The UN Refugee agency, has issued a statement in Monrovia, saying it welcomes the outcome of the just ended Joint Council of Chiefs and Elders Meeting held in Zwedru, Grand Gedeh. Please read below the full text of the release:

Zwedru, Liberia, 21 October, 2013 (UNHCR): The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has welcomed the outcome of the four-day Joint Council of Chiefs and Elders Meeting in Grand Gedeh County, southeastern Liberia, with both President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and President AlassaneOuattara, over the weekend, calling on Ivorian refugees living in Liberia to return home.

Assuring some 58,000 Ivorian refugees currently living in Liberia that they will be assisted to return to Côte d'Ivoire and contribute to the development of their country, President Sirleaf pledged her Government’s support to UNHCR’s repatriation efforts.   “We will do all we can to support you to return home in safety and dignity,” the Liberian leader assured the refugees.

For his part, the Ivorian leader made an appeal to his compatriots seeking refuge in Liberia to return home. “The country needs you. The country needs your contribution to the ongoing reconstruction efforts,” he said. The Ivorian leader noted that 15 years ago it was Côte d'Ivoire that hosted Liberian refugees while three years ago, it was Liberia that received Ivorians seeking refuge.

President Ouattaraalso disclosed that the two countries have decided to pave theToulépleu- Zwedru road, a major axis being used during the ongoing voluntary repatriation exercise, in order to enable the free movement of people and goods. The UNHCR recently rehabilitated critical portions of the road to prevent the repatriation process coming to a halt.

Among other resolutions, the Communique issued at the end of the meeting urged Liberian and Ivorian governments to work with the administrative and political authorities, the refugees, and the UNHCR in order to find durable solutions aimed at facilitating the voluntary repatriation of refugees.

Fourteen representatives from the four Ivorian refugee camps in Liberia made a presentation at the meeting, recommending improved security, increase in the repatriation grant, and addressing land disputes as issues that would encourage more returns to Côte d'Ivoire. They also thanked the Government and people of Liberia for their generosity in hosting them. So far this year, the UN refugee agency has facilitated the repatriation of nearly 13,000 Ivorian refugees mainly through road convoys.  

Border security, youth empowerment and reconciliation were other issues discussed at the meeting which brought together more than 100 traditional chiefs and elders from communities along the Liberia – Côte d'Ivoire border. Several diplomats and UN officials from the two countries witnessed the closing ceremony.