(United Nations) The head of the UN Office of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Martin Griffiths, particularly critical of the impacts of the Israeli offensive in Gaza, will resign for health reasons, a spokesperson for the UN announced on Monday. ‘UN.
“Martin Griffiths has informed the Secretary General of his intention to resign for health reasons,” said Farhan Haq, specifying that he would remain in his post until June to organize the transition.
“After three years in this position, I informed Antonio Guterres of my intention to resign in June,” said Martin Griffiths in a message on X, thanking his teams and all UN partners for “defending the cause of people in crisis”.
The British diplomat was appointed to this post in 2021, after having notably served as UN special envoy for Yemen.
In recent months, he has tirelessly increased calls to let humanitarian aid enter Gaza, denouncing the obstructions of the Israeli authorities.
“There has been much debate and finger-pointing about the challenges of delivering aid to people in need in Gaza. So, let’s settle this once and for all,” he insisted a few days ago.
“The limits on the distribution of aid in Gaza are set by those who block the movement of convoys intended to feed tens of thousands of hungry people […], by those who continue to bomb Gaza. Israel must remove all obstacles to aid.”
He has also expressed concern in recent months about the lack of attention paid by the international community to the war in Sudan which has been raging for almost a year.
To this end, he sent a letter to the UN Security Council a few days ago warning that 5 million people could plunge into “catastrophic food insecurity” in the coming months.
The secretary general expressed his “gratitude” to him for his services, Farhan Haq said. “He fought tirelessly to ensure lifesaving aid could reach those who needed it and to have the resources to do so.”