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UN chief announces closure of UNOSDP

Xinhua, May 4, 2017 Adjust font size:

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced on Thursday a "direct partnership" with the International Olympics Committee (IOC) in Geneva and the closure of the UN Office on Sport for Development and Peace (UNOSDP), an apparent cost-saving measure.

"The secretary-general agreed with the president of the IOC, Thomas Bach, to establish a direct partnership between the UN and the IOC," chief UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. "Accordingly it was decided to close the UNOSDP on April 30 of this year."

"The substantive portfolio of the office will be handled by the (UN) Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA)," the spokesman said. "The secretary-general has also requested the UN office in Geneva to oversee the closure arrangements for the Office on Sport for Development and Peace."

Dujarric said Guterres "wishes to express his appreciation for the dedicated service provided by the staff and its leaders."

The last special adviser heading up the office was Wilfried Lemke who ended his eight-year term in December 2016.

It could not immediately be determined how many people had worked in the Geneva headquarters of the UNOSDP nor how much money would be saved by closing it. Endit