GENEVA – The Red Cross on Dec 22 said it has appointed Mr Pierre Krahenbuhl, a controversial former head of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, as its director-general.
The Swiss national, with more than 30 years of experience in the humanitarian sector, will take over in April, when current chief Robert Mardini completes his four-year term.
Mr Krahenbuhl, 57, has spent 25 years in prominent roles at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and is currently serving as secretary-general to the ICRC assembly.
“He is recognised as a strategic and purpose-driven leader with deep organisational experience and dedication to the ICRC,” the ICRC said in a statement.
In 2014, Mr Krahenbuhl was appointed commissioner-general of the UN agency that supports Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.
He resigned from that position in 2019 amid an internal probe into alleged mismanagement and ethical abuses at the organisation.
In the end, he was largely cleared of the allegations.
The preliminary findings of that inquiry found “credible and corroborated” allegations of serious ethical abuses, but revealed no “fraud or misappropriation of operational funds” by Mr Krahenbuhl, the UN said at the time.
After resigning, Mr Krahenbuhl himself described an atmosphere of “hyperpolarisation” around the agency.
The UNRWA at the time was facing relentless attacks by the administration of former United States president Donald Trump, which along with Israel, accused it of perpetuating the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In 2018, Washington decided to suspend, then stop entirely, its contribution to the agency’s budget, robbing it of its largest donor and sparking a funding crunch.
US President Joe Biden’s administration later fully restored the country’s support.
Mr Krahenbuhl will be taking the helm of the ICRC as it grapples with its own funding shortage, which has forced it to make budget cuts and slash some 1,500 jobs.
The ICRC is also facing pressure over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and in particular its response to the war raging in Gaza.
The Swiss-based organisation, founded 160 years ago to serve as a neutral intermediary between belligerents in conflict as well as to visit and assist prisoners of war, has been accused by both sides of not condemning the other and for insufficient help to those detained or being held hostage.
ICRC president Mirjana Spoljaric told journalists this week about the importance of maintaining the organisation’s neutrality in all conflicts and crises.
“Without neutrality, we wouldn’t be able to operate. Without confidentiality, we wouldn’t be successful,” she said. AFP
