John Ging
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John Ging (born 1965), an Irish national, was appointed as Director of the Operational Division at the UN
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is a United Nations (UN) body established in December 1991 by the General Assembly to strengthen the international response to complex emergencies and natural disaster ...
(OCHA) in New York in February 2011. He oversees the management of all OCHA field operations worldwide. On behalf of the Emergency Relief Coordinator, he is the day-to-day focal point for supporting Humanitarian Coordinators. Ging is also the lead adviser to the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs on operational decision-making. Prior to joining OCHA, John Ging was the Director of
UNRWA The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is a UN agency that supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees. UNRWA's mandate encompasses Palestinians displaced by the 1948 P ...
Operations in the Gaza Strip from 2006 until 2011. Before joining UNRWA, Ging worked in a variety of missions in the Balkans, Africa and the Middle East. In the Balkans, he served as chief of staff of the Institution Building Pillar within the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). Prior to that, he worked for 8 years as chief of staff in the mission of the Organization for Security Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Bosnia and Herzegovina. During and after the
Rwandan genocide The Rwandan genocide occurred between 7 April and 15 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed Hutu ...
(1994–1996), Ging served as regional field director with the Irish NGO
GOAL A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ai ...
. According to colleagues who worked with him at the time, he took on difficult jobs like arranging the mass burial of 40,000 refugees who died when
cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...
swept through their camp. In the period 1989–1994, Ging completed three tours of duty as a United Nations peacekeeper with UNIFIL in South Lebanon. He began his career in the Irish Defense Forces in 1983, where he served as a commissioned officer. John Ging is a lawyer (Barrister-at-Law) by qualification. He is a double graduate of National University of Ireland, Galway (NUI Galway), holding a primary and a postgraduate degrees, having completed studies in Law, Sociology and Political Science.


Early life

Ging grew up in Co.Laois,
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. He attended secondary school at the Salesian College,
Ballinakill Ballinakill () is a small village in County Laois, Ireland on the R432 regional road between Abbeyleix, Ballyragget and Castlecomer, County Kilkenny. As of the 2016 census, there were 445 people living in Ballinakill. History From 1613 until ...
. In 1983, he joined the Irish Army, where he rose to the rank of captain.


Director of UNRWA Operations in Gaza

Ging took up his position as Director of
UNRWA The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is a UN agency that supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees. UNRWA's mandate encompasses Palestinians displaced by the 1948 P ...
Operations in Gaza in February 2006. In the Gaza Strip, he managed over 11,000 staff and programmes with an annual budget in excess of US$450 million delivering education, health care, relief and social services, microcredit, infrastructure development and emergency assistance to more than 1 million Palestine refugees. During his time in Gaza, there were two direct attempts on John Ging's life. In March 2007, his convoy was ambushed by masked gunmen. Ging escaped the attempt with more than a dozen bullets in the side of his car.News Agencie
"UN aid chief calls on PA to track down gunmen who attacked him"
''Haaretz'', 16 March 2007
In the summer of 2007, Ging survived another attempt on his life launched by extremists in Rafah. The attack left one Palestinian dead and 7 wounded. He received renewed death threats in 2010.Louise Hogan,

, ''Irish Independent'', 13 November 2010


The

Gaza War (2008–09) Gaza War may refer to: *Gaza War (2008–2009), also known as Operation Cast Lead, the Gaza Massacre, and the Battle of al-Furqan * 2012 Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip, or Operation Pillar of Defense * 2014 Gaza War, or Operation Protective E ...

During the war on Gaza in December 2008 – January 2009, Ging rose to international prominence as a principled advocate for the rights of civilians caught in conflict. Speaking from Gaza, Ging repeatedly called for a halt to the military attacks, reminding the international community of their responsibilities to protect innocent civilians who had no safe shelter or refuge. At the time, 50,000 civilians fled from their homes and sought refuge in UNRWA schools to escape the hostilities. During the war, several United Nations installations came under fire from the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). This included the main UNRWA compound in Gaza City. Ging suspended aid convoys when one of his staff was killed; operations were restored once a better co-ordination mechanism for aid convoys travelling through humanitarian corridors had been established for the remainder of the hostilities. A few weeks later, Ging suspended aid convoys again; this time in protest of Hamas having hijacked an UNRWA aid convoy. Hamas agreed to his demand that the stolen aid be returned and a pledge was given that there would be no recurrence.


Awards

Ging was awarded an honorary degree by
NUI Galway The University of Galway ( ga, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe) is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. A tertiary education and research institution, the university was awarded the full five QS stars for excellence in 201 ...
in 2019 for his lifelong commitment to humanitarism.


References


External links


Official UNRWA homepage

Friends of UNRWA Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ging, John 1965 births Living people Irish humanitarians People from County Laois Irish officials of the United Nations UNRWA officials