By Louis Charbonneau ABIDJAN, June 9 (Reuters) - U.N. Security Council ambassadors praised Ivory Coast's progress toward landmark post-war elections due in November, ending a five-nation tour of African troublespots on Monday on a positive note. The economic powerhouse of Francophone West Africa, Ivory Coast's first polls since a 2002-2003 civil war have been repeatedly delayed by disagreements over disarmament and voter registration between President Laurent Gbagbo's government and rebels controlling the country's north. Several U.N.-mandated agreements failed to produce progress until a home-grown peace deal last year led to the scheduling of elections for November 30, and brought strides towards reunification of the world's largest cocoa producer. "If you put things in the hands of the Ivorians it moves. There's been more movement in the past year than ever," said South African ambassador Dumisani Kumalo. "You know all of these things, when we came here last year they were telling us they never would happen: they are happening now," he said. "The Ivorian people want elections on November 30." His remarks were echoed by other members of the delegation, which met with Gbagbo, military generals from both sides of the conflict, and members of civil society and political parties. However, rights groups have criticised some aspects of the electoral preparations. Human Rights Watch last month alleged violence and intimidation ahead of the polls by pro-Gbagbo youth groups, such as the Young Patriots, and called on authorities to eradicate such intimidation. Gbagbo, whose five-year mandate officially expired in 2005 and is seeking a new term, urged U.N. diplomats to exert pressure on the French company Sagem organising the voting process -- including updating the electoral roll, manufacturing identity and polling cards -- to meet the November 30 deadline. In what has become an annual tour of African flashpoints, the Security Council delegation has travelled to Djibouti to discuss the situation in neighbouring Somalia, and visited Sudan, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo and Ivory Coast. "I think it was a success. We did very well in Djibouti with Somalia and I think we did very well in Sudan," Kumalo said. "Chad was a lost cause. Congo was very good and we end here with a high note." Somalia's interim government and some opposition figures signed a peace deal on Monday that called for the rapid deployment of a robust U.N. stabilization force in the Horn of Africa nation. It was the latest in a string of such agreements. Opposition hardliners in exile and insurgents inside Somalia had dismissed the U.N.-led talks in Djibouti so it was unclear what effect it might have on the ground. Chadian President Idriss Deby failed to show up for a scheduled meeting on Friday to discuss his feud with neighbouring Sudan which has endangered aid operations helping hundreds of thousands of refugees in and around Sudan's Darfur region. (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com/ ) (Writing by Daniel Flynn; Editing by Stephen Weeks)
British Ambassador to U.N. John Sawers (C) talks to Sudan's president assistant Nafi Ali Nafi (R) as South Africa's Ambassador to U.N. Dumisani Kumalo looks on before the meeting of members ...
