Annan to appoint High Representative for Elections in Cote d'Ivoire

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan is to appoint former Portuguese Foreign Minister Antnio Monteiro as the new UN High Representative for the Elections in war-scarred and ethnically divided Cote d'Ivoire, UN spokeswoman Marie Okabe said Friday.

The Secretary-General was requested by the Security Council last month to designate an autonomous High Representative for the Cote d'Ivoire elections to assist with the work of the West African country's Independent Electoral Commission and the Constitutional Council, after consultations with the African Union (AU) and AU mediator President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, Okabe told reporters.

Monteiro's appointment falls under the requirements of the Pretoria Agreement, the most recent accord in the peace process aimed at ending civil conflict in the world's top cocoa producer, the spokeswoman said.

UN peacekeepers and French Licorne forces are stationed along the Zone of Confidence separating the African country into the government-ruled south and the rebel-controlled north.

Meanwhile, the UN Operations in Cote d'Ivoire said it had chaired a reconciliation meeting of two ethnic groups in the Zone, a region known for ethnic confrontation and clashes.

Source: Xinhua