U N I T E D   N A T I O N S
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Integrated Regional Information Network for West Africa

Tel: +225 22-40-4440
Fax: +225 22-41-9339
e-mail: irin-wa@irin.ci


WEST AFRICA
IRIN-WA Weekly Roundup 145
12 - 18 October 2002


CONTENTS:

COTE D'IVOIRE: Ceasefire agreement signed
NIGERIA: Security services impound human rights report
NIGERIA: 11 arraigned for murder of former minister
WEST AFRICA: Region addresses impact of Ivorian crisis
CHAD: US $54 million for electricity and water
GABON: UNICEF and government collaboration for better health

COTE D'IVOIRE: Ceasefire agreement signed

Efforts to resolve the month-long conflict in Cote d'Ivoire entered a
crucial phase this week with the conclusion of a ceasefire agreement on
Thursday. The ceasefire is to be monitored by a West African buffer force
expected to be ready in about a week. In the meantime, France has agreed
to provide an interim force. This will pave the way for the restoration of
institutions of the state in areas occupied by the rebels.

The rebels have held parts of northern and central Cote d'Ivoire since 19
September when they made an unsuccessful bid to overthrow President
Laurent Gbagbo.

A mediation effort led by Senegalese Foreign Minister Cheikh Tidiane Gadio
had foundered last weekend when the rebels overran the western town of
Daloa and claimed Angolan troops were fighting alongside government
forces, which the government denied. Daloa was recaptured by government
forces on Monday.

The insecurity has displaced tens of thousands of people - about 200,000
according to humanitarian agencies. Most of the displaced are within Cote
d'Ivoire, but some have sought refuge in neighbouring countries.

UN, donor and NGO representatives from Cote d'Ivoire and neighbouring
countries held a contingency planning meeting in Accra, Ghana, on 17-18
October to discuss the humanitarian implications of the Ivorian crisis.

[For this week's reports on Cote d'Ivoire see
http://www.irinnews.org/frontpage.asp?SelectRegion=West_Africa&SelectCountry=Cote_d_Ivoire
]

NIGERIA: Security services impound human rights report

Nigeria Customs services have impounded over 2,000 copies of a rights
report which the Center for Law Enforcement and Education in Nigeria
(CLEEN) and the World Organization Against Torture published in August,
CLEEN reported this week.

CLEEN quoted the customs services as saying that copies of the report,
titled 'Hope Betrayed? A Report on Impunity and State-sponsored Violence
in Nigeria', had been impounded because it contained "political undertones
of a subversive nature". In addition to the impounding, researchers who
worked on the report had been questioned and harassed by state security
services, the Lagos-based organisation said.

The report, launched in August, detailed numerous ethnic and communal
conflicts which in the last three years have caused thousands of civilian
deaths. According to the report, the State was responsible for some of
these incidents, including the October 2001 killing of some 200 people in
Benue State by soldiers sent to "avenge" the killing of 19 soldiers by a
local militia.

NIGERIA: 11 arraigned for murder of former minister

Nigerian prosecutors on Monday charged 11 men with the murder of the late
Minister of Justice and Attorney General Bola Ige, who was killed in his
home in December 2001.

Ige was shot dead by gunmen in his bedroom on 23 December in Ibadan, in
southwestern Oyo State. At the time, the murder was linked to a political
feud in his home state of Osun between state governor Bisi Akande, whom
Ige supported, and deputy governor Iyiola Omisore. Among those charged
were Alani Omisore, a relative of the deputy governor.

Other IRIN items this week on Nigeria included: NIGERIA: Renewed violence
claims 16 lives in Plateau State
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=30429&SelectRegion=West_Africa&SelectCountry=NIGERIA

CHAD: US $54 million for electricity and water

The World Bank approved this week a loan of US $54 million for the
government of Chad, as part of the Critical Electricity and Water Services
Rehabilitation Project, aimed at improving the delivery of electricity and
water in the capital N'djamena and other towns.

The loan would reduce costs, promote private sector participation in the
two sectors, and finance the purchase of spare parts and water-purifying
materials, the Bank said on Thursday. According to the World Bank, there
are only 7,500 electricity customers in the country of seven millions,
meaning that only 1.5 percent of the population benefits from electricity.
6,000 of them live in the capital N'djamena.

GABON: UNICEF and government collaboration for better health

The United Nations' Children Fund (UNICEF) has pledged financial and
technical assistance to the government of Gabon following the purchase by
the Gabonese authorities of 40 millions FCFA (US $59,200) in vaccines to
restart a child vaccination programme geared towards children diseases.

Gabon's Extended Vaccination Programme had experienced a shortage of
vaccines which prevented the State from running the programme.

In a meeting on Thursdday in the capital, Libreville, UNICEF
representative for Gabon Kristian Laujberg told the minister of health,
Faustin Boukoubi, that the UN agency welcomed the government's decision to
invest in the health of children, and would help ensure the success of the
programme.

The two officials also discussed the incident of diseases or ailments
induced by low consumption of iodized salt. According to UNICEF, 17
percent of the population suffers from iodine deficiencies and only 36
percent of Gabonese households use iodized food products. Boukoubi
informed Laujberg that a proposed bill, detailing production, important
and commercialisation of iodized salt, will be signed into law by the end
of the year.

Another health concern is the low percentage of breast-feeding mothers.
According to the UN agency, only seven percent of mothers relied
exclusively on breast-feeding for their newborns. The agency aims to raise
this figure while fighting the growing market of breast milk substitutes
which contribute to Gabon's high mortality rate of 57 deaths per 1,000
births, according to UNICEF.


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