4:04 p.m. ET, December 26, 2023
The United Nations appoints the deputy prime minister of the Netherlands as special humanitarian coordinator for Gaza
By CNN's Jen Deaton, Caitlin Hu and Richard Roth Dutch Deputy Prime Minister Sigrid Kaag speaks at a news conference in The Hague, Netherlands, on February 17. (Bart Maat/ANP/AFP/Getty Images)
Netherlands Deputy Prime Minister Sigrid Kaag will resign from her post to become the new United Nations special humanitarian coordinator for Gaza, Kaag said in a statement on X.
Earlier on Tuesday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced the appointment of Kaag as lead coordinator for humanitarian assistance and reconstruction for Gaza, according to a statement.
The appointment came after the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2720 on the ongoing crisis in Gaza last Friday, with 13 voting in favor and the US and Russia abstaining after days of marathon talks.
The resolution calls, among other things, for the immediate, safe and unhindered delivery of large-scale humanitarian assistance directly to Palestinians throughout the Gaza Strip.
The resolution also established Kaag's new role and called for the appointment of a senior humanitarian assistance and reconstruction coordinator responsible for “facilitating, coordinating, monitoring and reviewing” humanitarian assistance in Gaza.
There are also calls for the creation of a UN mechanism to speed up aid deliveries, which are currently far from sufficient for the more than two million inhabitants of the enclave.
According to the UN statement, Kaag will be responsible for establishing this mechanism with the support of the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS).
Kaag is scheduled to begin her assignment on January 8, 2024.
More about the official: Kaag has held several senior government and international roles. She served, among other things, as deputy prime minister of the Netherlands, as foreign minister and was also the first female finance minister in the Dutch government, the UN statement said.