United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire
Org type	Peacekeeping Mission
Acronyms	ONUCI
Head	Choi Young-Jin
Status	Active
Established	4 April 2004
Website	http://www.onuci.org/
Parent org	United Nations Security Council
Portal	United Nations Portal

Côte d'Ivoire

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Côte d'Ivoire

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The United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire ("UNOCI") is a United Nations peacekeeping mission. The aim of the mission is "to facilitate the implementation by the Ivorian parties of the peace agreement signed by them in January 2003" (which aimed to end the Ivorian Civil War). The two main Ivorian parties here are the Ivorian Government forces who control the south of the country, and the New Forces (former rebels), who control the north. The UNOCI mission aims to control a "zone of confidence" across the centre of the country separating the two parties.

The peacekeeping mission's official name is ONUCI, which is the French acronym for "Opération des Nations Unies en Côte d'Ivoire".

Contents 1 History 2 Incidents 3 Casualties 4 References 5 External links

[edit] History

The mission was authorized on 27 February 2004 to take over from MINUCI from 4 April 2004.^[1] The mandate was subsequently extended several times, including 31 October 2008,^[2] and most recently 31 January 2010.^[3]

In February 2006, following an appeal by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, the United Nations Security Council agreed to strengthen the ONUCI forces by sending a battalion from United Nations Mission in Liberia with 800-soldiers to Côte d'Ivoire. ^[4]

As of November 2006, the mission consists of about 8,000 uniformed soldiers from a total of 41 countries. They were deployed alongside 4,000 French peacekeeping forces ^[5](seems to be Operation Licorne).

In January 2007, the UN Security Council extended the mission until 30 June 2007.^[6]

UNOCI suspended a Moroccan peacekeeping unit in Côte d'Ivoire on July 21, 2007, following an investigation into allegations of widespread sexual abuse committed by UN peacekeepers there. After the investigation it was clear that it was false alarm. [1]

On July 29, 2008, the day before UNOCI's mandate was set to expire, the UN Security Council unanimously voted to extend its mandate to January 31, 2009 so that the peacekeepers could "support the organization of free, open, fair and transparent elections". A presidential election is planned for 2009, after numerous delays arising from postwar issues.^[7]

[edit] Incidents

In January 2006, supporters of President Laurent Gbagbo attacked the base of the United Nations peacekeepers after the Ivorian Popular Front withdrew from the Ivorian Civil War peace process. About 1,000 protesters invaded the UN base at Guiglo ^[8]

[edit] Casualties

A total of 32 UN personnel have died during UNOCI, including 23 UN peacekeepers in 2005-2007 (this may vary because UNOCI is still an ongoing peacekeeping mission).

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official homepage of the mission