UN Secretary-General names Sigrid Kaag as senior humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 20: Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, speaks to reporters after a meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson at United Nations headquarters during the 76th Session of the U.N. General Assembly on September 20, 2021 in New York City. The British prime minister is one of more than 100 heads of state or government to attend the session in person, although the size of delegations is smaller due to the Covid-19 pandemic. (Photo by John Minchillo-Pool/Getty Images)
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has announced the appointment of Sigrid Kaag as senior humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza.
The former Dutch minister will also establish a UN mechanism to expedite humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza via states that are not involved in the conflict.
“In this role, she will facilitate, coordinate, monitor, and verify humanitarian relief consignments to Gaza,” the UN said in a statement.
The appointment follows a Security Council resolution that was adopted last week to fast-track humanitarian aid to the war-torn enclave.
The Security Council, it will be recalled, called for “urgent steps” to immediately allow “safe, unhindered, and expanded” humanitarian access to Gaza amid the ongoing Israeli offensive on the territory.
It requests that conflict parties allow and facilitate the use of all available routes to and throughout the Strip, including border crossings, to ensure humanitarian workers and supplies reach the civilian population in need.
More than 20,915 people, largely women and children have been killed by the Israeli forces in response to a cross-border attack by Hamas on October 7.
The violent military campaign has left Gaza in shambles, with 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure damaged or destroyed and nearly 2 million Palestinians displaced due to acute food, clean water, and medicine shortages.
