The Red Cross on Dec 22 stated that it has appointed Mr Pierre Krahenbuhl, a controversial previous governer of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, as its director-general. The Swiss national, with exceeding 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 important roles at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and is presently serving as secretary-general to the ICRC assembly. “He is recognised as a strategic and purpose-driven governer with deep organisational experience and dedication to the ICRC,” the ICRC revealed in a statement.
In 2014, Mr Krahenbuhl was appointed commissioner-general of the UN agency that helps 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 immensely cleared of the allegations. The preliminary findings of that investigation discovered “credible and corroborated” allegations of stern ethical abuses, but showed no “fraud or misappropriation of operational funds” by Mr Krahenbuhl, the UN revealed at the time. After resigning, Mr Krahenbuhl himself described an atmosphere of “hyperpolarisation” around the agency.
The UNRWA at the time was encountering limitless 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 halt completely, its contribution to the agency’s budget, robbing it of its hugest donor and sparking a funding crunch. US President Joe Biden’s administration later fully restored the nation’s support. Mr Krahenbuhl will be taking the helm of the ICRC as it grapples with its own funding shortage, which has pushed it to make budget cuts and slash some 1,500 jobs. The ICRC is also encountering pressure over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and in specific its remark to the war bleeding in Gaza.