The outgoing first Deputy Prime Minister and the first female Minister of Finance in the Dutch government since January 2022, Kaag has held a wide range of senior positions in the UN.
The United Nations has appointed the Dutch minister Sigrid Kaag as the Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza to oversee humanitarian relief shipments.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made the announcement “pursuant to Security Council Resolution 2720 (2030)” adopted on Friday. The resolution, “among other points, demands immediate, safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance at a scale directly to the Palestinian civilian population throughout the Gaza Strip.”
Israeli officials have frequently criticized the United Nations during the 81-day war, even calling on UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to resign.https://t.co/wzcdDufjto pic.twitter.com/WpP5mkJCUy
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) December 27, 2023
In a statement on Tuesday, the UN said Kaag will facilitate, coordinate, monitor, and verify humanitarian relief consignments to Gaza.
Kaag “will also establish a United Nations mechanism to accelerate humanitarian relief consignments to Gaza through States which are not party to the conflict,” the statement said.
The outgoing first Deputy Prime Minister and the first female Minister of Finance in the Dutch government since January 2022, Kaag has held a wide range of senior positions in the UN.
Those positions include UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, as well as Special Special Coordinator of the Joint Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the United Nations Mission in Syria. She has also held positions with UNICEF, the Organization for Migration (IOM), and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
GAZA HEALTH MINISTRY: 21,110 Palestinians have been killed, and 55,243 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
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— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) December 27, 2023
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made the announcement “pursuant to Security Council Resolution 2720 (2030).”
Kaag is expected to begin her assignment on January 8, 2024.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 21,110 Palestinians have been killed, and 55,243 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Palestinian and international estimates say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
