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New head of UN mission in South Sudan takes office

Xinhua, January 21, 2017 Adjust font size:

The new head of the UN mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), David Shearer, arrived in Juba on Friday to assume his duties.

Shearer, the new Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) for South Sudan and Head of UNMISS, succeeds Ellen Margrethe Loj, who completed her assignment at the end of November 2016, after serving for almost three years.

Speaking on arrival, Shearer who is from New Zealand said he was looking forward to the assignment which he acknowledged would be challenging.

"The South Sudanese people deserve to have a state that is functioning and looks after them and is stable and provides for their peace and their prosperity," he said.

He added that whatever the UN could do to contribute to that, he would be doing his best to make sure it happened.

The UNMISS chief said he was arriving with a fresh and open mind and would spend time listening to what various stakeholders had to say.

The 60-year-old Shearer brings to the position extensive political and humanitarian experience.

Prior to taking up this post, he served as a Member of Parliament in New Zealand from 2009, resigning that post effective December 31, 2016.

The Special Representative has also previously served as the Secretary General's Deputy Special Representative, Resident Coordinator, and Humanitarian Coordinator in the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) from 2007-2009.

Prior to that, Shearer held several senior positions with the UN, including head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the Occupied Palestinian Territory; Humanitarian Coordinator in Lebanon; Senior Humanitarian Adviser to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA); and Chief of OCHA in Belgrade, among other positions.

The envoy has also conducted various assignments with the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the Save the Children Fund, and the International Crisis Group, and is the author of numerous publications in the areas of conflict resolution and effective interventions for peace and humanitarian affairs. Endit