MONITORING (SW) – UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths, has announced he will step down due to ill health.
Griffiths, who has headed the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and served as the emergency relief coordinator for three years, said he has informed Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of his intention to step down in June.
“To everyone at UNOCHA, it’s been the privilege of my life. I am deeply in your debt. To all partners and supporters, thank you for championing the cause of people in crises,” he said on Monday in a post on the social media platform X.
After 3 years on the job, I have informed @antonioguterres of my intention to step down in June.
To everyone at @UNOCHA, it's been the privilege of my life. I am deeply in your debt.
To all partners and supporters, thank you for championing the cause of people in crises.
— Martin Griffiths (@UNReliefChief) March 25, 2024
Griffiths, has also played a key role in pressing for aid to the Gaza Strip and led earlier efforts for Yemen. In recent months, the under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs has pressed for Israel to allow humanitarian assistance into Gaza, which has been devastated by a more than five-month Israeli military assault and severe restrictions on aid supplies, according to Al Jazeera.
Several NGOs and rights organizations have accused Israel of deliberately blocking aid to Gaza as warnings of famine in the besieged strip rise. Israel has denied the accusations.
Last month, Griffiths warned Israel not to ignore calls against a planned assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where 1.5 million Palestinians have taken shelter, warning that an Israeli operation “could lead to a slaughter”.
