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