Martin Griffiths, currently United Nations special envoy for Yemen, will be the next undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, taking the reins from Mark Lowcock, the U.N. announced Wednesday afternoon.
Secretary-General António Guterres’ selection of Griffiths ends months of speculation about whether the U.N. would select yet another Briton to lead the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Lowcock announced his planned departure in February.
“Mr. Griffiths brings extensive leadership experience in humanitarian affairs at headquarters and country levels, both strategically and operationally, as well as senior level experience in international conflict resolution, negotiation and mediation, most recently as the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Yemen (since 2018), a position he will continue to serve until a transition has been announced,” the U.N. said in a statement.
Griffiths, the fifth Briton in a row to lead OCHA, was considered a contender for the role and had launched a personal campaign for the job, Devex first reported.
The battle for the future of OCHA, explained
While Mark Lowcock prepared to depart, OCHA staffers and outside experts called for a "transparent" and "merit-based selection process" for the next U.N. relief chief.
The U.N. delayed making an official announcement following initial reports Tuesday from Foreign Policy and other news outlets that Griffiths would take over at the agency. Meanwhile, Griffiths briefed the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday morning about Yemen’s worsening conflict and called for an immediate nationwide cease-fire.
Yemen is among the protracted conflicts and other emergencies that Griffiths will now be tasked with handling, as humanitarian needs continue to reach record high levels. He will oversee a massive humanitarian coordination budget that exceeded $250 million in 2019.
Some view Griffiths’ selection as a missed opportunity for reform within the U.N., which traditionally makes high-level appointments and selects for prominent positions — including the secretary-general job — behind closed doors.
Civil society organizations and diplomats alike issued a public call in March for the United Kingdom to champion a “transparent” selection process to diversify the search for the next emergency relief coordinator beyond U.K. candidates to “ensure the strongest possible open field of candidates with a commitment to principled humanitarian action.”
But the U.N. announcement was ultimately made without a clear idea of how and why Griffiths was selected. The long line of British nationals leading OCHA will also now continue.
Richard Gowan, U.N. director at the International Crisis Group, told Devex that Guterres “has never liked having P5 [permanent security council] members impose senior officials on him, but he realizes that he cannot buck the P5 entirely. In choosing Griffiths he has found a candidate with extensive UN experience and very strong political instincts, but also someone the U.K. establishment know and like. So it’s a rather neat selection overall.”
He added that “Griffiths is likely to bring his mediator’s instincts to the job, and emphasize the diplomatic aspects of resolving humanitarian crises. I think that’s ultimately a good call. The [undersecretary-general] has to spend a lot of time working with the Security Council and conflict parties, and needs to know how [to] balance humanitarian principles with political realities.”
Prior to the afternoon announcement, Griffiths noted earlier Wednesday that he will continue to work with warring parties in Yemen within “the coming weeks,” indicating that a turnover might not be immediate.
And once Griffiths takes the helm of OCHA and broader humanitarian work, pressure will be on him to reform the humanitarian system to reset the “traditional timid mindset that prevails now,” global health and humanitarian expert Mukesh Kapila noted on Twitter.
William Worley contributed reporting for this story.
Update, May 13, 2021: This article has been updated with additional reporting from William Worley and comments from Richard Gowan, U.N. director at the International Crisis Group.
About the author
Amy Liebermanamylieberman
Amy Lieberman is the U.N. Correspondent for Devex. She covers the United Nations and reports on global development and politics. Amy previously worked as a freelance reporter, covering the environment, human rights, immigration, and health across the U.S. and in more than 10 countries, including Colombia, Mexico, Nepal, and Cambodia. Her coverage has appeared in the Guardian, the Atlantic, Slate, and the Los Angeles Times. A native New Yorker, Amy received her master’s degree in politics and government from Columbia’s School of Journalism.
