The UN chief has appointed veteran British diplomat Martin Griffiths, a seasoned negotiator with wide global experience, as the new UN humanitarian chief. Griffiths brings extensive leadership experience in humanitarian affairs at headquarters and country levels, both strategically and operationally, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday said, as well as senior level experience in international conflict resolution, negotiation and mediation. Griffiths has spent the last three years as the UN special envoy for Yemen and he briefed the UN Security Council earlier Wednesday on his latest efforts to peacefully resolve the six-year conflict. Guterres said Griffiths will continue to serve as the UN s top envoy for Yemen until a transition has been announced.
UN Yemen envoy named humanitarian chief
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UNITED NATIONS, United States, May 13, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Martin Griffiths, the UN envoy struggling to end the bloody war in Yemen, was named Wednesday to be the global body’s humanitarian chief.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ appointment of Griffiths as under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs keeps the prominent post in the hands of a British diplomat, succeeding Mark Lowcock.
Similarly, two other top positions, under-secretary-general for political affairs and under-secretary-general for peacekeeping, have stayed respectively with diplomats from the United States and France despite a 1992 General Assembly resolution that opposed the “monopoly” of the major powers in key jobs.
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.
Thursday, 13 May, 2021 - 07:30
Martin Griffiths, seen speaking in Berlin in April 2021, has been named the UN humanitarian chief - AFP Asharq Al-Awsat
Martin Griffiths, the UN envoy struggling to end the bloody war in Yemen, was named Wednesday to be the global body s humanitarian chief.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointment of Griffiths as under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs keeps the prominent post in the hands of a British diplomat, succeeding Mark Lowcock, according to AFP.
Similarly, two other top positions, under-secretary-general for political affairs and under-secretary-general for peacekeeping, have stayed respectively with diplomats from the United States and France despite a 1992 General Assembly resolution that opposed the monopoly of the major powers in key jobs.