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Viewing cable 09STATE79165, UN OPERATION IN COTE D'IVOIRE:MANDATE RENEWAL

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
09STATE79165 2009-07-29 18:06 2011-01-13 05:05 UNCLASSIFIED Secretary of State
VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHC #9165 2101900
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 291842Z JUL 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 0000
INFO UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHAB/AMEMBASSY ABIDJAN IMMEDIATE 0000
RUEHMV/AMEMBASSY MONROVIA IMMEDIATE 0000
RUEHFN/AMEMBASSY FREETOWN IMMEDIATE 0000
RUEHRY/AMEMBASSY CONAKRY IMMEDIATE 0000
RUEHOU/AMEMBASSY OUAGADOUGOU IMMEDIATE 0000
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS IMMEDIATE 0000
UNCLAS STATE 079165 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL KPKO IC
SUBJECT: UN OPERATION IN COTE D'IVOIRE:MANDATE RENEWAL 
 
REF: A. (A) STATE 72105 
     B. (B) STATE 7043 
 
1.  USUN is authorized to vote in favor of a Security Council 
resolution authorizing the renewal of the mandate of the UN 
Operation in Cote d'Ivoire until January 31, 2010.  The text 
of the resolution is in paragraph 2.  USUN should consult 
with Washington if there are substantive changes. 
 
2.  Begin text: 
 
The Security Council, 
 
Recalling its previous resolutions, in particular resolutions 
1528 (2004), 1721 (2006), 1739 (2007), 1765 (2007), 1795 
(2008), 1826 (2008), 1842 (2008) and 1865 (2009), and the 
statements of its President relating to the situation in Cte 
d,Ivoire, and resolution 1836 (2008) on the situation in 
Liberia, 
 
Reaffirming its strong commitment to the sovereignty, 
independence, territorial integrity and unity of Cte 
d,Ivoire, and recalling the importance of the principles of 
good-neighbourliness, non-interference and regional 
cooperation, 
 
Recalling that it endorsed the Agreement signed by President 
Laurent Gbagbo and Mr. Guillaume Soro in Ouagadougou on 4 
March 2007 ("the Ouagadougou Political Agreement", 
S/2007/144), and that it welcomed the four subsequent 
Supplementary Agreements, 
 
Recalling in particular that in its resolution 1721 (2006) it 
notably endorsed the decision of the African Union Peace and 
Security Council on the mandate of the Head of State, and 
recalling further that in the statement of its President 
dated 28 March 2007 (S/PRST/2007/8) it endorsed the 
Ouagadougou Political Agreement, including its Chapter V on 
the institutional executive framework, and that this 
Agreement provided for a period of ten months for the holding 
of the presidential elections, 
 
Expressing again its appreciation to President Blaise 
Compaor of Burkina Faso ("the Facilitator") for his 
continued efforts to support the peace process in Cte 
d,Ivoire, in particular through the Ouagadougou Political 
Agreement follow-up mechanisms, commending and encouraging 
the continued efforts of the African Union and the Economic 
Community of West African States ("ECOWAS") to promote peace 
and stability in Cte d,Ivoire, and reiterating its full 
support for them, 
 
Stressing again the importance of the international 
consultative organ participating in the meetings of the 
evaluation and monitoring committee, as an observer, 
 
Stressing the need for the Council to pursue a rigorous, 
strategic approach to peacekeeping deployments, 
 
Reiterating its strong condemnation of any attempt to 
destabilize the peace process by force, and expressing its 
intention to examine without delay the situation after any 
such attempt, on the basis of a report by the 
Secretary-General, 
 
Having taken note of the report of the Secretary-General 
dated 7 July 2009 (S/2009/344), 
 
Recalling its resolution 1674 (2006) on the protection of 
civilians in armed conflicts, noting with concern, in spite 
of the sustained improvement of the overall human rights 
situation, the persistence of reported human rights 
violations against civilians in different parts of the 
country, including numerous acts of sexual violence, 
stressing that the perpetrators must be brought to justice, 
and reiterating its firm condemnation of all violations of 
human rights and international humanitarian law in Cte 
d,Ivoire, 
 
