PSC/PR/Comm(LII) Page 1 COMMUNIQUÉ OF THE 52ND MEETING OF THE PEACE AND SECURITY COUNCIL The Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU), at its 52nd meeting held on 29 May 2006, adopted the following decision on the situation in Côte d'Ivoire: The Council, 1. Welcomes the Report of Chairperson of the Commission on the situation in Côte d'Ivoire [PSC/PR/2(LII)]; 2. Recalls Communiqué PSC/AHG/Comm(XL) adopted at its 40th meeting held on 6 October 2005, which decided that the arrangements agreed upon in the LinasMarcoussis Agreement of January 2003 should continue from 31 October 2005 for a period not exceeding twelve (12) months, as well as resolution 1633 (2005) adopted by the United Nations Security Council on 21 October 2005; 3. Commends the continued collaboration between the Head of State and the Prime Minister of Côte d’Ivoire and encourages them to pursue their efforts in order to create conditions necessary for the holding of free, open and transparent elections, not later than 31 October 2006, as provided for in the communiqué and the resolution mentioned in paragraph 2 of this decision. Council urges the Ivorian parties to fully implement the roadmap proposed by the International Working Group (IWG) and which the Ivorian Government adopted during the Yamoussoukro seminar held from 9 to 11 February 2006; 4. Expresses its deep concern at the considerable delay in the implementation of the roadmap, as was noted by the IWG during its 6th and 7th meetings held respectively on 20 April and 19 May 2006. In this connection, Council endorses the agreement reached by the main Ivorian Political leaders, at their 8 April meeting under the auspices of President Denis Sassou-Nguesso, Current Chairperson of the AU, on the simultaneous and immediate implementation of the DDR and identification processes, and urges all the Ivorian parties to scrupulously comply with this agreement; 5. Welcomes the launch of the pilot project of public hearings in seven locations, as well as the arrangements currently being made by the Chiefs of Staff of the Forces Armées Nationales de Côte d'Ivoire (FANCI) and the Forces Armées des Forces Nouvelles (FAFN) to promptly initiate the programme of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR). Council demands that all Ivorian parties continue to cooperate closely with the Government and the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI), with a view to ensuring that the identification and DDR processes are conducted with determination and extended to the entire territory, immediately on completion of the pilot project of public hearings and pre-cantonment of combatants, and that the rehabilitation of the cantonment sites for DDR as well as the redeployment of the administration and the restoration of the authority of the State are successfully carried out;