VZCZCXRO5030
RR RUEHPA
DE RUEHAB #0731/01 1920744
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 110744Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY ABIDJAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1564
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA 1383

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABIDJAN 000731 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/10/2016 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KPKO IV
SUBJECT: PRIME MINISTER ON PLANS FOR REGISTRATION OF 
IVOIRIAN NATIONALS AND FOREIGNERS 
 
REF: ABIDJAN 568 AND PREVIOUS 
 
Classified By: DCM V. VALLE FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D) 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary.  Prime Minister Banny, accompanied by his 
Justice Minister, convoked ECOWAS ambassadors and several 
members of the International Working Group (IWG) to 
Yamoussoukro on July 9 for a hastily-scheduled meeting on his 
government's plans to launch a program, scheduled to begin on 
July 15, to document approximately four million unregistered 
people born in Cote d'Ivoire.  The program, known as 
audiences foraines (itinerant hearings or AF) will draw on 
lessons learned from the pilot identification program carried 
out in May of this year (reftels) and is scheduled to take 
two months.  Although the project is sure to encounter many 
problems and take longer than scheduled, Banny rightfully 
stressed the importance of actually starting to implement it. 
 End summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) The AF program is designed to document all 
unregistered people born in Cote d'Ivoire who are over 13 
years of age.  Up to three months after birth, parents or 
guardians may apply for birth certificates for their 
children.  After three months, a court decision establishing 
the legal status of a person is required in lieu of a birth 
certificate.  It is to those currently undocumented people 
who never benefited from a court decision that AF is 
addressed.  Those under 13 years of age are being handled in 
a separate program that the government is carrying out in 
cooperation with UNICEF. 
 
¶3.  (U) Unregistered people born in Cote d'Ivoire include 
both Ivoirian citizens and foreigners.  In order to have 
claim to Ivoirian nationality, individuals must have at least 
one Ivoirian parent, or have been naturalized, adopted, or 
acquired nationality through marriage.  The program will not 
cover individuals born outside of Cote d'Ivoire, be they 
Ivoirians or foreigners. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The government plans to send teams comprised of 
7-10 people to conduct the AF in both rebel- and 
government-controlled areas and in the Zone of Confidence. 
Each team will consist of two magistrates, a prosecutor, a 
translator, a medical doctor (to certify the age of 
applicants), and several others.  The program will be carried 
out in three phases.  Initially, there will be 50 teams, with 
the number of teams increased gradually to 150.  As with the 
pilot program, individuals will have to apply at the 
localities where they were born. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) According to the Justice Minister, applicants who 
are found to be Ivoirian citizens will receive certificates 
of nationality at the end of the process.  This will allow 
them to receive an Ivoirian identity card, which in turn will 
allow them to register as voters on the electoral lists. 
(The Minister did not provide details as to how this 
follow-on process would work.)  Foreigners will receive 
temporary or permanent resident cards.  At the time they 
appear for their interviews, individuals will be separated 
into self-selected groups of Ivoirians and foreigners, the 
final status of which will be determined by the AF teams. 
 
¶6.  (C) The Prime Minister noted that the AF process will be 
free of charge to applicants.  The only costs that they will 
incur will be to transport themselves to their localities of 
birth.  The PM stressed the importance of conducting an 
effective identification process so that the elections are 
incontestable.  Banny added that he had two fears:  first, 
that people will be afraid to show up for the application 
process, and second, that supporters of the various Ivoirian 
factions will think that only opponents of their particular 
parties will receive identification documents. 
 
¶7.  (C) In the discussion period, questions were raised about 
the adequacy of the two-month period allocated for the 
identification process and about possible intimidation of 
applicants, particularly non-Ivoirians, in light of the 
planned segregation between citizens and foreigners.  Banny 
responded that the government was not planning on 
discriminating against foreigners and that it was essential 
that proper security be provided.  For this, he solicited the 
assistance of the UN.  According to Banny, the Ivoirian 
Forces of Defense and Security (FDS) and the UN will provide 
security in government-controlled areas, the Forces Nouvelles 
(FN) and UN will do so in the rebel-controlled north, and 
joint patrols consisting of FDS, FN, and the UN will provide 
security in the Zone of Confidence. 
 
¶8.  (C) On the length of time required to complete the 
operation, Banny acknowledged that the issue would not be 
resolved and completed within two months.  However, it was 
 
ABIDJAN 00000731  002 OF 002 
 
 
important to launch the program, which in turn would allow a 
start to the process of issuing identification cards and 
preparing electoral lists.  As a result, the PM added that 
the number of people involved is "entirely relative."  The 
Minister of Justice also commented that the two-month 
deadline was needed to speed things up and that after this 
initial period he would present the results to the Prime 
Minister. 
 
¶9.  (U) In response to another question, Banny said that the 
government is studying how IDPs and refugees will be affected 
by the AF process, particularly since individuals are 
supposed to apply where they were born.  Right now, the 
government does not even know how many displaced people would 
be unable to apply in their home localities. 
 
¶10.  (C) Comment:  The implementation of the AF program is 
sure to encounter many problems.  Almost certainly, it will 
take much longer than scheduled.  Nevertheless, we agree with 
Banny that the most important thing is to start the process 
and move from talk to action.  We also find his reaching out 
to ECOWAS Ambassadors, whose nationals are heavily 
represented in Cote d'Ivoire, to be a positive step. 
Hooks