Armenia suspends mandate of UNICEF representative

The Armenian authorities have suspended the mandate of representative of the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) Marianne Clark-Hattingh, considering that her methods of work are problematic for the country, Spokesperson for the Armenian Foreign Ministry Anna Naghdalyan said, Report informs, referring to TASS.

"General shortcomings in the methodology of the work of the UNICEF Representative in Armenia Marianne Clark-Hattingh, which in no way contribute to the establishment of cooperation, were very problematic for the Armenian side, therefore the Armenian government decided to suspend her activities as UNICEF Representative in Armenia. UN Resident Coordinator and UNICEF representatives were informed of the decision," Naghdalyan said.

Earlier, several Armenian telegram channels reported that Marianne Clark-Hattingh was engaged in espionage, which is why the Armenian authorities declared her persona non grata.

Marianne Clark-Hattingh took over as UNICEF Representative in Armenia in July 2020. For the previous four years, she has been a representative in Malaysia.