British diplomat (born 1951)
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.
Personal life and education.
Born in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 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. He speaks French and English.
Career.
Griffiths was a career diplomat at the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office and is an experienced conflict mediator. He previously served as the first executive director of the European Institute of Peace from 2016 to September 2018. 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.
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. In February 2021 he visited Iran in an attempt to find a political solution to the Yemeni Civil War. Efforts to end the conflict were largely unsuccessful.
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.
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". 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."
On 25 March 2024, Griffiths announced that he was leaving his post at the United Nations for health reasons. He retired on 1 July 2024 and was succeeded by fellow Briton Thomas Fletcher.
In November 2024, Griffiths was awarded an honorary degree by University of Galway for services to peace-keeping and diplomacy.
References.
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