Highest-ranking Indian at UN gets more responsibilities
United Nations, July 7 : Atul Khare, the highest-ranking Indian at the UN, will take over the newly-created Department of Operational Services (DOS) with a greater role in providing logistical support to all of the UN, especially in international hotspots.
The Department of Field Services (DFS) that he now heads has been folded into the new department that he will lead under a reorganisation plan approved by the General Assembly on Thursday as a part of Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's ambitious reform plan to streamline the UN.
Khare is an under-secretary-general and a member of the Senior Management Group, the UN Secretariat's high-level body chaired by the Secretary-General -- the only Indian at that level.
The DFS provided logistical support only to the UN peacekeeping operations, but the new DOS he heads will be "serving all of the Secretariat, including field missions, departments, offices, regional commissions, and tribunals", UN Peacekeeping Spokesperson Nick Birnback told IANS on Friday.
"DOS will become the operational arm of the UN Secretariat providing both advice to managers and operational and transactional services," he said.
The new department will absorb logisitics functions in all areas of the UN operations to avoid duplication and introduce efficiencies.
Besides continuing to provide logistical support for the 13 peacekeeping operations, DOS will take on the servicing of the 26 political missions that include the critical ones in Myanmar, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, Colombia, Sudan and South Sudan.
Introducing his reform proposals December 2017, Guterres said the DOS will be "focused on operations, services, transactions and surge support to entities in weak environments".
He said: "Reform of the peace and security architecture is aimed at ensuring we are stronger in prevention, more agile in mediation, and more effective and cost-effective in peacekeeping operations."
Simultaneously, the General Assembly also approved the reorganisation of the Department of Management, which will now be a part of the new Department of Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance (DMSPC) that will take on broader responsibilities for the entire secretariat.
Khare, a doctor by training, is a member of the Indian Foreign Service. Former Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed him under-secretary-general to head the DFS in 2015.
Previously he had worked as an assistant secretary-general and as a special representative. He played a leading role in combating the sexual abuse and exploitation problem by enforcing the zero-tolerance policy.
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UP: Misled by GPS navigation, car falls into river from partially constructed bridge, 3 dead
Bareilly (UP), Nov 24: Three people died when their car fell into the Ramganga river from a partially constructed bridge here on Sunday, police said, adding that they suspect the driver was misled by its navigation system into taking the unsafe route.
The accident occurred around 10 am on the Khalpur-Dataganj road when the victims were travelling from Bareilly to Dataganj in the Badaun district, they said.
"Earlier this year, floods had caused the front portion of the bridge to collapse into the river, but this change had not been updated in the system," Circle Officer Ashutosh Shivam said.
The driver was using a navigation system and did not realise that the bridge was unsafe, driving the car off the damaged section, the police said.
There were no safety barriers or warning signs on the approach to the damaged bridge, leading to the fatal accident, Shivam said.
Upon receiving information, police teams from Faridpur, Bareilly and Dataganj police station rushed to the spot. They recovered the vehicle and the bodies from the river, Shivam added.
The circle officer said that bodies had been sent for post-mortem. Further investigation into the matter is underway.
— Bareilly Police (@bareillypolice) November 24, 2024
