[Juba, South Sudan, TCT]Outgoing United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has announced the appointment of David Shearer as the new Special Representative for South Sudan and Head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
Mr. Shearer succeeds Ellen Margrethe Løj of Denmark, who completed her assignment at the end of last month. Ms. Løj was head of UNMISS for slightly over two years. She led the mission under extremely challenging circumstances politically, socially and economically.
(Above) David Shearer, newly appointed UN chief for South Sudan.
Mr. Shearer, who is currently a member of parliament in New Zealand, brings to this position extensive political and humanitarian experience. He will take up his new position in 2017, following his resignation as an MP at the end of this month.
Mr. Shearer has previously served as the Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Representative, Resident Coordinator, and Humanitarian Coordinator in the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) between 2007 and 2009. He has served in several UN positions in Palestine, Lebanon, Afghanistan and in Belgrade, among others.
Mr. Shearer, who holds an MSc in Resource Management from the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand, was born in 1957 and is married and has two children.
Meanwhile, the incoming Secretary General of the UN Antonio Guterres has pledged to lead the UN in responding appropriately to crises in different parts of the world.
“This organization (UN) is the cornerstone of multilateralism, and has contributed to decades of relative peace. But the challenges are now surpassing our ability to respond. The UN must be ready to change. Our most serious shortcoming – and here I refer to the entire international community – is our inability to prevent crises,” he said.
In his inaugural speech to the General Assembly, Guterres, a former president of Portugal, has said that despite progress brought about by globalization and technology, a lot of people in the world, including the youth, are still lagging behind because of joblessness.
“A lot of people have been left behind, even including in developed countries where millions of old jobs have disappeared and new ones are out of reach for many. In many parts, youth unemployment has exploded,” he said.
He promised to work closely with member states to make the UN’s zero-tolerance to sex-related crimes a reality.
“The United Nations system has not yet done enough to prevent and respond to the appalling crimes of sexual violence and exploitation committed under the UN flag against those we are supposed to protect…We must ensure transparency and accountability – and offer protection and effective remedies to the victims,” he said.
He challenged world leaders to listen and show that they care about their own people and about global stability and solidarity, on which all depend. He pledged to reform the UN to respond to the needs in the world.