Internally Displaced Persons in Côte D’ivoire Town at Risk
NEW YORK, 30 September (OCHA) -- Some 2,700 internally displaced persons who have sought shelter at the Catholic mission
in Duékoué, a town in western Côte d’Ivoire, have been informed by local authorities that they will be forcibly removed
from the mission on 1 October.
Condemning any such use of force to remove the internally displaced persons as counter to humanitarian principles, Jan
Egeland, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said: “The United Nations is
deeply troubled by this flagrant display of lack of respect for humanitarian principles and for the people under our
humanitarian protection.”
The United Nations country team in Côte d’Ivoire learned that the military sous-prefet of Duékoué had distributed an
official circular, dated 27 September, stating that the internally displaced persons currently residing at the local
Catholic mission would be forcibly removed from that site on 1 October. The Humanitarian Coordinator in Côte d’Ivoire
issued a statement today to remind national and local authorities that any attempt to force the internally displaced
persons to leave the mission would constitute a flagrant violation of international human rights standards and
humanitarian principles.
That statement also reiterated the primary responsibility of national authorities to provide protection and humanitarian
assistance to internally displaced persons. The Humanitarian Coordinator has been in contact with the local authorities
in Duékoué, who have agreed to give the United Nations country team and its partners time to make alternative
arrangements for the internally displaced persons.
Repeated attacks on the civilian population of Duékoué and surrounding villages in late May and early June initially
prompted some 15,000 people to seek shelter at the Catholic mission. Currently, there are approximately 2,700 displaced
individuals who continue to be housed there.