Abidjan, 7 July 2011... The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Côte d'Ivoire, Y.J. Choi, and his vis-à-vis in Liberia, Ellen Margrethe Loj, were received on Thursday, 7 July 2011, in Abidjan by Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara.

At this meeting they discussed UN assistance aimed at improving security on the border between Liberia and Côte d'Ivoire with President Ouattara. According to Mr. Choi, a tripartite meeting is to be held between the United Nations and the governments of the two countries to discuss this issue.

Early Thursday morning, Ms Loj, who is visiting UNOCI within the framework of inter-mission relations, had a working session with Mr. Choi and the section heads of the UN Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) at the mission's headquarters. They also discussed issues related to the United Nations' assistance to the two countries, security and Ivorian refugees in Liberia.

On the first issue, Mrs. Loj stated that cooperation between UNOCI and the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) was still a necessity. « The success of this assistance depends on information-sharing between our two missions, » she stressed.

On the issue of border security, the UNMIL chief indicated that it was important for the two missions to work together. "The border between Côte d'Ivoire and Liberia is 700 km long, » she said. "It is difficult to fully ensure security along it without cooperation and the coordination of operations."

Referring to the question of Ivorian refugees in Liberia, Margrethe Loj stated that there were two types of refugees: those who wish to return to Côte d'Ivoire but cannot because they no longer have homes to go to and those who are afraid of reprisals because they belonged to a given political party.

The UNMIL chief said the return of these refugees was contingent on disarmament, the establishment of an appropriate command structure in the Forces républicaines de Côte d'Ivoire (FRCI – Republican Forces of Côte d'Ivoire) and the rehabilitation of the homes of certain refugees.

Mrs. Loj also called for the rapid redeployment of UN troops along the border and the strengthening of cooperation between the UNOCI and UNMIL forces.