Recalling its resolution 1612 (2005) on children and armed 
conflict and the subsequent conclusions of the Security 
Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict 
pertaining to parties in the armed conflict of Cte d,Ivoire 
S/AC.51/2008/5, and expressing its deep concern that children 
continue to suffer from various forms of violence, 
 
Recalling also its resolutions 1325 (2000) and 1820 (2008) on 
women, peace and security, condemning any sexual violence, 
stressing again the importance of women,s equal 
participation and full involvement in all efforts for the 
maintenance of peace and promotion of peace and security and 
the need to increase their role in decision-making with 
regard to conflict prevention and resolution, and encouraging 
the Secretary-General to mainstream a gender perspective in 
the implementation of the mandate of the United Nations 
Operation in Cte d,Ivoire ("UNOCI"), 
 
Determining that the situation in Cte d,Ivoire continues to 
pose a threat to international peace and security in the 
region, 
 
Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, 
 
("Supporting the Ouagadougou political process") 
 
1. Recalls that in the statement of its President dated 29 
May 2009 (S/PRST/2009/16) it welcomed the new electoral 
timeline endorsed in Ouagadougou by all the main Ivorian 
political actors and leading to the first round of the 
presidential elections on 29 November 2009, and underlines 
that the parties are bound to respect this timeline to 
demonstrate their political commitment towards the holding of 
free, fair, open and transparent elections; 
 
2. Reiterates its determination to bring its full support to 
a credible electoral process for the presidential and 
legislative elections in Cte d,Ivoire and expresses its 
conviction that any postponement of the presidential 
elections of 29 November 2009 in Cte d,Ivoire would be 
inconsistent with a credible process and with the Ouagadougou 
Political Agreement as endorsed by the Security Council; 
 
3. Welcomes the successful completion of the operations of 
registration of voters; 
 
4. Recalls that it had requested in its resolution 1865 
(2009) the President of the Independent Electoral Commission 
to share publicly the details of the time frame, and takes 
note of the dates he provided for the five stages leading to 
the elections of 29 November 2009; 
 
5. Reiterates that the publication of the electoral list is a 
crucial step in the electoral process, looks forward to the 
publication of the provisional voters list before the end of 
August 2009 and urges the Ivorian actors to meet their 
commitments in full and without delay; 
 
6. Expresses its determination to follow closely the 
publication of the provisional and of the final electoral 
lists, encourages the Facilitator and the Special 
Representative of the Secretary-General to inform it without 
delay of any difficulty that may put at risk the electoral 
time frame, expresses its intention to examine any such 
situation without delay and requests the Special 
Representative of the Secretary-General to certify the voters 
list explicitly; 
 
7. Reiterates that the Special Representative of the 
Secretary-General shall certify that all stages of the 
electoral process provide all the necessary guarantees for 
the holding of open, free, fair and transparent presidential 
and legislative elections in accordance with international 
standards, and reaffirms its full support to the Special 
Representative of the Secretary-General in his certification 
role, 
 
8. Stresses that it will base its assessment of the electoral 
process on the certification that will be prepared by the 
Special Representative consistent with the five-criteria 
framework referred to in document S/2008/250 and after 
inclusive contacts with all stakeholders in Cte d,Ivoire, 
including the civil society; 
 
9. Stresses the importance of an inclusive participation of 
the Ivorian civil society in the electoral process, and of 
ensuring the equal protection of and respect for human rights 
of every Ivorian as they relate to the electoral system, and 
in particular respect for freedom of opinion and expression, 
and removing obstacles and challenges to women,s 
participation and full involvement in public life; 
 
10. Urges the Government of Cte d,Ivoire to provide the 
operators involved in the electoral process with the 
necessary support and encourages the international community 
to continue their support to the electoral process, including 
by providing, with the agreement of the Ivorian authorities, 
electoral observation capacity and related technical 
assistance; 
 
