Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator

Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator of the
United Nations
Emblem of the United Nations
since October 2024
Inaugural holderJan Eliasson
1992
FormationGeneral Assembly Resolution 46/182.[1]
December 1991
Websiteunocha.org

The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator is a high-level position in the United Nations that heads the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The position has been held since October 2024 by Thomas Fletcher, the sixth Briton in a row to serve in the role.

History

The post of Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC) was created by UN resolution 46/182 in December 1991 to coordinate the efforts of the United Nations, member states and the wider humanitarian community in response to natural and man-made emergencies.

The post is one of five cabinet-level UN positions that are traditionally held by nationals from the five permanent members of the Security Council; since 2007, six British nationals have been appointed to that position.[2] Before 2007, British nationals held the position of Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs for more than a decade.[3]

List of Under-Secretaries-General

# Name Nationality Office entered Office left
1 Jan Eliasson Sweden Sweden 1992 1994
2 Peter Hansen Denmark Denmark 1994 1996
3 Yasushi Akashi Japan Japan 1996 1998
4 Sérgio Vieira de Mello Brazil Brazil 1998 January 2001
5 Kenzo Oshima Japan Japan January 2001 June 2003
6 Jan Egeland Norway Norway June 2003 December 2006
7 John Holmes United Kingdom United Kingdom January 2007[4] September 2010
8 Valerie Amos United Kingdom United Kingdom September 2010[5][6] May 2015
9 Stephen O'Brien United Kingdom United Kingdom May 2015[7] September 2017
10 Mark Lowcock United Kingdom United Kingdom September 2017[8] July 2021
11 Martin Griffiths United Kingdom United Kingdom July 2021 March 2024
12 Thomas Fletcher United Kingdom United Kingdom October 2024[9] current

References

  1. ^ United Nations General Assembly Session 46 Resolution 182. Strengthening of the coordination of humanitarian emergency assistance of the United Nations A/RES/46/182 19 December 1991. Retrieved 2008-04-09.
  2. ^ Patrick Wintour (May 12, 2021), Yemen envoy Martin Griffiths to take on top UN humanitarian job The Guardian.
  3. ^ Warren Hoge (February 10, 2007), U.N. Chief Gives Key Post to American New York Times.
  4. ^ Warren Hoge (February 10, 2007), U.N. Chief Gives Key Post to American New York Times.
  5. ^ "Daily Press Briefing by the Offices of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General". United Nations, Department of Public Information, News and Media Division. 26 July 2010. Retrieved 19 August 2010.
  6. ^ Nicholas Watt (July 9, 2010), Lady Amos given top UN humanitarian affairs job The Guardian.
  7. ^ Michelle Nichols (March 9, 2015), MP Stephen O'Brien named new U.N. aid chief Reuters.
  8. ^ Ben Parker (May 10, 2017), UK technocrat appointed UN humanitarian chief - reports The New Humanitarian.
  9. ^ United Nations, "Mr. Tom Fletcher of the United Kingdom - Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator", 9 October 2024. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
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