More than 200 members of the traditional hunters' fraternity, known as Dozos, coming from all corners of the Worodougou region in the centre west of the country, took part in a sensitization campaign on peace and the rule of law organized by the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) on Tuesday 12 November 2013 in Séguela, 292 km from Abidjan.



UNOCI officials made four presentations on the importance of respecting laws in order to restore the rule of law. Following a presentation by UNOCI's Rule of Law Section, the representative of the Mission's Child Protection Section, spoke about the relationship between Dozos and children, while the UN Police representative in Séguela spoke on disarmament and the representative of the Public Information Office discussed the issue of "social cohesion for a lasting peace" with participants

The head of the UNOCI delegation called on the Dozos to participate in the consolidation of peace in Côte d'Ivoire, telling to them to rely on their cultural values when taking any action. "You are the brave custodians of African tradition, a tradition founded on the values of peace, togetherness, forgiveness and the acceptance of others, as well as respect for authority, mutual help and solidarity. You thus have a very important role to play in the reconstruction of Côte d'Ivoire," he added.



For his part, the first deputy Mayor of Séguela, Dosso Sindou, stressed on the need to respect the authority of the State, a principle which he said "protects us from anarchy and chaos."

Taking the floor, the president of the National Federation of the Dozo Confraternity, Dosso Sory asked for forgiveness. "I am asking for forgiveness for all the bad things that the Dozos did during the crisis that Côte d'Ivoire went through." He recalled that Dozohia is a noble tradition of knowledge and wisdom handed down from one generation to the other. In order to restore the image of the confraternity, he said fake Dozos would be "undressed".



The secretary-general of the Prefecture, Cyril Blaise Kouassi, concluded by calling on the Dozos to respect the laws of the state of Côte d'Ivoire.