11. Recalls that it is fully prepared to impose targeted 
measures pursuant to paragraph 16 of resolution 1842 (2008), 
including among other things against persons who are 
determined to be a threat to the peace and national 
reconciliation process in Cte d,Ivoire, and recalls further 
that, pursuant to paragraph 6 of the above mentioned 
resolution, any threat to the electoral process in Cte 
d,Ivoire, in particular any attack or obstruction of the 
action of the Independent Electoral Commission in charge of 
the organization of the elections or the actions of the 
operators mentioned in paragraphs 1.33, and 2.11 of the 
Ouagadougou Political Agreement, shall constitute a threat to 
the peace and national reconciliation process for the 
purposes of paragraph 9 and 11 of resolution 1572 (2004); 
 
12. Urges again the political parties to comply fully with 
the Code of Good Conduct for elections which they signed 
under the auspices of the Secretary-General, and in 
particular urges the Ivorian authorities to allow equitable 
access to public media; 
 
13. Takes note again of the ceremony of transfer of authority 
held in Bouake on 26 May 2009 as a positive development, 
urges the Ivorian parties to make further progress to advance 
the reunification and disarmament processes, and encourages 
the international donors to continue to provide their support 
to them, as appropriate; 
 
14. Calls upon all concerned parties to ensure that the 
protection of women and children is addressed in the 
implementation of the Ouagadougou Political Agreement as well 
as the post-conflict reconstruction and recovery phases, 
including continued monitoring and reporting of the situation 
of women and children and that all reported abuses are 
investigated and those responsible brought to justice; 
 
15. Calls also upon all Ivorian parties to take appropriate 
measures to refrain from, prevent and protect civilians from 
all forms of sexual violence, which could include, inter 
alia, enforcing appropriate military disciplinary measures, 
upholding the principle of command responsibility, and 
training troops on the categorical prohibition of all forms 
of sexual violence; 
 
16. Recalls the recommendation by its Working Group on 
children in armed conflict in Cte d,Ivoire (S/AC.51/2008/5) 
that a National Action Plan to address sexual violence be 
adopted, welcomes steps taken so far and urges the Government 
of Cote d,Ivoire, with the support of UNOCI and other 
relevant actors to finalize and implement it, welcomes also 
the Programme of Action to Combat Sexual Violence in the 
areas within its control signed by the Forces Nouvelles in 
January 2009 pursuant to the above-mentioned recommendations 
as well as the communiqu issued by four militia groups 
indicating their willingness to combat sexual violence, and 
calls upon all relevant parties, with the continued support 
of UNOCI to work together to implement their commitments; 
 
17. Urges the signatories of the Ouagadougou Political 
Agreement to take the necessary steps to protect vulnerable 
civilian populations, including by guaranteeing the voluntary 
return, reinstallation, reintegration and security of 
displaced persons, including by addressing land tenure 
issues, with the support of the United Nations system, and to 
fulfil in this regard their commitments in accordance with 
the Ouagadougou Political Agreement and their obligations 
under international law; 
 
18. Welcomes the progress made in the identification process, 
which is key to the long-term stability of Cte d'Ivoire, and 
calls upon the Ivorian parties to continue the identification 
operations, including after the elections; 
 
("Renewing the mandate of the United Nations Operation in 
Cte d,Ivoire") 
 
19. Decides to renew the mandate of UNOCI, as determined in 
resolution 1739 (2007), until 31 January 2010, in particular 
to support the organization in Cte d,Ivoire of free, open, 
fair and transparent elections, within the electoral time 
frame referred to in paragraph 1 above; 
 
20. Requests UNOCI, within its existing resources and 
mandate, to support actively the parties in the 
implementation of the remaining tasks under the Ouagadougou 
Political Agreement and its Supplementary Agreements, in 
particular those that are essential to the holding of a free, 
fair, open and transparent presidential election of 29 
November 2009, and to continue to support the disarmament, 
demobilization and reintegration programme and the 
disarmament and dismantling of militias, and to provide 
technical and logistical support to the Independent Electoral 
Commission for the preparation and the holding of the 
elections in a secure environment; 
 
21. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to monitor 
progress on the achievement of the benchmarks referred to in 
annex 1 of his report dated 7 July 2009, encourages him to 
continue to refine and update them and to report to the 
Security Council, and expresses its intention to review these 
benchmarks in full before 15 October 2009, taking into 
account in particular the progress of the electoral process; 
 
22. Reiterates its full support to the efforts of the Special 
Representative of the Secretary-General in Cte d,Ivoire, 
and requests UNOCI to continue to actively sensitize the 
Ivorian population to his certification role; 
 
