The UN Security Council should consider expanding sanctions on Côte d’Ivoire to target Laurent Gbagbo, who has refused to resign as president after a disputed election, the US envoy to the United Nations said on Thursday.
US Ambassador Susan Rice, speaking to reporters after a closed-door council meeting on Sudan, said the United States, European Union and others have imposed travel bans and asset freezes on Gbagbo and those close to him in recent days.
Under pressure
“We think that kind of pressure is warranted given the continued refusal to accept and act on the will of the Ivorian people,” she said.
“In the case of the UN, we have a sanctions regime that exists on Cote d’Ivoire and to the extent that this remains stalled, I think we are obliged to look at whether it needs to be augmented and invigorated,” Rice added.
“I think it’s time to begin to discuss that seriously.”
Gbagbo, who has ruled Côte d’Ivoire since 2000, has clung to power and ordered UN forces out of the country. The world body, which has 10 000 soldiers and police in Côte d’Ivoire, rejected Gbagbo’s order to leave and called on Wednesday for an extra 1 000 to 2 000 peacekeepers.
The United Nations says Gbagbo’s rival Alassane Ouattara won the November 28 election and recognses him as the country’s legitimate president. Ggagbo’s camp rejects the UN-certified results of the vote and insists Ouattara lost.
Some 210 people have been killed since the dispute started, according to the United Nations, rekindling divisions in the country that have festered since a 2002-03 civil war.
UN Security Council sanctions have been in place since 2004 and include an arms embargo, travel bans, asset freezes and restrictions on the export of Ivorian diamonds to prevent so-called blood diamonds from reaching international markets. – Reuters