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Sudan Tribune

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UN top envoy to South Sudan quits next month

October 21, 2016 (JUBA) – United Nations (UN) top envoy to South Sudan is expected to step down from her office at the end of next month, UN spokesperson has announced in New York.

The new head of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), Ellen Margrethe Loj (Photo: UN/Staton Winter)
The new head of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), Ellen Margrethe Loj (Photo: UN/Staton Winter)
“The Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, Ellen Margrethe Løj, has informed the Secretary General that she will be stepping down from her role at the end of November, after over two years at the head of the UN Mission in South Sudan,” Stephane Dujarric, Spokesman for the UN Secretary General, revealed it to reporters in New York.

He said the UN official has already informed the Secretary General on the plan to quit the job in five weeks.

The UN Secretary General, he said, commended Loj for her services to the UN system.

“The Secretary-General is deeply appreciative of her lifetime of service to further the cause of peace and development, especially during her distinguished career with UN Peacekeeping having headed both the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and the Mission in Liberia from 2008 to 2012,” he said.

Løj was appointed by the Secretary General in July 2014 and assumed her duties in Juba in September of that year. She had planned to retire at the end of her current contract, which expired at the end of August of this year, but chose to remain at the helm of the mission in the wake of the July crisis and until the situation could stabilise.

“She will continue to lead the mission until the end of November,” said Dujarric.

The UN chief was particularly thankful to Løj for her dedication, commitment and important contributions at the helm of UNMISS during extremely challenging times.

(ST)

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