The senior United Nations official in Cote d’Ivoire, Ambassador YJ Choi has at the beginning of the week met with the country’s former President Laurent Gbagbo, who has been held under house arrest since April, promising him that the world body would ensure that he receives appropriate protection.
Y. J. Choi, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and the head of the UN peacekeeping force (UNOCI), met Gbagbo in Korhogo, a town in the north of Côte d’Ivoire, according to a press release issued by the mission.
Gbagbo has been under house arrest since he was captured on 11 April, ending months of violence in the wake of his refusal to step down after he lost the UN-certified presidential run-off election in November last year to Alassane Ouattara, now the country’s President.
Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) have requested authorization to open an investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed following the election.
During the meeting, the second since Gbagbo surrendered, Choi reiterated UNOCI’s availability to provide security for Gbagbo, as it did in the immediate aftermath of his arrest.
“In Abidjan or anywhere else in Cote d’Ivoire, there will always be UNOCI peacekeepers contributing to his protection,” he said. “UNOCI will do everything to ensure that he is treated with dignity.”