The spying allegations against Marianne Clark‑Hattingh are baseless, Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the UN Secretary General, told a daily briefing.
“What I can tell you and what my colleagues of UNICEF have told me is that UNICEF and the Government of Armenia have agreed that Marianne Clark‑Hattingh will complete her assignment as UNICEF Representative in Armenia this month, and she’ll be redeployed to another duty station,” the Spokesperson said.
“She is a highly qualified, extremely experienced and committed development professional, who has previously served with UNICEF at Headquarters, as well as being the Representative in Malaysia and other posts in places such as Somalia, Guinea, Benin and Madagascar,” Dujarric added.
“UNICEF has been working for the children in Armenia since 1993 and has had a close and effective partnership with the Government,” he concluded.
The Armenian Government said on Tuesday the duties of UNICEF Representative Marianne Clark‑Hattingh would be terminated due to shortcomings in implementation of her mandate and uncooperative work style.
Some media outlets reported that she was dismissed for spying for the governments of Azerbaijan and United Kingdom.
