UN: Maria Clara Martin new representative of the High Commissioner for Refugees in Greece
Change of 'scepter' in the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees in Greece. Who is Maria Clara Martin who takes on the role of representative.
Duties Representative of the High Commissioner in Greece takes Maria Clara Martin, as informed UNHCR of United Nations for Refugees.
Ms. Martin succeeds Mireg Girard, who has been head of the UNHCR Office in Greece since early 2021.
Clara Martin 's professional career in human rights, refugees and immigrants spans over 35 years, with experience in leading positions at the UNHCR offices in Ecuador, Belgium, Mozambique, Rwanda and Switzerland. He has headed the United States Department of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and has worked for other organizations, including the World Food Program (WFP), Amnesty International, and the International Political Assistance Mission in the United States. He has also previously worked as a journalist for the BBC.
"I am very happy to have taken on my new role as Representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Greece," said Martin. "Greece has been welcoming refugees and asylum seekers for many years, showing solidarity and compassion to the most vulnerable. I look forward to working with the Greek authorities, partners, municipal authorities, civil society, and local and refugee communities to provide protection and support and to find long-term solutions for men, women and children. who have been forced to leave their homes and seek refuge in Greece. Although the situation has changed since the 2015 crisis.
UNHCR has been in Greece since 1952. The role of the international organization evolved during the period of emergency in 2015 and 2016, when it provided emergency operational support to the government and humanitarian assistance to refugees and asylum seekers.
Today, the UNHCR in Greece continues to have an advisory role and to support the strengthening of institutions, to promote refugee protection standards and to support asylum seekers and refugees through the provision of information, legal aid and the creation of opportunities for autonomy and integration.
