United Nations Secretary General António Guterres appointed Martin Griffiths of the United Kingdom as Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator in May
UNITED NATIONS, May 12 (Xinhua) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday announced the appointment of Martin Griffiths as undersecretary-general fo
Guterres appoints new UN humanitarian chief
Thu, May 13 2021 12:20:26 PM
United Nations, May 13 (IANS): UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has announced the appointment of Martin Griffiths as Undersecretary-General for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator.
Griffiths, who currently serves as Guterres special envoy for Yemen, will succeed Mark Lowcock as the world body s humanitarian chief, Xinhua news agency reported.
Both Griffiths and Lowcock are British.
Griffiths will continue to serve as special envoy for Yemen until a transition has been announced, Guterres press office said in a statement on Wednesday.
Griffiths brings extensive leadership experience in humanitarian affairs, both strategically and operationally, as well as senior-level experience in international conflict resolution, negotiation and mediation, said the press office.
SHARE
The UN envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, complained on Wednesday that his efforts to end the country’s six-year conflict
were not gaining traction, amid reports he will leave his post for a promotion within the UN. a ceasefire deal with Yemen’s government, which is backed by a Saudi Arabia-led military coalition.
The council met amid reports that Mr Griffiths will soon replace Mark Lowcock as the UN’s humanitarian chief and emergency relief co-ordinator, after spending three years trying to bridge seemingly insurmountable differences between Yemen’s opposing groups
.
The latest round of peace talks ground to a halt without a truce after Houthi negotiators refused to meet Mr Griffiths in Oman and escalated their deadly assault on Marib, the government s last stronghold in northern Yemen, according to the US State Department.