UNITED NATIONS - Ivory Coast is "on the brink of genocide," says the U.N. ambassador appointed by Alassane Ouattara, the man who the United Nations, the African Union and the United States say defeated incumbent Laurent Gbagbo in the Nov. 28 presidential elections.
Youssoufou Bamba, the Ouattara government's first officially recognized envoy, said after presenting his credentials yesterday in New York that he appealed to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for action by U.N. peacekeepers to stop what he called "massive violations of human rights."
He said 172 people have been killed because they support Ouattara.
"The situation is very serious," Bamba, 60, said after meeting with Ban. "Houses have been marked according to your tribe. What will be next? Something should be done."
Bamba, while not explicitly calling for military action against Gbagbo, said the mandate of U.N. peacekeepers to protect civilians in Ivory Coast should be fulfilled by the 9,000 soldiers and civilian police there.
The Economic Community of West African States said Friday that it would consider the use of force to remove Gbagbo if he continues to ignore international calls to step aside.
The election was meant to stabilize Ivory Coast, the world's largest cocoa producer, after a 2002 civil war slowed economic growth and split the nation between a government-controlled south and rebel-held north.
Ouattara has so far failed to turn international support into control of the country and remains cloistered in a Abidjan hotel. His supporters tried to storm the state broadcaster on Dec. 16, leading to a deadly confrontation with security forces, which fired on the crowd.
Ban, in receiving a letter from Ouattara naming Bamba as his U.N. envoy, said he accepted the "legitimacy and validity" of the new government and promised it "full cooperation."
Bamba - a 25-year career diplomat who was most recently Ivory Coast's ambassador to U.N. offices in Vienna and the International Atomic Energy Agency - said he would meet with all 15 members of the Security Council to seek their support for action to oust Gbagbo and end human-rights violations.
His remarks came as Presidents Thomas Boni Yayi of Benin, Pedro Pires of Cape Verde and Ernest Koroma of Sierra Leone said they planned a second round of talks with Gbagbo on Jan. 3. The three leaders met this week with Ouattara and Gbagbo, and discussed terms for Gbagbo's departure from office and the country.