United Nations humanitarian chief alarmed at deterioration in Côte d'Ivoire

(New York, 24 March 2011): United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos expressed serious concern about the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in Côte d'Ivoire.

Since the announcement of election results in early December, the humanitarian situation has worsened dramatically in the country, with a particularly sharp deterioration in the last month. More than 460 people have been killed, and many more wounded, including women and children. An estimated 500,000 people have been displaced inside the country, and over 90,000 have fled the country.

"The escalation of violence and use of heavy weaponry, particularly in urban areas, is taking an increasing toll on civilians," Ms. Amos said. "I am also concerned about the increasing targeting and harassment of immigrants from other parts of West Africa, thousands of whom are fleeing the country," she added. "The destruction of civilian property, including shops that provide people a way of making a living, is also completely unacceptable," she said.

"In such a situation, the ongoing harassment and obstruction of aid workers from NGOs and the UN, the violation of UN humanitarian premises, and the theft of assets of aid agencies, seriously compromise the ability of aid workers to reach people who require assistance," Ms. Amos said. "We have just allocated $10.4 million from the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund-and we must to be able to use it to provide desperately needed aid," she added.

"I call on those involved in the violence to respect civilians including aid workers and to allow rapid, safe and unimpeded access by humanitarian organizations," she said.

For further information, please call: OCHA-New York: Stephanie Bunker, +1 917 367 5126, mobile +1 347 244 2106, bunker@un.org; Nicholas Reader, +1 212 963 4961, mobile +1 646 752 3117, reader@un.org,

OCHA-Geneva: Elisabeth Byrs, +41 22 917 2653, mobile +41 79 473 4570, byrs@un.org

OCHA press releases are available at http://ochaonline.un.org or www.reliefweb.int

For more information about CERF, please see http://cerf.un.org