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In conflicts, the United Nations is commonly associated with peacekeeping and UN ‘blue helmets,’ but increasingly the international community’s focus is on “peacebuilding” – the idea of supporting a country throughout all stages of a conflict, including post-conflict recovery and socio-economic development, and on preventing the outbreak of fighting.

The United Nations has a “zero tolerance” policy towards sexual abuse by anyone working under the blue flag. The matter is one of such weight for the Organization that earlier this year, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Jane Holl Lute as the Special Coordinator on improving the UN response to sexual exploitation and abuse.

A rapid response mechanism is crucial to tackling an endemic disease such as cholera and eliminating it in Haiti, the deputy head of the UN mission there said today, emphasizing that the effectiveness of such efforts requires predictable financing.

Ahead of next week’s United Nations High-Level Political Forum, Assistant Secretary-General Thomas Gass talks about sustainable development, leaving no one behind, and why this time “it’s for real”.