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INTERVIEW: Amid increased suffering, responsibility to protect all the more necessary – UN Special Adviser

24 March 2017 – In 2005, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the outcome of the World Summit in which it, inter alia, underscored that each individual State has the responsibility to protect its populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.

In addition to the State’s responsibility, the General Assembly also highlighted that the international community, too, has the responsibility to use appropriate means in accordance with Chapters VI and VIII of the UN Charter – the chapters dealing with peaceful settlement of disputes and regional arrangements – to help to protect populations from such crimes.

Within the UN system, the Secretary-General has designated a senior official to serve as his Special Adviser and to support both the organization and UN Member States in implementing the principle as well as in fulfilling the obligation.

The current Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect is Ivan Šimonovic who assumed the office in October last year.

Prior to his appointment, Mr. Šimonovic served as the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, heading the New York office of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (July 2010 to September 2016). He has also published extensively in the fields of law and human rights.

UN News spoke with Mr. Šimonovic on the progress made by the international community since the adoption of the principle of Responsibility to Protect, the challenges it is facing at the moment, and his role.

UN News: Can you briefly talk about your mandate and role; why do we need the Responsibility to Protect?

Ivan Šimonovic: I am the Special Adviser of the United Nations Secretary-General for Responsibility to Protect. My mandate is to develop ‘Responsibility to Protect’ conceptually, politically as well as operationally.

This means clarifying what the principle really is. It means gathering political support for Responsibility to Protect and discussing the ways how it should be implemented and what mechanisms should be used.

Responsibility to Protect is very much needed to protect populations from the worst of all crimes – protect them from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.

Unfortunately, I have to say that those so-called “atrocity crimes” are on the rise. Therefore activating the Responsibility to Protect – not only speaking about the commitments but also implementing it in practice is hugely important.

UN News: Since the adoption of Responsibility to Protect in the outcome of the 2005 World Summit, what major progress has been made by the international community on fulfilling the principles?

Ivan Šimonovic: There has been quite a lot of progress in the sense of conceptual development of Responsibility to Protect, such as through the Secretary-General’s yearly reports and informal interactive debates. It has been clarified what Responsibility to Protect means.

It means that UN Member States are obliged to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. However if a State is unable to do it itself, it is the obligation of other States to provide assistance and support to the State that is under stress.

But if all these efforts do not work, if the State manifestly fails to protect populations or the State itself targets the population, then it is the obligation of other States to act collectively through the Security Council to protect populations.

Women wait with children to be examined at a mobile clinic run in the village of Rubkuai, Unity State, South Sudan. Photo: UNICEF/Modola

Women wait with children to be examined at a mobile clinic run in the village of Rubkuai, Unity State, South Sudan. Photo: UNICEF/Modola

UN News: What are the biggest challenges at the moment?

Ivan Šimonovic: The biggest challenge is implementation.

We have seen from 2005 until now, many interactive dialogues, UN Member States expressing commitment, we have also seen Security Council as well as Human Rights Council resolutions having specific provisions dealing with Responsibility to Protect. More and more peace missions have protection of civilians in their mandate.

These are all [indicators of] progress.

But reality check: we are facing an increase of atrocity crimes and this is very concerning.

UN News: Going forward, how can the Responsibility to Protect agenda be advanced? For instance, what can UN Member States do?

Ivan Šimonovic: What UN Member States not only could, but in my firm belief – should do – is that they should regularly conduct risk assessments of risks of atrocity crimes in their own country, and they should introduce mitigation measures to prevent it from happening.

It is not only the responsibility of the Member State to prevent atrocity crimes and punish those who commit them, if they occur. It is also their obligation to prevent them through a set of measures such as through adequate budget allocations; ensuring their security forces are properly trained, professional, and they know about their obligations in protecting human rights and preventing mass atrocities. There is also a need to ensure that there is no structural discrimination and that there is equal access to justice, so it is a lot to do.

But is also an obligation of Member States who can afford and who have the capacity to help other Member States that have protection gaps to prevent mass atrocities. A very good opportunity to do this is the Universal Periodic Review, which is conducted by the Human Rights Council.

Finally, I think what should also be improved is the Security Council reaction to mass atrocities.

Unfortunately, far too often we have faced situations such as in Syria during which terrible crimes are being committed without adequate reaction because of divisions within the Security Council. So I fully support all initiatives to reduce the veto power in the Council when the issue of atrocity crime is at stake.

