Brussels, 23/12/2010 (Agence Europe) - EU sanctions against 19 Ivorian figures - including Laurent Gbagbo, the self-proclaimed president, and his wife - entered into force at 12 noon on 22 December, Catherine Ashton confirmed in a press release published on the same day. The EU insists that the victory of "President Ouattara" be respected and calls for the transfer of power to take place "without delay and without preconditions". Lady Ashton says that she is also "extremely concerned" by the worsening situation of human rights in the country, particularly violence against civilians, extrajudicial executions, forcible disappearances and violations of rights to peaceful assembly and expression. The EU calls for an immediate end to this violence and stresses the need for the civilian populations and human rights defenders to be protected. These crimes cannot go unpunished, Lady Ashton insists.
In the meantime, no CSDP action on the part of the EU has so far been planned, as priority has been given to the forces of the UN (UNOCI) deployed on the ground. On the one hand, this inaction aims to avoid the deployment of a second military force on the theatre with a completely different chain of command; on the other, the deployment of an EU battle group (EU rapid response force) currently on standby, which includes French forces, could compromise the neutrality of France and would have an effect on any process for evacuating citizens. (H.B./A.By/trans.fl)