The head of the United Nations mission in South Sudan has announced a decision to quit her job, describing it an honour to have served as the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General.
Ellen Margrethe Løj, according to the statement obtained by Radiotamazuj on Sunday, 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.
Løj has stated that it has been an honor for her to serve as Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in South Sudan for over two years and will continue to advocate for a bright future for the people of South Sudan. She stated that “Although the road ahead will be challenging, I remain hopeful that peace will prevail and that this young nation will finally live out its great promise. I look forward to the day where the girls and boys of South Sudan will never know the trauma of war again and will be able to actualize their full potential.”
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 stabilize. She will continue to lead the Mission until the end of November.
The Secretary-General, according to a statement attributed to his spokesman, “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 and the Mission in Liberia from 2008 to 2012. He is particularly thankful to SRSG Løj for her dedication, commitment and important contributions at the helm of UNMISS during extremely challenging times”.