New York

06 January 2017

The Secretary-General announces Task Force on UN response to sexual exploitation and abuse

The Secretary-General, in consultation with members of the Executive Committee, has asked Ms. Jane Holl Lute, the Special Coordinator for improving the Organisation's response to sexual exploitation and abuse, to convene a high-level task force to develop as a matter of urgency, a clear, game-changing strategy to achieve visible and measurable further improvement in the Organisation’s approach to preventing and responding to sexual exploitation and abuse.

The Task Force will consist of Ms. Jane Holl Lute; Mr. William L. Swing, Director-General of the International Organization for Migration; Mr. Atul Khare, Under Secretary-General, Department of Field Support; Mr. Stephen Mathias, Assistant Secretary-General, Office of the Legal Affairs; Mr. Christian Saunders, Director, Office of the Under Secretary-General of the Department of Management;  Lieutenant General Carlos Humberto Loitey, Military Adviser, Department of Peacekeeping Operations; Mr. Alfredo W. Forti, Special Consultant to the Secretary-General; Ms. Nancee Bright, Chief of Staff, Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict; and Ms. Francesca Marotta, Chief, Methodology, Education and Training Section, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The Task Force will use the upcoming Report of the Secretary-General on Special Measures for Protection from Sexual Exploitation to present the elements of the strategy and the Chair is, therefore, charged to consult widely and as appropriate with all stakeholders among Member States, across the UN system, and with other relevant organizations.

New York, 6 January 2017