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UN / COTE D'IVOIRE WRAP
UNTV / FILE
STORY: UN / COTE D'IVOIRE
TRT: 2.19
SOURCE: UNTV/ UNMIL
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/ FRENCH/ NATS
DATELINE: 18 JULY 2011, NEW YORK CITY/ FILE
FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior UN building
18 JULY 2011, NEW YORK CITY
2. Zoom in, Security Council
3. Med shot, delegates
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Choi Young-Jin, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Côte d’Ivoire:
“All these efforts related to the four tasks appear to be moving towards the right direction, however, there is a need for a rapid restoration of law and order throughout the country as this is the pre-condition for the other tasks to be carried out successfully.”
5. Med shot, delegates
6. SOUNDBITE (French) Youssoufou Bamba Permanent Representative of Côte d'Ivoire to the United Nations:
“I would like to take this opportunity to reaffirm the determination of the president to work resolutely to ensure that human rights are respected in Côte d’Ivoire; to ensure that we see the emergence and consolidation of a State that respects the rule of law and transparency and that will fight impunity.”
7. Zoom out, Security Council
8. Tracking shot, Choi walks to the stakeout position
FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY
9. Close up, camera
18 JULY 2011, NEW YORK CITY
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Choi Young-Jin, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Côte d’Ivoire:
“I went to see President Ouattara himself and he promised me two things: First one is he’ll make a public announcement; there will be no impunity regardless of the political affiliation and also he began to meet with the Prime Minister and the zone commanders, who are the actual security barons in the south and Abidjan. He told them without ambiguity, you will be taken accountable if you commit human rights violations.”
FILE - UNMIL - 17 JUNE 2010, MONROVIA, LIBERIA
11. Pan right, weapons taken to inspection line
12. Med shot, soldier verifying weapon serial number
13. Med shot, weapons transferred from one box to another
14. Close up, weapons in a wooden box
15. Various shots, weapons being cut
16. Wide shot, worker puts AK-47 magazines into metal recycling machine
17. Wide shot, scrap metal from destroyed weapons emerges in belt
18. Close up, scrap metal from destroyed weapons falls into bin.
Côte d’Ivoire faces multiple challenges after emerging from its recent post-electoral crisis, but none more critical than restoring law and order throughout the West African nation, the top United Nations envoy there said today (18 July).
Y. J. Choi, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, said in his briefing to the Security Council that “there is a need for a rapid restoration of law and order throughout the country as this is the pre-condition for the other tasks to be carried out successfully.”
Presenting Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s latest report on the UN Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI), Choi cited the need to develop a clear vision related to the establishment of a national security structure. This, he said, would allow the effective deployment of police and gendarmerie elements throughout the country which, in turn, would allow rolling back military elements into their barracks.
In his report, however, Ban says the security situation is still extremely precarious and the destroyed national capacity will take some time to recover.
Ivorian Ambassador Youssoufou Bamba, in his address to the Council, reaffirmed President Alassane Ouattara’s determination “to work resolutely to ensure that human rights are respected in Côte d’Ivoire; to ensure that we see the emergence and consolidation of a State that respects the rule of law and transparency and that will fight impunity.”
Outside the Council, Choi spoke about the mass killings in Duekoué, uncovered in the aftermath of the conflict. He acknowledged that while one third of the 320 recorded deaths can be attributed to former president Laurent Gbagbo’s supporters, the other two thirds were committed by Ouattara’s supporters.
Choi said that Ouattara promised him that “there will be no impunity regardless of the political affiliation” and has told his security barons in the south and Abidjan "without ambiguity” that they will be “taken accountable” if they commit human rights violations.
The Secretary-General’s report also voices concern about the high risk of a return to armed conflict, stressing the need to assist the Government to address the factors that could reignite fighting, including the fact that civilian communities are awash with weapons and the resurfacing of long-standing ethnic, citizenship and land ownership issues.
The Liberia National Police (LNP) in collaboration with the United Nations (UN) Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) destroyed a large cache of weapons that were discovered in the River Gee area.
River Gee area is one of the places where mercenaries and militias employed by Cote d’Ivoire’s deposed leader Laurent Gbagbo fled after his arrest in April.
A police statement has noted that the arms find included over 67 AK-47 rifles, 3 RPG missiles, 3 rockets, anti-aircraft steel rockets, and 47 empty AK-47 magazines. The weapons also included one piece of a 50-calibre machine gun with over 3000 rounds of ammunition.
After examination and inspection by the LNP, the arms were turned over to the Nigerian contingent of UNMIL, and later were transported to UNMIL’s Star Base facility for destruction.
UNOCI is setting up eight new UN military camps in the west of Côte d’Ivoire, including four in the border area with Liberia, and is planning to rehabilitate and equip a number of police stations in the region.
Côte d’Ivoire’s political crisis ended when Gbagbo finally surrendered in mid-April, ending months of violence in the wake of his refusal to step down after he lost the UN-certified presidential run-off election to Ouattara, who was sworn in as president in May.
An estimated 1 million Ivorians were displaced by the violence during the recent crisis, including those who fled to neighbouring countries.
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