Mission in Western Africa—UNMIL

Abstract

Following the death of President Houphouet-Boigny on 7 December 1993, Cote d’Ivoire was plunged into a period of power struggle and political instability that culminated in December 1999 in a coup d’etat. After some years with relative stability another crisis erupted on 19 September 2002 when military installations were attacked by rebellious groups. At their meeting in Accra on 29 September, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) leaders decided that the ECOWAS Peace Force for Cote d’Ivoire (ECOFORCE) would be deployed by 31 December 2002. ECOFORCE and the French forces supporting ECOFORCE were authorized by the UN Security Council (UNSC) in retro perspective in February 2003 when the UNSC decided that the mission was acting under both Chapter VII and Chapter VIII of the Charter (UNSC Res 1464/2003). In mid-January 2003 a meeting of the Ivorian political groups resulted in a peace agreement. It took, however, until May 2003 to reach a complete ceasefire for the entire territory of the country. In support, the UNSC established the UN Mission in Cote d’Ivoire (MINUCI) (UNSC Res 1479/2003). On 27 February 2004 the UNSC established the UN Operation in Cote d’Ivoire (UNOCI) and decided to terminate MINUCI once the UNOCI was operational. In accordance with the UNSC’s request, the UN Secretary-General (UNSG) transferred authority from MINUCI and ECOFORCE to UNOCI (UNSC Res 1528/2004). In this chapter the ongoing UNOCI mission s is explored.