's support to the restoration of state authority, the promotion of social cohesion and reconciliation and the Mission's Quick Impact Projects (QIPs) programme. On the issue of managing rumours, Taiyou N'Djende, urged participants to check their sources of information in order to ensure they are true. Taking advantage of the mistrust which was common during the post-electoral crisis, certain people continue to circulate rumours in order to increase tension and between communities, she added.



Public Information Officer, Daouda Dosso, welcomed the mobilisation of youths and women who came to find out about UNOCI's activities and to better understand how the institution functions. ONUCI Tour offers the opportunity to local people to acquire the same level of information as other towns and villages. He urged people to take charge of the peace process and promote social cohesion.



The village chief of Petit Yapo, Doffou Noel, and his offiocials, local dignitaries, youths and women leaders and traditional chiefs took part in the information and sensitisation session. In total, some 50 people were present at the meeting.



Speaking at the end of the meeting, the chief of Petit Yapo, Doffou Noël, thanked UNOCI for having given his people the opportunity to become informed and sensitised on the culture of peace.