The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator is a high-level position in the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

that heads the

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 ...

. The current holder is Martin Griffiths of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, who took office in July 2021, following his appointment by UN

Secretary-General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

António Guterres António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres ( , ; born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat. Since 2017, he has served as secretary-general of the United Nations, the ninth person to hold this title. A member of the Portuguese Soci ...

History

The post of

Under-Secretary-General An under-secretary-general of the United Nations (USG) is a senior official within the United Nations System, normally appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the secretary-general for a renewable term of four years. Under-s ...

for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC) was created by

UN resolution A United Nations resolution (UN resolution) is a formal text adopted by a United Nations (UN) body. Although any UN body can issue resolutions, in practice most resolutions are issued by the Security Council or the General Assembly. Legal stat ...

46/182 in December 1991 to coordinate the efforts of the

, member states and the wider humanitarian community in response to natural and man-made emergencies. The title of "Emergency Relief Coordinator", refers to coordination and aid management responsibilities across both the UN system and the wider assistance community. 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 The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

; since 2007, five British nationals have been appointed to that position. Before 2007, British nationals held the position of Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs for more than a decade.Warren Hoge (February 10, 2007)
U.N. Chief Gives Key Post to American
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''.

List of Under-Secretaries-General

References

External links

List of ERCs
United Nations Library Emergency management United Nations Secretariat United Nations posts {{disaster-stub