Q: Mr. Secretary-General, what is your reaction to the arrest of Laurent Gbagbo?

SG: This has come to the end of a chapter that should never have been.

I am going to speak with President [Alassane] Ouattara, how the United Nations and the Côte d'Ivoire Government can work together to address all the issues which we will have in our future. First of all, we have reports that more than 1,000 people have reportedly been killed; more than 100,000 people have fled the country. We have to help them to restore stability, rule of law, and address all humanitarian situations. I am going to discuss this matter with President Ouattara and the international community.

Q: What role did UN forces play in Mr. Gbagbo's arrest? It seems they were at least involved in preparing the ground for it?

SG: The United Nations, together with Licorne forces, have acted strictly within the framework of Security Council resolution 1975, para. 6. We have been trying to prevent heavy weapons from killing the civilian population, and we really had to defend the United Nations peacekeepers' safety and security because we were under attack many times. This is exactly what we did in accordance with the Security Council mandate. I am going to speak with President Ouattara. Now that Mr. Laurent Gbagbo is in the custody of forces loyal to President Ouattara, his physical safety should be ensured. I am going to urge him. We need to think about what his future should be. That is up to President Ouattara and the Government of Côte d'Ivoire to determine. But we will very closely coordinate.