British diplomat (born 1951)
Martin Griffiths (born 3 July 1951) is a British diplomat who currently serves as Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator at the United Nations .[1]
Personal life and education
Born in Colombo , Sri Lanka ,[2] 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 .[3] He speaks French and English.[4]
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.[2] Griffiths previously served as the first executive director of the European Institute of Peace from 2016 to September 2018.[5] 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.[2]
From 16 February 2018 to 19 July 2021 Griffiths served as the United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen at the Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen .[6] In February 2021 he visited Iran in an attempt to find a political solution to the Yemeni Civil War .[7] Efforts to end the conflict were largely unsuccessful.[citation needed ]
On 12 May 2021, 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 (OCHA), taking over from Mark Lowcock .[8]
On February 15, 2024, Sky News reported that in Mr. Griffiths' view, “Hamas is not a terrorist group for us, as you know, it is a political movement."[9] 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."[10]
On March 25, 2024, Martin Griffiths announced that he was leaving his post at the UN Office of Humanitarian Affairs for health reasons.[11]
References
History
1850s, Creation of the Red Cross Post WWII 21st-century reform attempts
Humanitarian organizations
Analysis and reporting Notable people Donors and funding Major emergencies Standards, power, abuse Aid worker safety Related fields Related articles