Martin Griffiths

For the British High Court judge, see Martin Griffiths (judge).

Martin Griffiths
United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator
In office
19 July 2021 – 1 July 2024
Appointed byAntónio Guterres
Preceded byMark Lowcock
Succeeded byThomas Fletcher
United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen
In office
16 February 2018 – 19 July 2021
Appointed byAntónio Guterres
Preceded byIsmail Ould Cheikh Ahmed
Succeeded byHans Grundberg
Personal details
Born (1951-07-03) 3 July 1951 (age 73)
Colombo, Sri Lanka
NationalityBritish
Children2

Martin Griffiths (born 3 July 1951) is a British diplomat who served as Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator at the United Nations from 2021 to 2024.[1][2]

Personal life and education

Born in Colombo, Sri Lanka,[3] Griffiths was educated at Leighton Park School and the University of Sussex. He holds a Master's degree in Southeast Asian Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London and is a qualified barrister.[4] He speaks French and English.[5]

Career

Griffiths meets with U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on March 14, 2019.

Griffiths was a career diplomat at the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office and is an experienced conflict mediator.[3] He previously served as the first executive director of the European Institute of Peace from 2016 to September 2018.[6] In 1999, he helped launch the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue in Geneva. He has also worked for Save The Children, Action Aid and UNICEF and has worked as an advisor to multiple United Nations Syria envoys.[3]

From 2018 to 2021 he served as the United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen at the Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen.[7] In February 2021 he visited Iran in an attempt to find a political solution to the Yemeni Civil War.[8] Efforts to end the conflict were largely unsuccessful.[citation needed]

On 12 May 2021, the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, announced that he had appointed Griffiths as Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, succeeding fellow Briton Mark Lowcock.[9]

On 15 February 2024, Sky News reported that, in Griffiths's view, “Hamas is not a terrorist group for us, as you know, it is a political movement".[10] In March 2024, Griffiths stated he was appalled by the Al-Rashid humanitarian aid incident, saying, "Life is draining out of Gaza at terrifying speed."[11]

On 25 March 2024, Griffiths announced that he was leaving his post at the United Nations for health reasons.[12] He retired on 1 July 2024 and was succeeded by fellow Briton Thomas Fletcher.[13]

In November 2024, Griffiths was awarded an honorary degree by University of Galway for services to peace-keeping and diplomacy.

References

  1. ^ "Mr. Martin Griffiths of the United Kingdom - Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator".
  2. ^ "UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths to step down due to health reasons". Aljazeera. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  3. ^ a b c "Who is Martin Griffiths, the British mediator bringing formidable experience to Yemen envoy role?". The National. 5 September 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  4. ^ "Mr. Martin Griffiths of the United Kingdom - Special Envoy for Yemen". United Nations Secretary-General. 16 February 2018.
  5. ^ "Mr. Martin Griffiths of the United Kingdom - Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator". 12 May 2021.
  6. ^ "Special Announcement: Michael Keating as new Executive Director | European Institute of Peace". www.eip.org. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  7. ^ "Special Envoy". United Nations Secretary-General. 25 January 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  8. ^ "UN envoy for Yemen in Iran for talks on long-running conflict". Al Jazeera. 7 February 2021.
  9. ^ Wintour, Patrick (12 May 2021). "Yemen envoy Martin Griffiths to take on top UN humanitarian job". the Guardian. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  10. ^ Greyman-Kennard, Danielle (15 February 2024). "'Hamas is not a terrorist group,' says UN Relief Chief Martin Griffiths". the Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  11. ^ Goillandeau, Martin (29 February 2024). ""Life is draining out of Gaza at terrifying speed," UN relief chief warns". CNN. Archived from the original on 29 February 2024.
  12. ^ M.Lederer, Edith (25 March 2024). "UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths is stepping down for health reasons". AP News. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  13. ^ United Nations, "Mr. Tom Fletcher of the United Kingdom - Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator", 9 October 2024. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
Positions in intergovernmental organisations
Preceded by Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator
2021–present 		Succeeded by


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