Abidjan, 16 October 2008...The Special Adviser to the Secretary General of the United Nations for Sport, Development and Peace, Wilfried Lemke, will arrive in Abidjan on 23 October 2008, the Spokesperson for the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI), Hamadoun Touré announced Thursday.

Mr. Touré, who was speaking at the weekly press briefing of the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI), explained that the objective of this mission would be to judge first-hand the role of sports in the process of national reconciliation and social cohesion. The mission will also determine the possibility of organizing a large multiple discipline sporting event in Côte d'Ivoire to promote reconciliation and social cohesion. Mr. Lemke will meet with political authorities, sporting authorities and Ivoirian athletes.

In the same vein, the Spokesperson also announced the support of UNOCI for the the Ivoirian Federation of Karate and associated disciplines (FIKDA) in the organization of a tournament on 19 October 2008. The tournament, entitled "Tournament sport and peace, UNOCI – FIKDA 2008" explained Touré "is another example of the regular collaboration between UNOCI and Ivoirian sporting federations."

One of the special guests to the press briefing, Antoinette Ziéhi, the Communications Officer for the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) talked about World Food Day, which is celebrated around the world on the 16 October. She depicted a statistically dire situation concerning the situation in this country and explained that "in Côte d'Ivoire, the rate of poverty passed from 38% of the population in 2002 to 43.6 % in 2006". She cited a recent study by the United Nation's World Food Programme (WFP) and FAO which indicated that 9% of rural households do not have enough food to eat, and that 17% of children under five who live in rural areas and 10% of children under five living in urban centers suffer from chronic malnutrition.

Mrs Ziéhi also explained that the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations, besides concentrating on raising awareness about food insecurity, also using its "Telefood" programme, has sought funds to finance micro-projects that can help families and communities who are suffering from a lack of food. This year, she explained, in Côte d'Ivoire the World Food Day will be celebrated around the internationally adopted theme of "food security and the challenges of climate change and bio-fuels".

In preparation for the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, which is celebrated on the 17 October, and this year will be celebrated under the theme of "Human rights and dignity for people living in poverty", Emma N'Gouan-Anoh, was also invited as a special guest speaker at the UNOCI weekly press conference. N'Gouan-Anoh, a specialist on poverty reduction working for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Côte d'Ivoire, underlined the importance for the UN and national authorities to take steps to see to it that the civil, political, social and human rights of people living in poverty are respected. She explained that the celebration of this day in 2008 comes at a difficult time, considering the rise in food costs and the international financial crisis, but that the goal of ensuring the rights of people living in poverty was all the more important. She noted that the UN Development Programme (UNDP) continues to play its role in assisting Ivoirian politicians to integrate a respect of human rights into their political strategies and programmes.