United Nations Security Council Resolution 2226 – Côte d’Ivoire

Resolution 2226 (2015)

The Security Council,

Recalling its previous resolutions, in particular resolutions 2162 (2014) and 2219 (2015), and the statements of its President relating to the situation in Côte d’Ivoire, resolutions 2188 (2014), 2190 (2014) and 2215 (2015) on the situation in Liberia and resolution 2164 (2014) on the situation in Mali,

Reaffirming its strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and unity of Côte d’Ivoire and recalling the principles of good -neighbourliness, non-interference and regional cooperation,

Recalling that the Government of Côte d’Ivoire bears primary responsibility for ensuring peace, stability and the protection of civilians in Côte d’Ivoire,

Taking note of the report of the Secretary-General of 7 May 2015 (S/2015/320),

Welcoming the progress being made in Côte d’Ivoire on the path of reconciliation, stability and economic recovery and commending the leadership of the President of Côte d’Ivoire in this regard,

Welcoming the continued improvement in the security situation in Côte d’Ivoire, including in the western part of the country and along the border with Liberia, while condemning the attacks of 10 and 16 January 2015, acknowledging the need to address remaining challenges and noting the continued cooperation between the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) and the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), as well as the Governments of Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia and countries in the subregion, in coordinating activities, including on security, in the border areas in the subregion,

Calling upon all Ivorian stakeholders, including political parties, civil society and the media, to work together to consolidate the progress made so far and to address the underlying causes of tension and conflict including with respect to land and nationality, encouraging the Government of Côte d’Ivoire to further strengthen the rule of law, welcoming the steps taken by the Government of Côte d’Ivoire to organize and finance the 2015 presidential election process, including reforms on the legal framework for elections through the adoption of amendments to this framework, welcoming the work undertaken by the Commission Électorale Indépendante, and welcoming the steps taken by the Government of Côte d’Ivoire to facilitate an environment conducive to fair, credible, and transparent elections, while underliningthe necessity to continue and intensify efforts in this field,

Welcoming the ongoing political dialogue among the political parties, including extra-parliamentary parties, further welcoming the decision by the Government of Côte d’Ivoire, on an exceptional basis, to finance political parties ahead of the election, commending the engagement of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General through her good offices mandate, especially in support of the dialogue between the Government and opposition political parties, and expressing its appreciation for the work of UNOCI and its overall contribution to the maintenance of peace and security in Côte d’Ivoire,

Taking note of the letter of 18 June 2014 of the Government of Côte d’Ivoire to the Secretary-General requesting the possible provision of electoral assistance for the 2015 presidential election,

Welcoming the continued improvement of the humanitarian situation, including with regard to the situation of internally displaced persons (IDPs), and urging the resumption of the voluntary, safe and durable return of refugees to their places of origin in Côte d’Ivoire,

Taking note of the final framework on disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) adopted by the Autorité du DDR (ADDR) and the successful disarmament and demobilization of more than 50,000 former combatants, welcoming the initiative to enrol all former combatants in the disarmament and demobilization program by 30 June 2015 and underlining the need to continue efforts to include former combatants associated with the previous government, taking note of the continuing work of ADDR, with the support of UNOCI, in this regard, and emphasizing the need to implement post-June 2015 reinsertion activities in a coordinated manner, including through the designation by the Government of Côte d’Ivoire of a lead institution to achieve this objective,

Commending the efforts of the Government of Côte d’Ivoire to restructure and professionalize its defence and security sector, including through the implementation of the National Security Strategy, underlining the need for the Government of Côte d’Ivoire to continue prioritizing efforts to implement completely its security sector reform strategy, with a special attention to the training and equipment of the police and gendarmerie as well as the streamlining of security structures, and underlining the importance of measures to rebuild confidence within and between the security forces and the population, including ahead of the 2015 presidential election,

Emphasizing the importance of pursuing a national reconciliation and social cohesion strategy, welcoming in this regard efforts to take forward inter-communal dialogue, encouraging the publication by the Government of Côte d’Ivoire of the final report and recommendations provided by the Commission dialogue, vérité et reconciliation (CDVR), welcoming the establishment of the Commission nationale pour la reconciliation et l’indemnisation des victimes (CONARIV), encouraging the full implementation of its mandate, and underlining the importance of including all Ivorians in the reconciliation process at the national and local levels,

Reiterating the vital role of women in conflict resolution and peacebuilding, the importance of their equal participation and full involvement in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security and their key role in re-establishing the fabric of societies recovering from conflict, and further reaffirming the importance of implementing the Côte d’Ivoire National Action Plan for the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) adopted in 2008,

Welcoming the efforts to improve the human rights situation, which led to progress in this field, including through the inauguration of the first national mechanism aimed at enhancing gender balance in all institutions, further welcoming the recent reform of the criminal code and the criminal procedure code, consistent with Côte d’Ivoire’s international commitments, while expressing its concern about the continued reports, including those reported by the Secretary-General in his report of 7 May 2015 (S/2015/320), of human rights violations and abuses and violations of international humanitarian law, including against women and children, in particular sexual violence, stressing the importance of investigating and prosecuting such alleged violations and abuses, including those that occurred throughout the post-elections crisis committed by all parties, irrespective of their status or political affiliation,

Welcoming national and international efforts to bring to justice alleged perpetrators of violations and abuses of human rights and of violations of international humanitarian law in Côte d’Ivoire, urging the Government of Côte d’Ivoire to increase and expedite its efforts to combat impunity and ensure equitable and independent justice without discrimination, and encouraging in this regard the Government of Côte d’Ivoire to continue its close cooperation with the International Criminal Court (ICC),

Expressing concern at reports about difficult conditions in detention, calling upon the Government to ensure that the conditions of detention are in line with international obligations and to take all steps necessary to prevent and investigate violations and abuse of human rights in the context of detention and welcoming the support provided by the European Union and France in this regard,

Commending the contribution of troop- and police-contributing countries and donors to UNOCI, underlining the importance of providing military troops and police officers qualified with appropriate specialized and linguistic skills,

Recognizing the continued contribution of the arms embargo, as defined by resolution 2219 (2015), to the stability of Côte d’Ivoire including by countering the illicit transfer, destabilization, accumulation and misuse of small arms and light weapons,

Commending the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for their efforts to consolidate peace and stability in Côte d’Ivoire, and encouraging them to continue to support the Ivorian authorities in addressing key challenges, especially the underlying causes of recent conflict and insecurity in the border area, including the movement of armed elements and weapons, and promoting justice and national reconciliation,

Welcoming Côte d’Ivoire’s ratification of the 1954 and 1961 Conventions on Statelessness and the steps being taken to revise its nationality laws, welcoming the important steps being taken by ECOWAS member states to address statelessness, including through the ministerial-level regional conference held in Abidjan from 23-25 February, 2015, and recalling the Secretary-General’s decision on Durable Solutions and expressing support for the implementation of the national durable solution strategy for IDPs,

Determining that the situation in Côte 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,

Adopted by the Security Council at its 7471st meeting, on 25 June 2015.