UN tries to stabilise I Coast
2004-11-09 10:46
United Nations - A United Nations draft resolution calls for an arms embargo on Ivory Coast and a travel ban and asset freeze against those blocking peace, violating human rights, and preventing the disarmament of combatants.
The resolution, drafted by France and circulated on Monday, would create a Security Council committee to adopt a list of people that would be subject to sanctions, and to collect information especially from neighbouring countries on compliance with the embargoes.
The arms embargo and sanctions would remain in effect for one year when the draft calls for a review by the council "in the light of progress accomplished in the peace and national reconciliation process."
Security Council experts discussed the draft on Monday and members were consulting capitals overnight. France was pressing for a quick vote.
Demanded a halt to military action
At an emergency meeting on Saturday, the UN Security Council demanded an immediate halt to all military action in Ivory Coast and confirmed that UN peacekeepers and French forces are authorised to use "all necessary means" to carry out their jobs.
The council agreed on the presidential statement after a closed-door briefing on developments in Ivory Coast, including an attack early on Saturday on a French base that killed nine French troops and an American civilian, and wounded more than 30 French soldiers.
The draft resolution reiterates the council's "full support" for the action taken by the 6 000 UN peacekeepers and 4 000 French troops
Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who spent much of the weekend on the phone talking to leaders about the attacks, told reporters that various attempts were being make "to quiet the situation," including with Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo.
Great concern
The French and Ivory Coast military commanders appeared together on state television and Annan said "hopefully they'll work out some arrangements and stabilise the situation."
But UN spokesperson Fred Eckhard stressed that the situation in the country "remains of great concern."
"Relative calm has been restored in the commercial capital of Abidjan but the atmosphere remains very tense and volatile," he said.
The United Nations welcomed Gbagbo's appeal for calm but was concerned at the "messages of hate" broadcast on radio and television encouraging Ivorians to take to the streets, Eckhard said.
- AP