San Padro, 12 October 2009... The United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI), in collaboration with the NGO, Coalition pour la paix et le développement du grand ouest, (CPD-GO), organized a public conference on 10 October 2009 in San Pedro, to sensitize traditional chiefs on the need for a peaceful environment in an electoral period.

The conference, whose theme was: "Working together for elections without violence; responsibility of traditional chiefs", was aimed at equipping the traditional chiefs with the necessary tools to create an environment favourable to the electoral process, explained Almudena Martinez, UNOCI's Public Information Officer in San Pedro.

In his contribution, Salé Poli, a lecturer and member of parliament for Meagui, near San Pedro, invited traditional chiefs, the guardians of local customs, to contribute to the fight against verbal violence and sources of conflicts: "Words can affect a person's dignity and create frustrations when they are hurtful", said Mr. Poli. He also stressed that all voters have the right to vote, urging participants to fight against the obstacles to citizens' right to vote. "Côte d'Ivoire needs you more than ever, to spare us other dramatic slippages", he told the traditional chiefs.

The secretary-general of San Pedro prefecture, Jean Fructueux Bako, paid tribute to the traditional chiefs for their role in the reinforcement of peace and brotherhood within the population. He urged them to take initiatives aimed at maintaining the flame of peace and preventing conflicts.

The president of CPD-GO, Joël Peteko expressed his joy at the massive participation of the traditional authorities in the conference. He said that this was a sign of their willingness to work for the rebirth of Côte d'Ivoire.

About 700 persons, including 300 traditional chiefs, who came from the surrounding area, participated in the conference. At the end of the conference, UNOCI offered promotional items to the participants in order to encourage them in their tasks of strengthening social cohesion in the region.