23. Commends the Facilitator for continuing to support the 
process to settle the crisis in Cte d,Ivoire, and requests 
UNOCI to continue to assist him and his Special 
Representative in Abidjan in the conduct of the facilitation, 
including by helping the Facilitator, as appropriate and upon 
his request, to carry out his arbitration role according to 
the provisions of paragraph 8.1 of the Ouagadougou Political 
Agreement and paragraphs 8 and 9 of the third Supplementary 
Agreement; 
 
24. Reaffirms its intention, as expressed in resolution 1836 
(2008), to authorize the Secretary-General to redeploy 
troops, as may be needed, between the United Nations Mission 
in Liberia (UNMIL) and UNOCI on a temporary basis and in 
accordance with the provisions of resolution 1609 (2005), as 
recommended by the Secretary-General in paragraph 25 of his 
report dated 7 July 2009 (S/2009/344) and calls on troop 
contributing countries to support the efforts of the 
Secretary-General in that regard; 
 
25. Underscores the importance of updating the military 
concept of operations and rules of engagement before 30 
September 2009 and requests the Secretary-General to report 
thereon to the Security Council and troop contributing 
countries; 
 
26. Requests UNOCI to continue to contribute, pursuant to 
paragraph 2 (k) of its resolution 1739 (2007), to the 
promotion and protection of human rights in Cte d,Ivoire, 
with special attention to violence committed against children 
and women, to monitor and help investigate human rights 
violations with a view to ending impunity, and to continue to 
support the efforts all parties should take pursuant to 
paragraph 15 and 16 above, and further requests the 
Secretary-General to continue to include in his reports to 
the Security Council relevant information on progress in this 
area; 
 
27.  Requests UNOCI, in this context, to also continue to 
contribute, pursuant to paragraph 2 (m) of its resolution 
1739 (2007) to assist the Government of Cote d'Ivoire in 
restoring a civilian policing presence throughout Cote 
d'Ivoire, and to advise the Government of Cote d'Ivoire on 
the restructuring of the internal security services and in 
re-establishing the authority of the judiciary and the rule 
of law throughout Cote d'Ivoire, 
 
28. Stresses the need for UNOCI and humanitarian agencies to 
continue to work closely together, in relation to areas of 
tensions and of return of displaced persons, to exchange 
information on possible outbreaks of violence and other 
threats against civilians in order to respond thereto in a 
timely and appropriate manner; 
 
29. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to take the 
necessary measures to ensure full compliance in UNOCI with 
the United Nations zero-tolerance policy on sexual 
exploitation and abuses and to keep the Council informed, and 
urges troop-contributing countries to take appropriate 
preventive action including predeployment awareness training, 
and other action to ensure full accountability in cases of 
such conduct involving their personnel; 
 
30. Decides to extend until 31 January 2010 the authorization 
it provided to the French forces in order to support UNOCI, 
within the limits of their deployment and their capabilities; 
 
31. Expresses its intention to review the situation as well 
as, as appropriate, the mandate of UNOCI, subject to the 
progress of the electoral process and in particular to the 
establishment of the voters list, and in any case no later 
than 15 October 2009, requests the Secretary-General to 
inform it in early September of the publication of the 
provisional electoral list and further requests the 
Secretary-General to provide to it a mid term report, by 30 
September 2009, of the situation on the ground, including a 
specific update on the security situation, and of the 
preparation of the electoral process; 
 
32. Further requests the Secretary-General to inform the 
Security Council in his upcoming reports on the development 
of his strategic workplan containing indicative timelines to 
measure and track progress on the implementation of the 
benchmarks referred to in paragraph 21 above; 
 
33. Expresses its intention to review by 31 January 2010 the 
mandate of UNOCI and the authorization provided to the French 
forces which support it, the level of troops of UNOCI and the 
benchmarks referred to in paragraph 21 above, in light of the 
progress achieved in the electoral process and in the 
implementation of the key steps of the peace process, and 
requests the Secretary-General to provide to it a report to 
this end three weeks before this date; 
 
34. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter. 
 
End text. 
CLINTON