Global Policy Forum

By David Lewis

The U.N.'s top peacekeeper said in an interview he was very worried about the worsening political situation in Ivory Coast and warned that the United Nations might sanction those standing in the way of peace. Rifts have widened in Ivory Coast since President Laurent Gbagbo sacked three ministers in a power-sharing government this week for boycotting cabinet meetings in protest over bloody crackdowns on opposition demonstrations in March.

"I am very worried about the deterioration of the situation in Ivory Coast as there is no alternative to the political agreement that is the peace process," said Jean-Marie Guehenno, Under Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations. "The international community will never punish the Ivorian people but we will judge the behaviour of everyone as they have a responsibility to put the country back on the track towards peace," he said in an interview in Congo's capital Kinshasa.

"Sanctions are not something that the Security Council will rule out," he told Reuters late on Friday during a tour of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Rwanda and South Africa. Diplomats said sanctions could include a travel ban.

The United Nations is in the process of deploying peacekeeping troops in Ivory Coast to bring stability to the world's biggest cocoa grower after a civil war left thousands dead and forced more than a million people from their homes. There will be 6,240 U.N. soldiers spread across the country, working alongside some 4,000 French troops who have been in their former colony since war broke out at the end of 2002.

UN To Stand Firm in Ivory Coast, Burundi

The U.N. mission in Ivory Coast has been targeted this month by pro-government protesters after a leaked report by the U.N. Human Rights Commissioner blamed pro-government militia and security forces for killing at least 120 people in a robust crackdown on a banned opposition protest. The government says the report was biased and has called for a new probe into the violence in March.

Guehenno said despite the protests, the New York-based organisation would not "abandon its responsibility" and its troops would have a robust presence along the ceasefire line and beyond to prevent the division of Ivory Coast. "The division of the country is totally unthinkable ... It would be a disaster for the country it would be a disaster for the region. It is just not acceptable," he said.

Although the civil war was declared over in July last year, Ivory Coast remains split between a rebel-held north and government-controlled south and a long-awaited disarmament programme has yet to start in earnest. "The international community will not sit with its arms crossed, but the Ivorian leaders have to create a climate of calm to let the government work and allow the Prime Minister to act," he said.

The U.N. head of peacekeeping also pledged a 5,650-strong mission destined for Burundi, which got the go-ahead from the Security Council on Friday, would not be bullied as it helped the central African nation towards peace after a decade of war. "This will be a robust and credible force that will be there to accompany the peace process," he said. "This is a strong mission and they will have real firepower and strength so they are not bullied and so that the U.N. is not bullied."