« This meeting should be welcomed because it is pertinent to the difficulties that we encounter on ground with regard to conflict management linked to land ownership and the increasing attempts to deprive village chiefs of their positions in our localities », this was the response from Timoléon Kemaond, village chief of Pahoubly in explaining the keen interest shown by the people of his locality in the sous-préfecture de Méo, in a workshop organised by the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) for villages chiefs, community and religious leaders, as well as civil society groups in the department of Toulepleu, in the west of Côte d'Ivoire, on 24 and 25 June 2015.



The aim of the workshop was to promote peace, reconciliation and social cohesion by improving the knowledge of some 150 participants on Ivorian land laws, as well as on how a village chief is chosen and the attributes he should have.



During two days, participants were given several presentations, after which they held discussions and took part in role-playing in sketches dealing with the laws governing chieftancy and land ownership.



The speakers at the workshop included the deputy prefect of Blolequin, Claude Koffi Yao Kan, representatives of the Norwegian Refugee Council, the Legal Clinic of Guiglo, the regional directorate of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Post-conflict Assistance Project, the water and forestry detachment and UNOCI's Human Rights Division.



The secretary-general of Toulepleu préfecture, Yao Djè, welcomed the initiative of the UN Mission to organise the workshop for local people, which he said would strengthen social cohesion. He urged participants to ensure that the recommendations made during the workshop contribute to the prevention and peaceful resolution of conflict, so that peace and harmony can reign in villages. « We are counting on you to implement the resolutions made during this workshop in order to reduce tension with regard to chieftaincy and land ownership which are the basis of much dispute in our villages, » he said.



The United Nations Office coordinator in Toulepleu, Hélène Sylvie Zomahoun Ekouedjin, for her part, expressed her gratitude to the local authorities for their involvement in mobilising participants, and for their participation in the workshop. She then reiterated the United Nations' willingness to accompany Ivorians in the search for a definitive crisis-resolution. « At this workshop we wanted to provide our contribution to return to normality process and the reduction of social tension in the department of Toulepleu, which, like other parts in the West, continues to suffer the after effects of the post-electoral crisis, » she said.



The resolutions adopted at the end of the workshop focused on the importance of the impartiality of a village chief, good governance in managing the village, respect for authority, the peaceful resolution of conflicts, securing land by obtaining a land certificate, ensuring that laws on land ownership and chieftaincy are known by all sections of society involved in the management committee of the locality.