UN Under-Secretary General DFS ends two-day visit to UNISFA

30 Jul 2018

UN Under-Secretary General DFS ends two-day visit to UNISFA

The United Nations Under-Secretary General (USG) for Field Support, Mr. Atul Khare, has concluded a two-day working visit to Abyei, the Headquarters of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA). Mr. Khare was received on arrival by acting Head of Mission and Force Commander, Major General Gebre Adhana Woldezgu and the rest of mission leadership, and was later briefed on security, political, and operational matters.

The USG, on Friday addressed a town hall meeting where he thanked UNISFA leadership for its tireless efforts to carry out the mission’s mandate despite political and security challenges. He praised the Force Commander, General -Woldezgu, for building a team and running an inclusive administration and said he was optimistic it would enhance mission performance.

USG Khare highlighted that his visit aimed to strengthen the coordination and support between Headquarters and the mission and assured Staff members that the current review of UNISFA’s composition is aimed at aligning the mission with new realities on the ground

USG Khare also met with Ngok Dinka traditional leadership and their Misseriya counterparts in Abyei and Diffra respectively during which he commended their efforts at peaceful co-existence. He also commended the role currently being played by Sudan in the on-going peace process in South Sudan and prayed that Abyei area would experience the “peace spillover”

The acting Head of Mission and Force Commander, Maj. Gen. Woldezgu, thanked the USG for his continuous operational and logistic support to the mission and for addressing staff’s welfare concerns.

The USG planted a “peace tree” before leaving for New York.

Photos of USG's visit