P 131448Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY ABIDJAN
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4934
INFO ECOWAS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS ABIDJAN 000114 
 
 
STATE FOR IO, AND DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM UNHRC IV
SUBJECT: COTE D'IVOIRE: UN'S UNIVERSAL PERIODIC REVIEW OF 
HUMAN RIGHTS 
 
REF: STATE 130829 
 
¶1.  (U)  SUMMARY: Per reftel, post surveyed the primary human 
rights organizations in Cote d'Ivoire to inquire about their 
participation in the United Nation's Universal Periodic 
Review (UPR) of Human Rights process.  Cote d'Ivoire will 
undergo review in December 2009.  In order to prepare for the 
UPR, human rights actors and other civil society 
organizations have formed a coalition to prepare a report for 
submission.  The Ministry of Justice and Human Rights and the 
National Human Rights Commission (CNDHCI) also intend to 
submit reports.  END SUMMARY 
 
¶2.  (U)  In preparation for Cote d'Ivoire's UPR in December 
2009, around one dozen civil society organizations concerned 
with human rights came together in November 2008 and formed 
the Coalition for the Universal Periodic Review of Human 
Rights (CEPU-CI).  The coalition has planned a series of 
informational seminars and UPR awareness campaigns across the 
country and has already started training civil society actors 
on how they can contribute to the process. 
 
¶3.  (U)  CEPU-CI held its first training and information 
session January 28-29 and formed four working groups to 
synthesize reporting on civil and political rights; economic, 
social, and cultural rights; minority rights; and 
humanitarian rights.  The two day seminar also discussed the 
report's main priorities.  On February 11, CEPU-CI traveled 
to Man (west), San Pedro (southwest), and Yamoussoukro 
(center) in conjunction with the United Nations Operation in 
Cote d'Ivoire (UNOCI) to organize human rights training 
workshops for 76 civil society representatives to solicit 
nationwide contributions to the UPR process. 
 
¶4.  (U)  In addition to civil society, both the Ministry of 
Justice and Human Rights and the CNDHCI have also indicated 
their intention to submit reports for the UPR. 
Representatives from both institutions attended informational 
sessions on the UPR organized in Geneva in November 2008 and 
are well-informed about the process. 
 
 
NESBITT