On January 10, the UN Security Council unequivocally called for the will of the Ivorian people and the election results to be respected. These results were certified by the United Nations and mean that Mr. Alassane Ouattara is President of Côte d’Ivoire.
The members of the Security Council condemned in the clearest possible terms the violence perpetrated against UNOCI. They condemned the restrictions on the force’s freedom of movement and the deliberate attempts to prevent it from fulfilling its mandate, which notably consists of protecting civilians and investigating the atrocities reported. In this respect, the Security Council demanded that Mr. Gbagbo finally implement the commitment that he made to immediately lift the blockade on the Golf Hotel.
The members of the Security Council also condemned and demanded an immediate halt to the use of media, especially Ivorian radio and television, to incite hatred and violence, including against the UN.
Mr. Ouattara proposed a national unity government with Laurent Gbagbo’s supporters. What does France think about his proposal?
Alassane Ouattara is President of Côte d’Ivoire. We do not have to give our opinion about the formation of his government. We reaffirm our position, which is shared by the international community: Mr. Ouattara is the legitimate President of Côte d’Ivoire, and Laurent Gbagbo must draw the consequences by peacefully handing over power.
Niger
Do you have any more information to tell us about the 2 men arrested by the Nigerien army? Do you have any particular instructions for the French nationals?
Regarding the arrest, I don’t have any information that would allow me to give an appropriate and relevant comment. On the other hand, with respect to security, I would like to remind you that the security of our compatriots abroad, whatever the reason for their presence abroad, is a priority for the Quai d’Orsay. Regarding the Sahel region, the Crisis Center is always working to evaluate the security risk for our communities abroad. Travel advisories, which are published online in real time, are continuously updated. I want to point out that the “Latest information” and “Security” pages of the “Travel Advice” section on Niger, Mali and Mauritania were updated on January 8. A thematic file on the Sahel was also created on the same date and appears as a fixed banner on the website. The pages on Mali and Niger were updated yesterday afternoon. On the maps, the areas that were green are now orange, indicating that we strongly advise people not to travel to these areas unless absolutely necessary.
The Crisis Center is also in continuous contact with stakeholders from the French community abroad, notably travel agencies and companies.
Our diplomatic and consular network is continuously mobilized in order to protect our compatriots. This means that at the heart of this system our ambassadors and consuls are in permanent contact with our compatriots. This includes information issued on our embassies’ websites, telephone exchanges between our diplomatic posts and the community leaders and SMS messages to communicate rapidly when circumstances so require. The embassies concerned in the Sahel countries are fully mobilized.
Lastly, we consult and coordinate very closely with the local authorities. Following discussions with the Nigerien authorities, Mr. Juppé, who was in Niamey yesterday, reported on the demands that we presented regarding the improvement of security measures for the French community.
In addition, diplomatic efforts are being carried out with respect to the fight against terrorism. Our national strategy with respect to the countries of the Sahel region aims to strengthen the sovereign capacities of the States through political dialogue, while civilian cooperation projects and actions relating to defense cooperation in support of the armed forces of the three countries are being carried out.
In these settings, we support the efforts in progress to develop a regional strategy and regional cooperation.
We have made our European partners aware of the need to develop a comprehensive European strategy for the Sahel region which will allow the coherent and effective use of all European instruments.
During the Foreign Affairs Council meeting on October 25, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, in association with the Commission, was asked to draw up, by the beginning of 2011, a strategy on the Sahel focusing on three areas: security, development and political dialogue.
This strategy is important and should go beyond the cooperation projects relating to development by ensuring the implementation, in collaboration with the local authorities, of projects focused on the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking.
Can you tell us how many people have left Niger voluntarily?
No.
However, we estimate that there are around 1,500 compatriots who are established in Niger. This is an estimate since, as I already explained, when one of our compatriots goes abroad he does not have to register with our embassy.
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Haiti/ French aid
France has demonstrated wholehearted, permanent and constant solidarity alongside the Haitian people over the course of this past dreadful year.
The commitments made by France and in particular by President Sarkozy when he went to Port-au-Prince on February 19 have been honored and are still being honored.
Of course, when we talk about our contribution to the long-term reconstruction of Haiti, for us this also means long-term solidarity and commitment.
We have endeavored not only to be supportive in our efforts but also to work in a coherent way based on cooperation. This is what we did with our colleagues in the international community, in particular with the United Nations and also with the member countries of the Group of Friends of Haiti, in order to ensure that this mobilization of international aid would not be managed haphazardly but in a coordinated and effective way.
In accordance with and in cooperation with the Haitian people. This is not always easy since the administrative and public authority structures were severely affected by the earthquake, but we have always endeavored to work in collaboration with the Haitian leaders.
Now let me give you more detailed information about French aid:
Following the earthquake that hit Haiti on January 12, 2010, President Sarkozy announced on February 17 a budgetary effort of €326 million over 2 years. If we don’t include the Community portion, this effort amounts to €271 million.
To date, more than half, i.e. €133.48 million, has already been used up:
- €23.69 million in humanitarian aid during the emergency phase,
- €0.8 million in humanitarian aid linked to the cholera epidemic,
- €57.5 million in debt cancellation,
- €20 million in budgetary aid (including €5 million paid to the Haiti Reconstruction Fund),
- €3.4 million in food aid,
- €15 million for aid in kind (around 100 vehicles for civil protection),
- €13.09 million in project aid.
In addition, €19.45 million have already been used within the framework of ongoing projects to rebuild Port-au-Prince's State University Hospital (in collaboration with the United States), for urban development of neighborhoods and for higher education through distance learning. These key projects will be implemented over the course of several years.
French aid in support of the reconstruction focuses on a few major sectors: reestablishment of the capacities of the Haitian State and the public authorities, health, aid for the populations and education.
Particular efforts have been made with regard to education in several areas, for example the admission of 450 Haitian students into French universities, the training of 600 police officers and 300 firefighters, and the admission of Haitian public service students into our training institutions (28 judges in the École nationale de la magistrature (French National School for the Judiciary) and 3 Haitian students in the Ecole nationale du Cadastre (National Land Registry School) which represents a fifth of the yearly intake).