COTE D'IVOIRE: JULY 24, 2008 UN SECURITY COUNCIL

UNCLAS STATE 078865

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL KPKO MARR UNSC IC
SUBJECT: COTE D'IVOIRE: JULY 24, 2008 UN SECURITY COUNCIL
CONSULTATIONS


1. (U) The Security Council will hold consultations on Cote
d'Ivoire on July 24, 2008. USUN may draw on the talking
points in paragraph 2.


2. Begin points:

-- I would like to thank Ambassador Choi for his briefing.

-- We congratulate the parties on their continuing efforts to
fulfill their obligations under the Ouagadougou Political
Agreement, and again thank the Facilitator, President
Compaore, for his dedication to the peace process.

-- The U.S. welcomes the progress made to date in preparing
for the November 30 elections. These elections are an
opportunity to reestablish trust among all parties in Cote
d'Ivoire. They must exemplify the importance to the
country's future stability and prosperity of opening the
political process and economic opportunity to all Ivorians.

-- We hope that it will be possible to accelerate the
technical preparations to ensure that the elections are
conducted as planned. We fully support the role that the
Special Representative of the Secretary-General will play in
certifying that the elections are free, open, fair and
transparent.

-- We hope that there will be more rapid progress on
disarmament and demobilization of combatants. This is
critical in guaranteeing a secure environment throughout the
country. It is a vital step in rebuilding an inclusive,
democratic security sector.

-- The U.S. is also concerned about the low rate of surrender
of weapons, and the very possibly connected rise in crime.
We urge the leadership of the Defense and Security Forces of
Cote d'Ivoire and of the Forces Nouvelles to sign the
memorandum of understanding on the responsibility of the
impartial forces to supervise storage of weapons that have
been surrendered.

-- As the Secretary-General noted in his report, disarmament
and dismantling of militia groups is a key element in the
restoration of security. We urge militia leaders to
cooperate with the Government in bringing this about.

-- We look forward to continuing progress in establishing
national administration throughout the country and on
building the national civic service.

-- The United States appreciates the candor and concern shown
in the report's discussion of the serious problem of
the lack of impunity for sexual violence against women. We
applaud and support UNOCI's efforts to address this issue,
and to promote and protect human rights in Cote d'Ivoire, in
particular the rights of women and children.
We note in particular the training programs both for mission
personnel and for those working in the Ivorian legal and
judicial systems.

-- We also welcome the steps the mission is taking to
underscore the UN's zero-tolerance policy for sexual
misconduct
by its personnel. The U.S. will be very interested in the
results of the investigations into allegations of
such misconduct by UNOCI peacekeepers.

-- In conclusion, the U.S. supports the renewal of UNOCI's
current mandate and strength, and looks forward to the
Secretary-General's recommendations in his next report on a
drawdown plan.





















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End points.
RICE