The United Nations Peacebuilding Fund invited a Universalia team, comprised of Yvan Conoir and Patrick Zadi-Zadi, to assess the work of the “Peacebuilding Priority Plan in Cote d’Ivoire.” With the assistance of the United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office and the local-level United Nations system, the Plan supports a progressive return to the rule of law, to public security, and to the community reconciliation process in the western part of the country (the area most severely affected by the state of war prevailing since 2012 and the “post-electoral crisis” of 2010–2011).
Since the election of President Alassane Ouattara in 2011, the United Nations has, through various peacebuilding activities, supported the government’s work towards security and the re-establishment of the rule of law. Through a three-way partnership between the Government of the Cote d’Ivoire, the United Nations system, and the ONUCI (United Nations Operation in Cote d’Ivoire), this support has resulted in the restoration of administrative (prefectures, sub-prefectures) and security infrastructures (police stations), the training of additional security forces deployed in the western part of the country, and the training of traditional religious leaders and other members of the civil society in conflict prevention and management techniques. The program also helped train and deploy staff for the Dialogue, Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Commission Dialogue, Vérité et Réconciliation, or CDVR), whose work should lead to dozens of inquiry hearings across the country to draw out the truth about the events of 2011–2012, give a voice to the victims, and draw conclusions on possible measures for reparation and forgiveness. Another very important aspect of the program has been to support local authorities—via UNICEF—in registering births.
Between 2010 and 2011, some 3.5 million births were not recorded! In order to reaffirm the right these children have to an identity and a life lived on an equal basis with others, and to prevent them from becoming stateless persons, UNICEF and its partners are helping Ivorian authorities restore civil status registries in several districts in the central and western parts of the country. Following this evaluation, the Peacebuilding Fund program should lead to the development of a second phase in support of the Peacebuilding Priority Plan in Cote d’Ivoire.