As far as peace operations are concerned, we must ensure that their mandates have protection of civilians included. At the same time, adequate means of protection should be provided so that it can work in practice.

UN News: Also, what role can the civil society and other organizations play to help progress the agenda?

Ivan Šimonovic: Responsibility to Protect is defined in outcome document of 2005 World Summit as primarily the obligation of Member States so the civil society in this respect serve as a watch dog – whether the Member States are observing the obligations that they have themselves, free willingly, undertaken.

In practice this could also mean, for example, ahead of the Universal Periodic Review, civil society can submit stakeholder reports emphasizing protection gaps that exist in a country.

Beside this watchdog function, civil society itself can have an active role, it is not obliged by the principle of Responsibility to Protect, because it applies to States, but in the sense of preventing atrocity, especially on a local level, civil society can do a lot in the sense of conflict prevention and conflict resolution.

At the global level, the civil society can work to remind both Member States and the UN of their obligations under Responsibility to Protect.

UN News: In the end, would you like to add anything from your side?

Ivan Šimonovic: I think that in challenging situation, where we are, with atrocity crimes on the rise, all of us – the UN system, Member States, regional organizations and civil society –must work together.

The increase of atrocity crimes is simply unacceptable, we should do more to protect the most vulnerable against horrific crimes, namely: genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity.

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UN – Top News Stories • • • •

Speech: “What we’re witnessing is a systematic and corrosive assault on history, on religion, on the very fabric of identity”

Let me begin by thanking our briefers this morning, by welcoming the unanimous adoption of resolution 2347, and by paying tribute to France and to Italy for bringing this issue to the Council.

Today all our briefers, and all members of this Council, have really brought home the sheer scale of the problem that we face. Whether in Timbuktu, Palmyra or Bamiyan, this is an issue that goes beyond statues, beyond artefacts and beyond museums. What we’re witnessing is a systematic and corrosive assault on history, on religion, on the very fabric of identity. What we are witnessing are, in many cases, war crimes.

This isn’t just wanton pillaging and vandalism, this is a matter of international peace and security. Stolen statues in Syria and Iraq don’t just line the pockets of opportunists and looters, they provide a source of revenue for Daesh. And in the region, the destruction of religious and cultural sites is about more than just bricks and mortar; sectarian division can be fuelled by pickaxes and sledgehammers just as it can be by bullets and guns.

So let us respond to this cultural destruction with the same intensity and the same unity of purpose as any other threat to international peace and security.

Through this resolution today we have taken a step forward in doing so. This unanimous resolution shows the strength of our resolve and of our condemnation of such actions. It shows our commitment and determination to act against perpetrators so that we can combat terrorism, prevent conflict and protect vulnerable communities. But as with so many issues before this Council, implementation is now needed. The UK will do its utmost to do so.

That is why we have established a $30 million Cultural Program Fund to support projects which help foster, safeguard and promote cultural heritage in countries affected by conflict.

These projects are helping complete the new museum in Basrah, helping protect heritage and traditional craft skills in Kabul, and supporting advanced archaeological techniques and technology for archaeologists across the Middle East and North Africa.

It’s an effort furthered by the British Museum who are training Iraqi heritage sector workers, so that they have the skills needed to assess and record the condition of their heritage sites and carry out “rescue archaeology” as required. It’s already bearing fruit; a participant in the training has been appointed by the Iraqi State Board to lead the assessment of the site of Nimrud, recently released from Daesh control. And another participant is looking forward to returning to Mosul Museum soon.

But it isn’t enough to train civilians. It’s often the brave men and women of the armed forces who are at the frontline of the threat against culture heritage. That’s why the United Kingdom last year set up a Cultural Property Protection Unit so that respect for cultural property is further integrated into training and operations of our armed forces. This includes respecting domestic and international law, as well as the obligations of the 1954 Hague Convention and its Protocols, which we will shortly ratify.

The action we take as a Council or as member states will count for little unless we show there are real consequences for those who carry out these acts. Truly to rid the world of this scourge, we need to deter and punish, as well as prevent.

Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi was the first person convicted by the International Criminal Court for attacking protected sites, but he cannot be the last. If we are to deter others from following his path, we need to see more convictions, more consequences. His story should serve as a warning to all those who choose to attack cultural heritage; a warning that this Council must ensure is heeded.

