A New Zealand lawmaker who has led UN aid efforts worldwide is to be named UN mission chief in South Sudan, one of the world's toughest peacekeeping jobs, diplomats said Wednesday.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has sent a letter informing the Security Council of his intention to appoint David Shearer as the UN envoy to South Sudan and head of UNMISS, succeeding Ellen Margrethe Loj of Denmark.
Shearer, a 59-year-old member of New Zealand's parliament, served as UN deputy envoy in Iraq from 2007 to 2009, following UN assignments in Afghanistan, Lebanon, Israel, Rwanda, Liberia and the Balkans.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has sent a letter informing the Security Council of his intention to appoint David Shearer, pictured in 2012, as the UN envoy to South Sudan and head of UNMISS ©Marty Melville (AFP/File)
Council members have until Friday midday to raise objections, but diplomats expect the appointment to be approved.
The United Nations has some 14,000 peacekeepers in South Sudan, where a civil war has been raging since December 2013.
The peacekeepers have come under heavy criticism for failing to protect civilians, including women who were raped by government soldiers in Jubly, not far from the gates of a UN compound in Juba.
Ban last month warned the council that South Sudan faces a "very real risk of mass atrocities" and that peacekeepers would be powerless to stop such a bloodbath.
The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced more than 2.5 million, but UN diplomats expect the crisis to worsen.
South Sudan won independence from Sudan in 2011 with strong support from the United States.
The United States is pushing for an arms embargo and sanctions, but Russia and China are opposed to such measures.
Newer articles:
- South Sudan detains Norwegian NGO's employee - 09/12/2016 06:50
- South Sudan could repeat Rwanda’s horrors - 08/12/2016 17:26
- ICC to discuss South Africa's failure to arrest Sudan's Bashir - 08/12/2016 10:19
- South Sudan expels journalist deemed 'too critical of the government' as conflict rages - 08/12/2016 07:37
- South Sudan: “This fighting will continue to our children” - 07/12/2016 16:00
Older news items
- U.S. worries about spiraling violence in South Sudan -State Dept. - 05/12/2016 11:28
- South Sudan FA board suspend President Chibur Goc Alei - 04/12/2016 04:31
- UN: Rape used as tool for ethnic cleansing in South Sudan - 02/12/2016 11:43
- "Unprecedented" numbers face severe hunger in South Sudan - U.N. - 02/12/2016 11:15
- South Sudan budget has 40 percent funding gap, wants donor help - 02/12/2016 08:31
Latest news items (all categories):
- The Psychology of Reward and Punishment in South Sudan’s Rebellion Crisis - 13/03/2025 13:35
- Is South Sudan going back to square one again? - 13/03/2025 13:18
- South Sudan Drawing Closer to the Brink of All-Out War - 13/03/2025 13:08
- Museveni, Ruto Skip IGAD Leaders’ Meeting on South Sudan Crisis - 13/03/2025 13:06
- Human Rights Watch (HRW) : South Sudan must Ensure Due Process; De-escalate Growing Tensions - 13/03/2025 13:01
Random articles (all categories):
- African Union Member States reporting COVID-19 cases as of 21 October 2020 - 21/10/2020 10:45
- Regional protection force soldiers soon in South Sudan: UN - 30/07/2017 12:34
- Neck and Neck: Ankara and Moscow in the New 'Race for Africa' - 23/04/2022 10:26
- South Sudan: "Suffering Is God's Accomplice" - a Small Church Is Born Inside the Hospital of Naandi - 20/09/2021 01:36
- South Kordofan, Blue Nile war 'affects 900000' - AFP - 19/10/2012 12:40
Popular articles:
- Who is the darkest person in the world, according to Guinness World Record? - 25/10/2022 02:34 - Read 80601 times
- No oil in troubled waters - 25/03/2014 15:02 - Read 22476 times
- School exam results in South Sudan show decline - 01/04/2012 17:58 - Read 21755 times
- Top 10 weakest currency exchange rates in Africa in 2023 - 19/07/2023 00:24 - Read 19894 times
- NDSU student from South Sudan receives scholarship - In-Forum - 29/09/2012 01:44 - Read 19347 times