Ogata begins visit

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata begins a visit to the region today, starting in Guinea-Conakry. According to a UNHCR press briefing, her eight-day mission will also take her to Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire and Sierra Leone, security permitting. She will meet heads of state and UN officials and “take a first hand look at one of the world’s most difficult refugee situations”, a UNHCR spokesperson said. He recalled that Guinea hosts a refugee population of almost 470,000 (mostly from Sierra Leone, with about 120,000 from Liberia). In Liberia itself, UNHCR is assisting an estimated 95,000 refugees from Sierra Leone and working to support the repatriation of Liberians from neighbouring countries. Since the end of 1997, about 100,000 Liberians have returned home. Cote d’Ivoire still hosts some 90,000 Liberians.