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Demobilization – 2007

In the Ouagadougou Political Agreement, parties agreed to the national disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration program. The parties committed themselves to various agreements negotiated before the Ouagadougou Political Agreement was signed, including the 17 previously identified and agreed-upon sites for the assembly of the combatants. The accord also provided for the establishment of the Integrated Command Centre, which was tasked with carrying out the disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration of ex-combatants.

No significant progress was made in terms of the demobilization of former combatants other than establishing the Integrated Command Centre on 16 April following a presidential decree on 16 March 2007.¹ Nevertheless, by the end of 2007 both sides had agreed on the number of Forces Nouvelles combatants to be integrated into the national army (5,000), the police force (4,000), and civic services (20,000), as well as reintegration into civilian lives (6,000), totaling 35,000 personnel.² Since Forces Nouvelles insisted on the integration of its combatants into the national army without disarming them, an estimated 30,000 Forces Nouvelles combatants had to go through the demobilization process.

1. “Ivory Coast Takes Step to Unify Military Forces,” New York Times, March 17, 2007; “Fourteenth progress report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Operation in C™te dÕIvoire,” United Nations Security Council (S/2007/593), October 1, 2007.
2. “Fifteenth progress report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Operation in C™te dÕIvoire,” United Nations Security Council, (S/2008/1), January 2, 2008.