COTE D'IVOIRE: UNHCR REPRESENTATIVE'S OVERVIEW

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABIDJAN 000865

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR AF/W-PDAVIS, INR/AA-BGRAVES, AND PRM/AFR

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/17/2017
TAGS: PREL PREF IV LI
SUBJECT: COTE D'IVOIRE: UNHCR REPRESENTATIVE'S OVERVIEW

(C) 1. Summary. United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) Country Representative Sabe Azam told Charge
August 16 that UNHCR is conducting a verification exercise to
determine the number of Liberians left in Cote d'Ivoire after
the June 30 repatriation. Azam said President Gbagbo has no
objection to local integration of Liberians. Azam stated
that, while there may be Liberian "militia" in Cote d'Ivoire,
recruiting is probably not going on. Azam noted that until
the government has an administrative presence in the areas of
return, there will be no massive returns by internally
displaced persons (IDPs). Azam believes Ivorians are
committed to peace, but that the question is whether an
agreement can be reached regarding the electoral process. He
added that identification cannot be accomplished in a short
period time. According to Azam, the Ivorian crisis requires a
political, rather than a legal, solution. End Summary.


2. (C) UNHCR Country Representative Sabe Azam informed Charge
August 16 that UNHCR completed voluntary repatriation of
Liberian refugees on June 30 and is currently conducting a
verification exercise to determine how many Liberians are
left in Cote d'Ivoire. Azam said he raised local integration
of Liberians, which for UNHCR includes citizenship, with
Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo and that Gbagbo said he had
no objection. Azam stated that Cote d'Ivoire has a tradition
of hospitality and noted that there were no camps for
Liberian refugees in Cote d'Ivoire because the Liberians were
taken in by host families and communities. However, he noted
that that there are serious protection problems and suggested
that the international community should pay more attention to
that issue. Azam told the Charge that he cannot say that
there are no Liberian "militia" in Cote d'Ivoire. He said
Liberians with combat experience and weapons are available
for hire, but that recruiting is probably not going on since
it is unlikely there will be a resumption of violence in Cote
d'Ivoire. Azam said he has discussed this issue with the
Liberian Ambassador to Cote d'Ivoire and that she responded
that Liberia can use persons with military experience in the
armed forces and police.


3. (SBU) Azam said UNHCR is concerned about IDPs in the west
of the country. He noted that UNHCR is attempting to render
return areas more attractive for IDPs. He explained that
most areas of return are under the control of the Forces
Nouvelles (FN) and government administration and social
services are lacking. Azam said that until the government
has an administrative presence in the areas of return, there
will be no massive returns. Azam noted that Minister of
Solidarity and War Victims Louis Dacoury-Tabley would visit
with the militia leader in the west August 17.


4. (SBU) Azam believes that the actions taken to date to
implement the Ouagadougou Political Accord (OPA) are not
merely symbolic. He said the parties to the OPA just cannot
proceed on implementation as quickly as the international
community would like. Azam believes Ivorians are committed to
peace, but that the question is whether an agreement can be
reached regarding the electoral process. Azam stated that
UNHCR is committed to preventing statelessness. He noted
that it is not possible to accomplish the identification
process in a short span of time since Ivorians do not have a
culture of documentation. Azam said the identification issue
needs to be separated from the country's political crisis and
addressed by whoever wins the elections. According to Azam,
Cote d'Ivoire needs a "blanket political solution." Azam
added that the land issue is linked to identification since
only citizens can own land. Azam told the Charge that land in
Cote d'Ivoire does not belong to the state, but to the
village chiefs who can distribute it to others. Azam believes
the judiciary faces a real challenge in resolving land
disputes since purchasers of land do not have documentation
attesting to the sale.

HUDDLESTON