The United Nations high-level mission, led by the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Côte d'Ivoire and head of the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI), Mrs Aïchatou Mindaoudou, which started on 23 February in the west of the country, visited Guiglo, situated at 520 km west of Abidjan on Tuesday, 25 February 2014.

On their arrival, the Special Representative and her delegation held working sessions with administrative authorities, officials, elected leaders, traditional and religious chiefs and representatives of women's associations.



The Prefect of Cavally Region, Mr. Koné Messamba, the president of the Regional Council, Mr. Dagobert Banzio, the Mayor, Mr. Baillet Benoit Severin, the Spokesperson of the traditional chiefs, Mr. Gui Bernard, the women's representative, Mrs Marie Hortense Tohidje and the Regional Health Director, Dr Abel Guedé, all thanked the United Nations for its constant support to the people of Cavally.



After this, they explained the difficulties facing the region. These included lack of access to potable water and electricity, youth unemployment, lack of enough health infrastructures, the rehabilitation and building of schools, disarmament of Dozos (traditional hunters) and other armed groups, the fight against infant malnutrition, the fight to end gender-based violence and women's financial independence.

In her turn, the Special Representative explained the objective of the mission: «We came precisely to assess the needs of the people with you so that the United Nations, in its assistance to the Ivorian Government, can contribute to helping you to meet the challenges linked to social cohesion, security and development".

For their part, the representatives of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) reiterated their willingness to support the people.



The second stage of the high-level delegation's mission was a visit to projects, foundation laying and donating equipment.

In this regard, the operating and maternity blocks of the local general hospital received medical equipment funded by UNFPA.



The partners involved in the implementation of UNOCI's community reinsertion projects (CRP) for ex-combatants, the NGOs ODAFEM and Terre d'Espérance, received cheques to the value of 66 million FCFA (approximately $132,000) and motor boat for fishing and commercial animal breeding.

In addition, Mrs Aïchatou Mindaoudou and her delegation laid the foundation of a youth hostel which is being built in Guiglo and jointly funded by UNOCI and the UNDP at a cost of 21 million francs CFA (approximately $42,000).

The public primary school in Zeaglo also received 12 million francs CFA of Quick Impact Projects (QIPs) from UNOCI for the construction of three classrooms and a fully-equipped canteen.



The Special Representative agreed to be the guest of honour at the next Mask Festival which is being organised in April this year to promote social cohesion. It was initiated by the Regional Council at the request of its president, Dagobert Banzio.

In Duékoué and Bangolo, which the delegation visited the pervious day, the main focus was on strengthening social cohesion. During the several encounters the Special Representative had with civil society, she explained the objective of her and her delegation's five-day mission to the west, which she said was to have discussions with different sections of society in an effort to explore ways and means to provide the appropriate United Nations response to the main concerns in the region, in accordance with its mandate. « It is more about listening to what you have to say, discussing with to see together how UNOCI and the UN agencies can better accompany you in your efforts to establish social cohesion and stability in your region,» she explained. « Resolution 2112 of the United Nations Security Council asks that we pay a lot of attention to the west », added the Chief of UNOCI.

It should be recalled that during many years, the west of Côte d'Ivoire has suffered disproportionately from the crises which the country has been through.



Mrs Mindaoudou welcomed the efforts deployed by the local government authorities, religious and traditional leaders to try to find solutions to existing problems in their region. She urged them to continue their activities to strengthen peace, reconciliation and social cohesion.

The traditional chiefs, women and youths, in their turn highlighted their concerns and pleaded for help with a number of issues. All of them with one accord stressed on the good cooperation between UNOCI and diverse sections of the population and described the security situation as positive thanks to the patrols carried out by UNOCI and the Ivorian security forces, as well as the excellent coordination between UNOCI and the UN agencies in assisting the population.



The people of Guemon and Cavally asked for more accompaniment from the development partners and more support from UNOCI in the implementation of certain projects such as income-generating activities. Recurrent land issues, youth unemployment, the lack of infrastructure and the return of refugees were the major themes during discussions in Duékoué and Bangolo.

The UN Humanitarian Coordinator, Mr. Babacar Cissé, explained the accompaniment role of the United Nations agencies. « When a country is coming out of a crisis, the needs are immense and this is the reason why we support the National Development Plan which provides an opportunity for a country to relaunch its economy and contribute to improving the living conditions of its people », he said.



«The needs of post-conflict Côte d'Ivoire are immense; a lot has been done but a lot still remains to be done », added Mr. Cissé who then went on to explain the assistance being provided by certain development partners such as the World Bank which launched its post-conflict project in 2007 at the cost of 60 billion FCFA as well as an additional 30 billion FCFA four components, one of which is the management of projects and strengthening institutions and communities.
 « 91 sous-préfectures and 16 préfectures have been built. We also have a distribution of seeds and the creation of 15 hectares of land initiated by the FAO. We help with the return of refugees, accompany the Government in its Disarmament and Demobilisation programme.....in a nutshell a lot of action has been carried out and continue to be carried out on the ground », said the Humanitarian Coordinator.

The Special Representative and her deputy urged people to unite so that they can benefit from projects financed by international partners. In Duékoué, Mrs Mindaoudou encouraged women to mobilise and unite in order to make things move in their favour. « You have taken an active part in the return of peace, in promoting national reconciliation and social cohesion. Don't give up now,» said the head of UNOCI, who urged them to continue to play their role fully. The president of the Coalition of Women Leaders for the Fight to End Violence Against Women and Girl in Duékoué, an organisation comprising 31 associations and women's groups, Mrs Minata Ouédraogo outlined the sad list of violent incidents against women, adding that Duékoué was one of the towns that had noted an increase in the rate of gender-based violence.

«In 2013 we had 181 cases of gender-based violence against 241 cases in 2012 and this decrease was due to the actions of the coalition and UNOCI », said Mrs Ouédraogo who said she was pleased with the fall in the number of violations of women's rights.



The Special Representative said that a centre to listen to women will be built with funds provided by UNOCI's Quick Impact Projects Programme. The head of UNOCI and her delegation then visited rehabilitation project for a community garden created by people in Niambly and initiated by the World Food Programme, a school canteen and Radio du Guemon.

After Guiglo, Man and Duékoué, the high-level UN mission will continue its visit in San Pedro in Bas Sassandra and Daloa in Haut Sassandra, on 27 February 2014.



The mission includes representatives of United Nations agencies, namely , namely the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the United Nations Fund for Children (UNICEF) and the World Bank.