UN official says espionage allegations against UNICEF representative to Armenia are baseless

YEREVAN, March 10, /ARKA/.United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres’ spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric described the spying allegations against the UNICEF Representative to Armenia Marianne Clark‑Hattingh as “baseless”.

“The allegations against… the spying allegations against her are baseless, and I would defend her strongly,” he said at a daily press briefing when asked to comment on the matter.

Earlier, a number of Armenian Telegram channels claimed, citing their sources, that the Armenian authorities terminated Marianne Clark-Hattingh mandate after suspecting her of spying for Azerbaijan and Great Britain.

“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. 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. UNICEF has been working for the children in Armenia since 1993 and has had a close and effective partnership with the Government,” the spokesperson added.

Anna Naghdalyan, press secretary for Armenian Foreign Ministry, said the Armenian government terminated Marianne Clark‑Hattingh’s duties because of her “failures in the implementation of her mandate and her uncooperative conduct.”

Marianne Clark‑Hattingh was appointed to Armenia in July 2020.-0-