UN renews sanctions against Ivory Coast for another year

Oct 29, 2009, 23:30 GMT

New York - The UN Security Council renewed Thursday for another year its arms embargo and financial and travel sanctions against Ivory Coast, citing the persistence in human rights violations.

The Ivory Coast's UN Ambassador Alcide Djedje called the decision by the 15-nation council 'anachronistic' because it failed to reflect the changes that have taken place.

'The resolution adopted today is not indeed made to accompany the Ivorians in their reconciliation process that has made great progress since the signing of the Ouagadougou Agreement,' Djedje said.

As specified in the agreement, presidential elections are to take place within a few weeks, Djedje noted.

The Ivorian government has called on the council to lift the sanctions so it can pursue economic development and build security.

The council extended the sanctions until October 2010. A UN peacekeeping operation of over 10,000 military and civilians has been monitoring the peace agreement since 2004, which ended a civil war between rebel forces and the government that began two years earlier.

A UN report on the situation in Ivory Coast said the country remains divided and 'new political, economic and strategic dynamics' have emerged that were not present when the north-south conflict erupted in 2002. It said the various parties that exercise control over the country do not want another war, but they also do not want reunification.