GUEHENNO BRIEFS ON COTE D'IVOIRE AND UPCOMING

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 001405 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL IV PGOV UNSC XA KPKO SUBJECT: GUEHENNO BRIEFS ON COTE D'IVOIRE AND UPCOMING ELECTIONS ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. On July 13, Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) Under-Secretary General (U/SYG) Guehenno briefed the UN Security Council (UNSC) on discussions held on July 5 in Cote d'Ivoire between Secretary-General (SYG) Kofi Annan and African leaders regarding the region's peace process and upcoming elections. Most UNSC Members agreed that the situation in Cote d'Ivoire looks hopeful but stressed the need to meet the deadlines that have been set. Members also discussed the possibility of imposing sanctions on those who refuse to fulfill commitments made during the peace process. The French delegation circulated a draft Presidential Statement (PRST),which was discussed in a July 13 Experts Meeting and adopted on July 19 as UN document S/PRST/2006/32 (text in Paragraph 6). END SUMMARY. DEADLINES ESTABLISHED FOR ELECTION PROCESS AND EVALUATION MEETING ¶2. (SBU) Guehenno reported that SYG Annan's July 5 meeting with President Gbagbo of Cote d'Ivoire, President Obasanjo of Nigeria, President Mbeki of South Africa, Force Nouvelle leader Soro, and representatives from Mali, Burkina Faso and other African nations, focused on strategies for implementing UNSC Resolution 1633. The parties decided to establish a monitoring group by July 15 that would oversee the disarmament process. They agreed that the first step in the disarmament process is to implement a pre-containment process, scheduled to be completed by July 31. President Gbagbo plans to issue a decree by July 15 that would allow the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to revise the election code and deploy 50 mobile courts tasked with identifying disenfranchised Cote d'Ivoire residents. Thirty-two mobile courts were launched on July 5, and SYG Annan recommended planning a donor conference to increase their financial resources as soon as possible. ¶3. (SBU) Guehenno reported that out of the $326 million necessary to fund the peace process, $208 million has been pledged. Guehenno also noted that short deadlines, like the ones set forth during the July 5 talks, are necessary to maintain pressure on all parties involved. While UNSC Members agreed that pressure is necessary to maintain progress, several members expressed concern about the continual delays in the implementation of UNSC Resolution ¶1633. Guehenno reported that all parties welcomed SYG Annan's plan to hold an evaluation meeting in September following the opening of the 61st Session of the UN General Assembly. This evaluation meeting would provide an opportunity to assess progress six weeks before the African Union deadline for elections on October 31. ¶4. (SBU) The International Working Group is scheduled to meet on July 20, and U/SYG Guehenno recommended that the UNSC obtain a report from the Group regarding progress on the implementation of UN Resolutions 1543 and 1672. Guehenno also broached the possibility of imposing sanctions on those who refuse to cooperate with the peace process. MEMBERS COMMENT ON DEADLINES, SANCTIONS AND UPCOMING ELECTION ¶5. (SBU) Ambassador Jones Parry of the United Kingdom expressed a firm stance that the October 31 election date should be upheld and that action should be taken against those who impede the process. The representatives from Slovakia and Greece reiterated Ambassador Jones Parry's view, stating that the UNSC should consider the option of imposing sanctions if necessary. Ambassador Effah-Apenteng of Ghana and Ambassador de La Sabliere of France both noted the progress made in Cote d'Ivoire but stated that it was not sufficient and that much remains to be done before elections can be held in October. Ambassador de La Sabliere went on to warn that Ivorian parties 'do not usually keep their promises' and that the UNSC should be prepared for this possibility. PRST ADOPTED ON JULY 19 ¶6. (U) Begin PRST Text: The Security Council welcomes the initiative of the Secretary-General who organized the high level meeting in SIPDIS Yamoussoukro on 5 July 2006. It urges all Ivorian parties to implement, in close liaison with the Impartial Forces, all their commitments taken at this occasion concerning the identification operations, the establishment of a monitoring group on the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programme, the completion of the pre-cantonment process, the adjustment to the electoral code, the dismantling of militias and the establishment of a code of conduct for the media, and urges them in particular to meet the agreed deadlines. The Security Council urges also all Ivorian parties to accelerate the implementation of the roadmap in order to create the conditions indispensable for the holding of free, open, fair and transparent elections by 31 October. The Security Council calls on the International Working Group (IWG) to monitor the full implementation of the decisions taken by all Ivorian parties in Yamoussoukro on 5 July 2006 and to report to it on its assessment in this regard. The Security Council underlines that it is fully prepared to impose targeted measures against persons to be designated by the Committee established by paragraph 14 of resolution 1572 (2004) who are determined to be, among other things, blocking the implementation of the peace process, including by attacking or obstructing the action of UNOCI, of the French forces which support it, of the High Representative for the elections or of the IWG, responsible for serious violations of human rights and international law committed in Cote d'Ivoire since 19 September 2002, inciting publicly hatred and violence or in violation of the arms embargo, as provided in resolutions 1572 (2004) and 1643 (2005). The Security Council welcomes the intention of the Secretary-General to call a meeting on the situation in Cote SIPDIS d'Ivoire in September 2006 to take stock of the situation and to make any further determinations as may be needed. In this regard, it requests the Secretary-General to report to it before the September meeting on the obstacles remaining to the implementation of the roadmap and on those responsible. The Security Council expresses its full support for the IWG and endorses its eighth final communiqu dated 23 June 2006. It reiterates its full support for the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and the High Representative for the Elections. ¶7. (U) End PRST Text. BOLTON