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Griffiths served as United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs for three years.
UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths, who has played a key role in delivering aid to the Gaza Strip and led earlier efforts for Yemen, has announced he will step down due to ill health.
Griffiths, who has led the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and served as emergency relief coordinator for three years, said he informed Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of his intention to step down in June. Has been informed.
“To everyone at UNOCHA, it has been the privilege of my life. I am in your debt. Thank you to all partners and supporters for helping people in crisis, he said in a post on social media platform X on Monday.
In recent months, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs has repeatedly pressured Israel to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, which has been devastated by more than five months of Israeli military offensives and severe restrictions on aid supplies .
After 3 years of service I have given information @Antonioguterres I intend to step down in June.
For everyone @UNOCHA, it has been the privilege of my life. I am in your debt.
Thank you to all partners and supporters for helping those in crisis.
– Martin Griffiths (@UNReliefChief) 25 March 2024
Many NGOs and rights organizations have accused Israel of deliberately withholding aid to Gaza as a warning of famine in the Gaza Strip. Israel has denied the allegations.
Last month, Griffiths warned Israel not to ignore calls against a planned attack on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where 1.5 million Palestinians have taken refuge, warning that the Israeli operation “could lead to massacres “.
“The October 7 attacks on Israel are appalling – I have repeatedly condemned them and will continue to do so. But they cannot justify what is happening to every single child, woman and man in Gaza,” Griffiths wrote in an op-ed for Al Jazeera in February.
He also expressed concern over other ongoing humanitarian crises around the world.
This month, he warned that up to five million people in Sudan could face catastrophic hunger in the coming months.
He has also faced criticism for his work.
Following a visit to conflict-torn Myanmar last August, civil society groups said his visit failed to make substantial progress on humanitarian aid and provided legitimacy to military coup leaders who had “armed aid”.
In a statement after his visit, Griffiths said that one third of Myanmar's population is in need of assistance due to persistent crises, and he appealed to the military to improve access to humanitarian relief.
“We need better access so we can safely help them every day, every day, every week,” he said.
Griffith previously served as the United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen and has been an adviser on Syria.
She has also worked for other international humanitarian organizations including UNICEF, Save the Children and ActionAid.