Netherlands

The new Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the United Nations, Yoka Brandt, paid a courtesy call on UN Secretary-General António Guterres today.

The new Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the United Nations, Yoka Brandt, presented her credentials to the Secretariat today.

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary‑General António Guterres:

United Nations Secretary‑General António Guterres left New York on Wednesday, 20 December 2017, to attend the closing ceremony of the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Netherlands.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is again calling urgently upon the Government of Australia to find humane solutions for the refugees and asylum-seekers abandoned on Manus Island, noting that about 800 people have remained in a precarious situation there since the “off-shore processing” facility was closed on 31 October.

The Secretary-General has established a Chief Executives Board Task Force to address sexual harassment in the United Nations.  Led by Jan Beagle, Under-Secretary-General for Management, it will review policies to prevent such behaviour, capacities to investigate allegations, as well as the support and protection offered to victims.

Temperatures plummeted across Ukraine, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reported, saying the distribution of aid, including clothing, fuel and cash to the most vulnerable people impacted by the conflict in eastern Ukraine.  The aid will reach some 15,300 people, mainly single parents, elderly, families with many children and people with disabilities or chronic illnesses.