Security Council meeting 5880

The President

I should like to inform the Council that I have received a letter from the representative of Côte d'Ivoire, in which he requests to be invited to participate in the consideration of the item on the Council's agenda. In conformity with the usual practice, I propose, with the consent of the Council, to invite that representative to participate in the consideration of the item without the right to vote, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Charter and rule 37 of the Council's provisional rules of procedure.

There being no objection, it is so decided.

The President

The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. The Council is meeting in accordance with the understanding reached in its prior consultations.

After consultations among members of the Security Council, I have been authorized to make the following statement on behalf of the Council:

"The Security Council recalls that it endorsed the Ouagadougou Political Agreement as well as its supplementary agreements.

"The Security Council warmly welcomes the approval by the Ivorian authorities of the proposal from the Independent Electoral Commission to organize presidential elections on 30 November 2008. It underlines that this announcement, supported by all Ivorian parties, and the signing by President Laurent Gbagbo of related decrees, constitute an important step forward. The Security Council encourages the Ivorian parties to redouble their efforts to meet this commitment and the international community to bring continued support to this effect.

"The Security Council commends the Facilitator, President Blaise Compaore of Burkina Faso, for his continued efforts to support the peace process in Côte d'Ivoire, in particular through the Ouagadougou Political Agreement follow-up mechanisms. This support for the actions of President Laurent Gbagbo and Prime Minister Guillaume Soro, with the active engagement of Mr. Choi Young-Jin, Special Representative of the Secretary-General, has been instrumental towards achieving the establishment of a consensus among all political parties to hold presidential elections in 2008.

"The Security Council reaffirms its full support for the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Côte d'Ivoire and recalls that he 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, consistent with paragraph 9 of resolution 1795 (2008). It fully supports, in particular, the five-criteria framework elaborated by Mr. hoi Young-Jin in this regard and welcomed by the Ivorian parties.

"The Security Council welcomes the visit of the Secretary-General to Burkina Faso and Côte d'Ivoire from 22 to 24 April and is encouraged by the signing, under the auspices of the Secretary-General, of a Code of Good Conduct for elections by all political parties.

"The Security Council welcomes the Secretary-General's report dated 15 April 2008 (S/2008/250). It encourages the Ivorian parties to build on the ongoing mobile courts process for the identification of the Ivorian population and registration of voters. The Security Council looks forward to the publication of the electoral list as a crucial step in the electoral process.

"The Security Council calls upon the parties to make concrete progress to promote political and security stability, in particular in the context of the forthcoming presidential elections, in such key areas as the disarmament and dismantling of militias, the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programme, the storage of weapons, the unification and restructuring of defence and security forces and the full restoration of State authority throughout the country.

"The Security Council takes note with appreciation of the support of bilateral and multilateral donors, in particular the Economic Community of West African States, the African Union and the European Union. It calls upon donors and the Government of Cote d'Ivoire to make further efforts to finance the electoral process, including through the trust fund established by the United Nations Development Programme to that effect, and calls upon the authorities of Côte d'Ivoire to engage fully with the donors. It also encourages the international community to enhance its financial support for the facilitation.

"The Security Council expresses its appreciation for the role played by the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI), supported by the French forces, in contributing to bring the security needed by the peace process and the logistical support required for the preparation of the elections. It welcomes the assessment made by the Secretary-General on the troop level of UNOCI in his report (S/2008/250). The Security Council will review by 30 July 2008 the mandates of UNOCI and the French forces which support it, as well as the level of troops of UNOCI, in accordance with paragraph 8 of resolution 1795 (2008).

"The Security Council requests the Secretary-General to keep it regularly informed of the situation, including on the logistical support that UNOCI will provide for the elections."

This statement will be issued as a document of the Security Council under the symbol S/PRST/2008/11.

The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on its agenda.