Dear Una, we too miss you!

Last morning (26), the United Nations Family came together to collectively observe a moment of silence in remembrance of the life and legacy of  their beloved Ms. Una McCauley.

The funeral service is planned to take place on Friday, 2 March 2018 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The remains will lie at the Jayaratne "Restpect" Parlour, Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 8, from 1.30 p.m. - 3.30 p.m. The cremation will be at 4.00 p.m. at the Borella Cemetery. Most of people who come to offer their last respect will be Sri Lankans without any doubt.   

Ms. McCauley  was in Sri Lanka for 6 years and commited herself for UNO for lasr last 17 years. As the first female UN Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka, she was a bold, inspiring, and strong leader. Her untexpected demise was a shock to everyone who worked closely with her including LGBT activists. Their sorrow and pain is quite visible in Facebook and other social media in the country.  

As the most senior UN Official in the country, Ms. McCauley led the UN Country Team of 21 Resident and Non-Resident UN Agencies and acted as the representative of the UN Secretary-General in Sri Lanka. She was a passionate and caring humanitarian, and dedicated her life to serve people of the world. She served in Sri Lanka for six years; two years as UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative, and prior to this, four years as the UNICEF Representative in Sri Lanka. Previously, she was the UNICEF Representative for Panama and Togo, and worked at the UNICEF offices in Sudan, Kenya, and Angola. She was instrumental in developing policies and strategic frameworks on leading global issues in a number of countries.  

Ms. Una, 54, was on medical leave, undergoing treatment, when she was passed away. Despite the fact of that being an Ireland and UK citizen and having her children and husband there, she has chosen this soil of Borella cemetery as her final resting place. Now she is ready to sleep calmly and rest in peace beside another well known English lady, Jean Munasinghe nee Horban who devoted her entire life for unwavering commitment towards this island. After 20 years of unnoticed silence, now our Jean will have beloved Una beside her. 

Dear Una, not only the UNO, we too miss you forever. 

- Radika Gunaratne

"She was a deeply committed professional with such dedication, understanding, and empathy" - President Maithripala Sirisena at the UN Compound in  Colombo, expressing his deepest sympathies to the mother of Late UnaMccauley."Photo Credit- UN Sri Lanka