Thank you.

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HM Government • • •

Marking World Tuberculosis Day, UN seeks to address stigma, protect patient rights

24 March 2017 – To mark World Tuberculosis Day, the United Nations health agency has launched a new set of ethics guidance to protect the rights of all people affected by the infectious disease, which claims 5,000 lives each day.

New tuberculosis (TB) ethics guidance, launched earlier this week by the World Health Organization (WHO), aims to help ensure that countries implementing anti-TB strategy adhere to sound ethical standards to protect the rights of all those affected.

“TB strikes some of the world’s poorest people hardest,” said WHO Director-General Margaret Chan in a news release.

“WHO is determined to overcome the stigma, discrimination, and other barriers that prevent so many of these people from obtaining the services they so badly need,” she said.

World Tuberculosis Day, celebrated on 24 March each year, is an opportunity to raise awareness about the burden of tuberculosis worldwide and the status of prevention and care efforts.

This is the second year of a two-year Unite to End TB campaign. WHO is placing a special focus on uniting efforts to ‘Leave No One Behind,’ including actions to address stigma, discrimination, marginalization and overcome barriers to access care.

The heaviest burden is carried by communities which already face socio-economic challenges: migrants, refugees, prisoners, ethnic minorities, miners and others working and living in risk-prone settings, and marginalized women, children and older people.

With over 118,000 displaced sheltering in Bentiu, the spread of Tuberculosis in South Sudan is still a concern. Photo: IOM

The new WHO ethics guidance addresses contentious issues such as, the isolation of contagious patients, the rights of TB patients in prison, discriminatory policies against migrants affected by TB, among others. It emphasizes five key ethical obligations for governments, health workers, care providers, nongovernmental organizations, researchers and other stakeholders to:

  • provide patients with the social support they need to fulfil their responsibilities;
  • refrain from isolating TB patients before exhausting all options to enable treatment adherence and only under very specific conditions;
  • enable “key populations” to access same standard of care offered to other citizens;
  • ensure all health workers operate in a safe environment; and,
  • rapidly share evidence from research to inform national and global TB policy updates.

“Only when evidence-based, effective interventions are informed by a sound ethical framework, and respect for human rights, will we be successful in reaching our ambitious goals of ending the TB epidemic and achieving universal health coverage. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aspiration of leaving no one behind is centred on this,” said WHO Global TB Programme Director Mario Raviglione.

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UN – Top News Stories • • • •

Press release: Official opening for A556 Knutsford to Bowdon link road

Highways England chief executive Jim O’Sullivan and Tatton MP George Osborne, chair of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, marked the project’s completion – on time and on budget – by planting a tree on the innovative Green Bridge which crosses the road south of the A50 at Mere and is a key feature of the new road’s environmental mitigation measures.

The 4 mile new road, which opened on Monday 6 March, bypasses the old A556 and the villages of Mere, Bucklow Hill and Over Tabley – providing a quicker and more reliable link between junction 19 of the M6 and junction 7 of the M56 for the 50,000 vehicles, including 7,000 lorries, which rely on the motorway to motorway connection every day.

Jim O’Sullivan, Chief Executive, Highways England said:

The A556 is a key strategic route linking the West Midlands and Cheshire to Greater Manchester and Manchester International Airport. The old road was heavily congested and compromised by busy crossroads. This new road, built to modern standards, will provide faster and more reliable journeys between the 2 motorways – benefiting commerce and commuters alike.

We would like to thank local people and road users for their patience and support over nearly two and a half years while we have worked to deliver this new road on time and on budget.

The new road is the first major North West project to be delivered in the Government’s £15 billion investment in the strategic road network up to 2021. With the new dual carriageway now open, work will focus on converting the old A556 to the B5569 – with a new single carriageway road for local communities alongside a segregated green corridor for pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders. Once this work is completed the new B road will be handed over to Cheshire East Council.

Work will also be taking place over the next few weeks to complete the unique Green Bridge – providing connectivity over the new road for farm animals but also for wild mammals, birds and other animals. The Green Bridge is one of 7 bridges provided to either carry key local roads such as the A50 over the new road or provide a link to the new dual carriageway for local communities.

