British ex-ambassador is new UN Emergency Relief Coordinator
Published: Monday, Nov 18th 2024, 12:50
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Former British diplomat Tom Fletcher (49) has taken up his new role as UN Emergency Relief Coordinator. He heads the emergency aid office OCHA. It is usually at the forefront of emergency operations by the United Nations following disasters, conflicts and migration movements.
Fletcher teaches at Oxford University. He was also ambassador to Lebanon, advised prime ministers and mediated in the Northern Ireland conflict. According to the UN, he speaks fluent English and French and good Arabic and Swahili. Fletcher succeeds his fellow countryman Martin Griffiths (73), who gave up the post for health reasons.
"I am not fooling myself and I know how hard this task is," the United Nations quoted Fletcher as saying. He will defend humanitarian values and work to strengthen international solidarity. The OCHA has two headquarters in New York and Geneva and around 2,000 employees in more than 25 countries.
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