United Nations Security Council Resolution 1479

by the United Nations

Adopted unanimously by the Security Council at its 4754th meeting, on 13 May 2003

The Security Council,

Reaffirming its resolution 1464 (2003) of 4 February 2003, the statement by its President of 20 December 2002 (S/PRST/2002/42), as well as its resolutions 1460 (2003) of 30 January 2003 and 1467 (2003) of 18 March 2003,

Reaffirming also its strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and unity of Côte d’Ivoire and reaffirming also its opposition to any attempts to seize power by unconstitutional means,

Recalling the importance of the principles of good-neighbourliness, non-interference and regional cooperation,

Further recalling its full support for the efforts of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and France to promote a peaceful settlement of the conflict, and reiterating its appreciation for the efforts of the African Union to reach a settlement,

Reaffirming its endorsement of the agreement signed by the Ivorian political forces at Linas-Marcoussis on 24 January 2003 (S/2003/99) ("Linas-Marcoussis Agreement"), approved by the Conference of Heads of State on Côte d’Ivoire held in Paris on 25 and 26 January,

Noting with satisfaction the conclusions reached at the meeting in Accra, 6-8 March 2003, under the chairmanship of the President of Ghana, the current presidency of ECOWAS,

Noting with satisfaction the appointment of the Government of National Reconciliation and the cabinet meeting on 3 April 2003, attended by all the constituent political groups, in the presence of the Presidents of Ghana, Nigeria and Togo,

Welcoming the report of the Secretary-General on 26 March 2003 (S/2003/374) and the recommendations therein,

Noting the existence of challenges to the stability of Côte d’Ivoire and determining that the situation in Côte d’Ivoire constitutes a threat to international peace and security in the region,

1. Reaffirms its strong support for the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and approves his full authority for the coordination and conduct of all the activities of the United Nations system in Côte d’Ivoire;

2. Decides to establish, for an initial period of six months, a United Nations Mission in Côte d’Ivoire (MINUCI), with a mandate to facilitate the implementation by the Ivorian parties of the Linas-Marcoussis Agreement, and including a military component on the basis of option (b) identified in the Secretary-General’s report, complementing the operations of the French and ECOWAS forces;

3. Approves the establishment of a small staff to support the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on political, legal, civil affairs, civilian police, elections, media and public relations, humanitarian and human rights issues, and the establishment of a military liaison group whose tasks shall include:

• Providing advice to the Special Representative on military matters;

• Monitoring the military situation, including the security of Liberian refugees and reporting to the Special Representative thereon;

• Establishing liaison with the French and ECOWAS forces for the purpose of advising the Special Representative on military and related developments;

• Establishing also liaison with the Forces armées nationales de Côte d’Ivoire (FANCI) and the forces nouvelles, in order to build confidence and trust between the armed groups, in cooperation with the French and ECOWAS forces, in particular concerning helicopters and combat aircraft;

• Providing input to forward planning on disengagement, disarmament and demobilization and identifying future tasks, in order to advise the Government of Côte d’Ivoire and support the French and ECOWAS forces;

• Reporting to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the above issues;

4. Stresses that the military liaison group should be initially composed of 26 military officers and that up to 50 additional officers may be progressively deployed when the Secretary-General determines that there is a need and that security conditions permit;

5. Requests that in addition to the recommendations made in the Secretary-General’s report regarding the organization of MINUCI, in particular its reference to the human rights components of the mission, special attention be given to the gender component within the staff of MINUCI and to the situation of women and girls, consistent with resolution 1325 (2000);

6. Renews its appeal to all Ivorian political forces to implement fully and without delay the Linas-Marcoussis Agreement and invites the government of national reconciliation to this end to develop a timetable for implementing the Linas-Marcoussis Agreement and to communicate this timetable to the Monitoring Committee;

7. Recalls the importance of sparing no effort, in keeping with the spirit of the Linas-Marcoussis Agreement, to enable the Government of National Reconciliation fully to exercise its mandate during this transitional period;

8. Emphasizes again the need to bring to justice those responsible for the serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law that have taken place in Côte d’Ivoire since 19 September 2002, and reiterates its demand that all Ivorian parties take all the necessary measures to prevent further violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, particularly against civilian populations whatever their origins;

9. Stresses the importance of an early start to the process of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration;

10. Requests all Ivorian parties to cooperate with MINUCI in the execution of its mandate, to ensure the freedom of movement of its personnel throughout the country and the unimpeded and safe movement of the personnel of humanitarian agencies, and to support efforts to find safe and durable solutions for refugees and displaced persons;

11. Requests the ECOWAS forces and the French forces, in the execution of their mandate in accordance with resolution 1464 (2003), to continue to work in close consultation with the Special Representative and the Monitoring Committee, and to continue to report to the Council periodically on all aspects of the implementation of their respective mandates;

12. Welcomes the complete ceasefire reached on 3 May between FANCI and the forces nouvelles for the entire territory of Côte d’Ivoire, in particular the West, and welcomes the intention of ECOWAS forces and the French forces to lend their full support in the implementation of this ceasefire;

13. Renews its appeal to all the States in the region to support the peace process by refraining from any action that might undermine the security and territorial integrity of Côte d’Ivoire, particularly the movement of armed groups and mercenaries across their borders and the illicit trafficking and proliferation in the region of arms, especially small arms and light weapons;

14. Urges all Ivorian parties to refrain from any recruitment or use of mercenaries or foreign military units and expresses its intention to consider possible actions to address this issue;

15. Demands that, in accordance with its resolution 1460 (2003), all parties to the conflict who are recruiting or using children in violation of the international obligations applicable to them, immediately halt such recruitment or use of children;

16. Emphasizes again the urgent need to provide logistic and financial support to the ECOWAS force including through an appropriate trust fund established by ECOWAS to this effect, and calls on the member States to provide substantial international aid to meet the emergency humanitarian needs and permit the reconstruction of the country, and in this context stresses that the return of internally displaced persons, particularly to the north of the country, would be important for the process of reconstruction;

17. Stresses the importance of the regional dimension of the conflict and its consequences for neighbouring States and invites the donor community to help the neighbouring States to face the humanitarian and economic consequences of the crisis;

18. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the Council every three months on the implementation of this resolution and to provide monthly updates;

19. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.