In the last 28 months the project has also involved:

  • digging out 1 million cubic metres of earth – all of it recycled to other parts of the project such as embankment and noise bund construction – enough to fill the Manchester Arena 3 times
  • pouring 7,500 cubic metres (18,000 tonnes) of concrete for the 7 bridges and underpass and other structures – enough to fill 3 Olympics-size swimming pools
  • rolling out over 200,000 square metres of blacktop for the new road surface, enough to cover 30 football pitches
  • making 100s of pre-cast manholes off-site and building an on-site concrete batching site to reduce ready-mix concrete deliveries and cut down lorry movements
  • installing more than 30 kilometres of new drainage pipes along the route
  • providing 4 large attenuation ponds to store water run-off from the new road to prevent flooding
  • delivering 9 new habitats for legally-protected Great Crested plus a variety of other measures to enhance or protect wildlife including man-made badger setts, replacement bat roosts and ‘hop-overs’ to help the bats fly over the new road, a network of 21 ponds to provide new habitats for amphibians and small mammals, new barn owl boxes, and mammal tunnels to provide safe crossings for badgers, hedgehogs, voles and amphibians
  • carrying out extensive landscape planting, which will also help support animal and bird habitats, including new species-rich grass, 280 semi-mature trees, around 60,000 whips and saplings, almost 117,000 square metres of shrubs (enough to fill more than 17 football pitches) and more than 7,000 metres of hedgerow with oak, birch, rowan, alder, cherry, crab apple and elm among the species planted
  • securing work for around 4,000 people – including 14 apprentices – across a variety of engineering and project management disciplines
  • hosting or supporting 100s of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematic days, giving students an insight into engineering
  • registering 1.7 million accident-free working hours

The new road, which has already scooped a number of environmental and considerate constructor awards – including a gold award earlier this week – has been delivered as part of the Northern Powerhouse initiative.

General enquiries

Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

Media enquiries

Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.

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HM Government • • •

Press release: Planned roadworks in the East of England: weekly summary for Monday 27 March to Sunday 2 April 2017

The following summary of planned new and ongoing road improvements over the coming week is correct as of 24 March 2017 but could be subject to change due to weather conditions or unforeseen circumstances. All our improvement work is carried out with the aim of causing as little disruption as possible.

M11 junction 6 (M25) to junction 9 (A11), Essex: barrier repairs and litter clearance

Work to maintain safety by carrying out barrier repairs and improve journeys by carrying out litter clearance continues this week. Lane closures will be in place in both directions overnight, between 8pm and 5am, from Monday 27 March for five nights.

M11 junction 8 (Bishop’s Stortford) to junction 9 (Great Chesterford): congestion improvements

Work to improve congestion on the M11 by installing sign to restricts lorries from using lane 2 between 7am and 7pm on uphill sections of the carriageway in both directions between junctions 8 and 9 will start this week and is planned for completion by the end of March after which the restrictions will come into force. During the work, lane closures will be in place in both directions overnight, between 10pm and 6am from Monday 27 March to Friday 31 March.

A1 Brampton Hut to Sandy: routine maintenance

Work to improve safety by carrying out routine inspections of electrical equipment and structures begins this week. Lane closures will be in place overnight, between 8pm and 6am, until summer 2017.

A1 Sandy to Black Cat, Bedfordshire: drainage improvements

Work to improve journeys by renewing drainage on the A1 continues this week. Lane closures will be in place overnight, between 8pm and 5am, from Monday 27 March for five nights.

A5 to M1 link (Dunstable northern bypass), Bedfordshire: major improvement

Work to improve journeys by reducing congestion with the construction of a new dual carriageway running east from the A5 north of Dunstable and joining the M1 at a new junction 11a continues this week.

Lane closures will be in place on the M1 between junctions 10 and 13 overnight, between 10pm and 6am, from Monday 27 March for five consecutive nights.

Temporary traffic lights will be in place on the A5 and A505 overnight, between 8pm and 6am and during daytime between 09:30 and 15:30, from Monday 27 March for five consecutive days.

The scheme is due to be completed in June 2017. For further information, visit the scheme website.

A5 Friars Wash Flamstead: resurfacing

Works to place a high friction surface treatment to selected areas of the new road surface will take this week. We will be closing the A5 between Friars Wash and Chad Lane overnight, between 8pm and 6am. A clearly signed diversion for southbound traffic will be in place via B4540 Luton Road/ Markyate Road, A1081 Luton Road towards Harpenden, B487 Redbourn Lane, A5183 Dunstable Road to join the M1 at junction 9. For northbound traffic vehicles need to follow the diversion A5183 Dunstable road, B487 Rebdourn Lane, A1081 through Harpenden onto Front Street towards Slip End, B4540 Markyate Road/Luton Road back to join the A5 at Markyate.

