EU Presidency declaration on the situation in the Ivory Coast

Referring to the Presidency's declaration of 25 and 26 March, the European Union:

1. Deeply deplores the events of 25 March and subsequent days, which call into question the process of reconciliation in Côte d'Ivoire;

2. Expresses its sincere condolences to the families of the victims of those events;

3. Is concerned at reports of raids and other serious violations of human rights in the days that followed;

4. Welcomes the fact that the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has announced the setting up of an international commission of inquiry to investigate these events;

5. Calls on the Government of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire to take all necessary measures to restore confidence in the security forces and guarantee the safety and human rights of all Ivorian and foreign nationals in the country;

6. Reiterates its firm belief that full implementation of the Linas-Marcoussis agreement is the only solution to the crisis in Côte d'Ivoire;

7. Emphasises the importance of the efforts made by the Monitoring Committee, firstly to prevent these events and later to re-establish coexistence by encouraging implementation of the Linas-Marcoussis agreement;

8. Urges all parties which signed the Linas-Marcoussis agreement to resume political dialogue and participate again in the Government of National Reconciliation;

9. Emphasises the importance of prompt deployment of the UN peacekeeping forces in Côte d'Ivoire in support of full implementation of the Linas-Marcoussis agreement by the Government of National Reconciliation in the run-up to the elections scheduled for October 2005;

10. Supports the long-term efforts being made by the United Nations and ECOWAS to help the parties concerned to find a solution to the crisis in Côte d'Ivoire.

The Acceding Countries Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia, the Candidate Countries Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, and the EFTA countries [Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway], members of the European Economic Area, align themselves with this declaration.

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• Commission proposes consultations with Côte d'Ivoire on human rights, democracy and rule of law (10/8/2004)
• EU Presidency Declaration on Accra agreement of 30 July 2004 (5/8/2004)