UN renews mandate of peacekeeping mission in Ivory Coast

Mon, 20 Dec 2010

New York - The UN Security Council on Monday renewed the six-month mandate of its peacekeeping mission in Ivory Coast in defiance of the incumbent government's demand that the international troops be withdrawn amid a dispute over the presidential elections.

The council said the UN mission in Ivory Coast (UNOCI) will remain until June 30, 2011, and it authorized additional personnel, bringing the total number of military and civilian personnel close to 10,000.

The council also authorized the UN secretary general to redeploy peacekeepers between the missions in Ivory Coast and Liberia.

It said the UNOCI will continue to support the peace process in Ivory Coast, "especially the completion of the unfinished tasks of legislative elections, reunification of the country, the restoration of state authority throughout the country."

Other tasks given to the mission include demobilization and reintegration of former combatants, the dismantling of militias, the strengthening of rule of law institutions, reform of security and promotion of human rights.

Last week, incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo, who has refused to step down after losing the November 28 presidential elections to opposition leader Alassane Ouattara, asked the UN to withdraw its forces. The UN has called on Gbagbo to step down and transfer power to president-elect Ouattara.

Despite fierce international pressure, Gbagbo is relying on military might to cling to power and asked the troops to quit the country amid unrest that has claimed at least 50 lives since Thursday.

The UN mission was deployed in 2002 after a civil war split Ivory Coast into a rebel-held north and government-led south. The UN had hoped that democratic reform and elections would close the gap of differences between the two.