A11 Babraham, Cambridgeshire: resurfacing

Work to improve journeys by carrying out resurfacing continues this week. The A11ceastbound will be closed between the M11 junction 9 (Stump Cross interchange) and the A1307 (Fourwentways interchange) overnight, between 8pm and 6am from Wednesday 22 March until Saturday 1 April. A clearly signed diversion will be in place via the M11 and A14.

A11 Red Lodge: carriageway retexturing

Work to improve the quality of the concrete carriageway on the A11 northbound between Red Lodge and Barton Mills continues this week. The northbound carriageway will be closed between Red Lodge and Barton Mills overnight between 8pm and 6am from Wednesday 22 March for 10 nights. A clearly signed diversion route in place via the A14 towards the Bury St Edmunds, before leaving at junction 40 and then take the B1103 towards Forrnham All Saints, then take the A1101 towards Lackford and Icklingham and then continue until re-join the A11 at the Barton Mills roundabout.

A12 Brentwood to Capel St Mary, Essex: routine maintenance

Work to improve safety by carrying out routine inspections of electrical equipment and structures continues this week. Lane closures will be in place overnight, between 8pm and 6am, until summer 2017.

A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire: major improvements

Early preparatory construction work on the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon scheme has been underway for a number of months and main construction has now started. We are currently carrying out a variety of tasks for which we need to close lanes or carriageway on the A1, A14 and some local roads, usually overnight between 8pm and 6 am unless otherwise stated. The work includes:

  • creating safe crossing points for plant on a number of local roads
  • installing access points to our construction compounds
  • taking core samples of the existing A1 and A14 carriageways to help us plan construction
  • clearing sites next to the live carriageway of vegetation
  • installing CCTV and average speed cameras
  • installing information boards

For this week, the planned road closures are:

  • Monday 27 March – A1307 inbound between A14 and Girton.
  • Tuesday 28 March – A1307 inbound between A14 and Girton.
  • Wednesday 29 March – A1307 inbound between A14 and Girton.
  • Thursday 30 March – A1307 inbound between A14 and Girton.
  • Friday 31 March – A1307 inbound between A14 and Girton.

For this week, the planned land closures are:

  • Monday 27 March – A14 eastbound junction 31 lane two closed and two way off peak traffic lights – Ermine Street
  • Tuesday 28 March – A14 eastbound junction 31 lane two closed
  • Wednesday 29 March – A14 eastbound junction 31 lane two closed
  • Thursday 30 March – A14 eastbound junction 31 lane two closed
  • Friday 31 March – A14 eastbound junction 31 lane two closed and A1 southbound between Alconbury and Brampton Hut lane one eastbound

A14 Spaldwick: safety fence upgrade

Work to upgrade the verge side safety barrier at the side of the road in two locations around Spaldwick starts this week. There will be a temporary 50mph speed limit in place 24 hours a day and at weekends. The slip road at junction 18 (Spaldwick) will be closed from Monday 27 March for three nights overnight, between 8pm and 6am. Traffic will be diverted to travel to junction 18 and then to return eastbound to junction 18.

A47 Dogsthorpe, Cambridgeshire: junction improvements

Peterborough City Council is continuing its junction improvements at the A47/A15 Dogsthorpe junction, Peterborough. Lane closures will be in place 24/7 on the A47 with some overnight full closures.

For further information, visit the scheme website.

A47 Hockering to Easton, Norfolk: road surface repairs

Work to improve journeys by resurfacing the A47 between Hockering and Easton continues this week. The A47 will be closed between Hockering and Easton overnight, between 8pm and 6am, (Monday to Friday) until Friday 31 March. A clearly signed diversion for eastbound traffic will be in place A1065 to Fakenham, A148, A1067 towards Norwich, A140 Norwich Ring-road, A1075 Dereham Road westbound to re-join the A47 at Longwater. For westbound traffic vehicles need to follow the diversion A11 south- west to A134 roundabout at Thetford, A134 , A1065 northbound to Swaffham to re-join the A47.

