UN chief appoints new envoys on youth; accessibility; and for Haiti

The senior appointments include Josette Sheeran of the United States, who shall serve as the Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Haiti and will guide full implementation of the Organization's new approach to reduce the impact of cholera in the country and support national efforts on sustainable development.

The new UN approach on cholera involves two tracks: the first to intensify efforts to reduce and ultimately end the transmission of the disease, improve access to care and treatment, and address the longer-term issues of water, sanitation and health syste

Track 2 involves developing a package of material assistance and support for those Haitians most directly affected by cholera.

Sheeran, currently the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Asia Society, previously served as the Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) from 2007 to 2012, where she also lead the agency's response in the wake of the devastating earthquake that struck the island nation in 2010.

She has also held senior positions at the World Economic Forum as well as in the US Government, including the Under Secretary of State for Economic, Business, and Agricultural Affairs and Deputy US Trade Representative.

Similarly, María Soledad Cisternas Reyes of Chile has been appointed the UN chief's Special Envoy on Disability and Accessibility, a role in which she will promote the rights of persons with disabilities, with a particular emphasis on accessibility for all.

Cisternas most recently served as the President of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. She is also the recipient of the National Prize of Human Rights (2014) and Director of the Legal Programme on Disability, Faculty of Law, Diego Portales University.

She previously served as an expert on the Ad-hoc Committee that developed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), for which she was also the Rapporteur for individual complaints. She has also authored various publications.

Also on Tuesday, the UN chief appointed 27-year-old Jayathma Wickramanayake of Sri Lanka – who played a key role in transforming the youth development sector at the national level – as his Envoy on Youth.

Wickramanayake is also credited with having established the 'Hashtag Generation,' a large civic and political engagement movement of young people. She has also represented and motivated global youth development at the international level since the age of 21, including at the UN, such as in the declaration of World Youth Skills Day.

Presently working as an officer of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service, Wickramanayake previously served as Secretary to the Secretary General of the Parliament of Sri Lanka (2016-2017) as well as a Senator at the Sri Lankan Youth Parliament (2013-2015).

In the statements, Guterres expressed that he was grateful to the outgoing senior leaders.

UN Photo/Evan Schneider

Source: www.justearthnews.com