UN aid chief succession in focus amid exploding humanitarian crises
Send a link to a friend
[June 28, 2024]
By Emma Farge
GENEVA (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has yet to
name a permanent replacement for the global body's aid chief who departs
for health reasons on Friday, drawing criticism at a time of record
global needs.
Martin Griffiths, a British former diplomat who helped broker the Black
Sea Grains deal between Ukraine and Russia and led a chorus of concern
over the Gaza war, has said the plan is to appoint his deputy Joyce
Msuya from Tanzania as acting chief.
However, some observers say not having named a permanent successor sends
the wrong signal at a time when some donors are retrenching, with this
year's $48.7 billion budget less than 20% funded.
"Someone acting temporarily is not a good thing," Jan Egeland, who held
the post from 2003-2006 and is now secretary-general of the Norwegian
Refugee Council, told Reuters.
"They don't have the same authority, perspective, the same weight at a
time of deep crisis in humanitarian work – we haven't had so many people
hungry, attacked, abused with so little hope before in living memory."
Other diplomats also voiced disappointment that there would be a delay
in appointing a permanent replacement for Griffiths as
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief
Coordinator.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2024/Jun/28/images/ads/current/ldn_lda_BUSDIRCOVER_2024.png)
A U.N. spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for
comment.
Under the unwritten rules of a U.N. system, the five countries holding
permanent seats on the Security Council divide up key the roles. Britain
gets aid; France gets peacekeeping; the United States gets political
affairs; China gets economic affairs; and Russia gets a key U.N. post in
Europe.
The past five aid chiefs after Egeland have all been British and
traditionally, countries' nominations are not challenged by the other
four permanent members, nor by other U.N. members.
[to top of second column]
|
![](../images/062824PIX/news_o13.jpg)
United Nations (UN) Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs
and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths gestures as he
stands near damaged buildings, in the aftermath of a deadly
earthquake, in Aleppo, Syria February 13, 2023. REUTERS/Firas
Makdesi/File Photo
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2024/Jun/28/images/ads/current/guzzardos_lda_GENERIC_040524.png)
Richard Gowan, U.N. director at the International Crisis Group, said
the delay in appointing a successor indicated that Guterres, who has
been interviewing candidates, was waiting for the result of the July
4 British election.
"It would obviously be preferable to have a more structured
handover," he said, adding that if the post is open too long "it
will give an impression of drift".
Britain's candidate is Minister of State Tariq Ahmad, diplomats
said. Reuters could not confirm the others. The British mission in
Geneva declined to comment citing pre-election restrictions.
With Griffiths' departure, concerns about the current system of
appointments have re-emerged.
A letter to Guterres by the Geneva staff union urged him to make the
process "transparent, inclusive and merit-based ... rather than
solely basing it on a candidate's nationality".
The Emergency Relief Coordinator post helps 300 million people from
Sudan to Ukraine.
It was created in 1991, decades after other U.N. positions, but has
since grown into one of the most important as the body's work has
shifted from ending and preventing conflicts to dealing with their
impacts, such as record forced displacement.
In an interview with Reuters last month, Griffiths said he was
worried about the future. "It has never been as bad as this," he
said. "God knows we need a good person and I hope we will."
(Additional reporting by Gwladys Fouche in Oslo and Gabrielle
Tetrault-Farber in Geneva and Michelle Nichols in New York; Editing
by Alison Williams)
[© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]This material
may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2024/Jun/28/images/ads/current/ldn_smallsda_BUSINESSMAG_2023.png) |