A47 Shoreboat to Pullover, Norfolk: safety improvements

Work to improve safety on the A47 will start this week. Temporary traffic lights will be in place overnight, between 8pm and 6am, until Thursday 30 March.

A120 Panners interchange: resurfacing

Works to replace lining and anti-skid surface on the A120 westbound entry slip road. The slip road will be closed overnight, between 8pm and 6am on Thursday 30 March for two nights. Traffic will be diverted eastbound along the A120 to Galleys Corner Roundabout and return westbound to Panners Interchange.

A120 Marks Tey to Marks Farm, Essex: Resurfacing and lighting

Work to improve journeys on the A120 by resurfacing the carriageway continues this week. Full carriageway closures EB and WB (West Street to B1024 junction Coggeshall) Monday 27 to Fri 31. Temporary traffic lights will be in place on the A120 between Marks Farm and Marks Tey Monday 27 to Friday 31 overnight, between 8pm and 6am. Work is expected to be complete in May.

A120 Blackwater Bridge, Bradwell, Essex: Bridge re-waterproofing

Work to re-waterproof and resurface the Blackwater bridge near Bradwell should be complete this weekend. If this is postponed due to the weather the works will continue this week.

If the works are postponed until the end of the month the A120 will be fully closed between Hollies Road junction and Blackwater Aggregates, between 8pm on Friday 31 March to Monday 3 April. Access will only be permitted to residents and businesses from Marks Farm (eastbound) and Marks Tey (westbound). All other vehicles must use diversion route. No traffic will be able to pass over the bridge The footpath will remain open on one side.

Clearly signed diversions will be in place via the A12, A130 and A131 and reverse.

A120 Marks Tey junction 25 Slip Resurfacing

The A120 junction 25 slip from the A12 will be closed for resurfacing Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 April overnight (8pm – 6am). The diversion will be to junction 24 of the A12.

A12 Chitts Hill Colchester, Essex: foot bridge maintenance

Work to re-waterproof and resurface the Chitts Hill Footbridge continues this week. The bridge remains closed with a local pedestrian diversion route in place via Chitts Hill and Halstead Road. Work is due to be completed in April.

A120 Colchester to Hare Green, Essex: barrier maintenance

Work to renew the central reservation barrier continues on the A120 between the A12 junction 29 and Hare Green. Overnight (8pm – 6am) full westbound closures between J29 and Hare Green will take place on Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 April. From Monday 27 March to Sunday 2 April, there will be narrow lanes on the A120 westbound 24/7. All vehicles must follow the diversion, A131, A1232 to junction 29 of the A12.

From Monday 27 to Friday 31 March there will be eastbound lane closures and a 50mph speed limit in place. Work is expected to be complete in early April.

A120 Wix, Essex: drainage maintenance

Work to repair the drainage along the A120 near Wix continues this week. Temporary traffic lights will be in place overnight, between 8pm and 5am, from Monday 20 March for five nights. Work is expected to be complete in May.

A120 Porters Park bridge: bridge repairs

Work to re-waterproof and resurface the Porters Park (Waltham Road) bridge continues. There will a 24/7 full closure Monday 27 March to Sunday 2 April. The footway access will be maintained throughout. Vehicles need to follow the diversion B1137, A130, Essex Regiment Way, Wheelers Hill, Leighs Road, Drakes Lane, Boreham Road back on to Waltham Road, or reverse.

A120 Ewell Bridge: bridge repairs

The bridge is closed for on-going repairs. The pedestrian diversion is via Highfields Lane, Maldon Road, Ewell Hall Chase and reverse.

A120 Parkeston roundabout: technology installation

Work to improve traffic signals on the A120 at Parkeston roundabout will take place this week. Temporary traffic lights will be in place overnight, between 8pm and 6am from Wednesday 22 March for two nights.

A428 Eltisley, Cambridgeshire: street lighting and road markings

Work to replace the studs in the centre of the road will be done this week. The A428 will be closed through Eltisley between both junctions with the B1040 overnight, between 8pm and 6am, from Monday 27 March for two nights. A clearly signed diversion for westbound traffic will be in place for divers to take the A1198 at Caxton Gibbet, then, at Godmanchester follow the A14 westbound to junction 21, at Brampton Hut take the A1 southbound and then follow the A1 to Wyboston roundabout. Drivers heading eastbound will follow this diversion in reverse.

General enquiries

Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

Media enquiries

Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.

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HM Government • • •