PSC/Min/Comm.(XXXIV) – (ii) Page 1 COMMUNIQUE ON THE PEACE PROCESS IN COTE D'IVOIRE The Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU), at its 34th meeting held on 3rd July 2005, adopted the following decision on the peace process in Côte d'Ivoire: Council, 1. Welcomes the progress made in the peace process in Côte d'Ivoire since its 23rd meeting, held in Libreville, on 10 January 2005, in particular the signing by the Ivorian parties, on 6 April 2005, in Pretoria, of the Agreement on the Peace Process in Cote d'Ivoire (the Pretoria Agreement) and the steps taken towards its implementation, including the announcement made by President Laurent Gbagbo, on 26 April 2005, that all candidates nominated by the political parties signatory to the Linas-Marcoussis Agreement of 24 January 2003 would be eligible for the presidential elections, in conformity with the decision taken by President Thabo Mbeki, the AU Mediator, with respect to the eligibility for the Presidency of the Republic, and the Agreement on the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) Process and on the Restructuring of the Armed Forces, signed on 14 May 2005, in Yamoussoukro, by the Chiefs of Staff of the National Armed Forces of Côte d'Ivoire (FANCI) and the Armed Forces of the Forces Nouvelles (FAFN); 2. Further welcomes the Declaration on the Implementation of the Pretoria Agreement (Pretoria Declaration), signed by the Ivorian parties in Pretoria, on 29 June 2005; 3. Demands that all the signatories to the Pretoria Agreement and Declaration and all the Ivorian parties implement the agreements reached in good faith and without delay and work together to remove all obstacles with a view to ensuring that elections are held as scheduled, in October 2005, in particular through : (i) the adoption of further measures to strengthen the Joint Declaration on the End of the War made on 6 April 2005 in Pretoria, (ii) the effective and immediate commencement of the disarmament and dismantling of the militia with a view to completing the process by 20 August 2005, (iii) the implementation of the DDR programme, and (iv) the adoption by the National Assembly, by 15 July 2005, of all the amendments to the seven laws pertaining to the ongoing process, as proposed by the Mediation; 4. Stresses the need for all the Ivorian parties to abide by the Constitution of the country, as part of the overall efforts to facilitate the conclusion of the peace process. Council also expresses its support to the National Reconciliation Government, and reiterates the need to ensure its effective functioning and promote greater cohesion among its members, to