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UNITED
NATIONS, May 2 - UN
Secretary
General
Antonio
Guterres says
he has a "zero
tolerance"
policy for
sexual
harassment,
and for
retaliation. While
questionable
even at the
UN, did it
apply at the UN
Refugee Agency
UNHCR which he
ran from 2005
to 2015? There
were
allegations
there that
now UNHCR
Deputy Director
Craig Sanders
ordered Lori
Handrahan
not to report
an
alleged rape
of a refugee
by an aid
worker in Chad,
saying
he 'would not
have a
sex-for-food
scandal on my
watch.'" Now
there are multiple
reports of yet
another UN
sexual
misconduct
case, at the UN
World Food
Program in
Fiji, with
the UN not
stating if
those accused
have been
suspended.
Inner City
Press asked
the UN, which
didn't answer
beyond
expressing support
for the head
of WFP, as
they did for
UNAIDS'
Sidibe. Now
the name of
the alleged
perpetrator has
been reported
-- Anthony
Freeman -
along with
this quote
from UN staff:
"They'll just
appoint a
person, maybe
two people, to
do an
investigation,
and report
back to
headquarters.
It should be a
coalition of
at least one
other
organisation." There
is a UN Chief
Executives
Board meeting now in
London - what
will Guterres,
and presumably
his Global
Communicator
Alison Smale,
spinning in
New York, do
beyond
repeating by
rote, Zero
tolerance? Late
last week belatedly
Guterres called for
a
re-investigation
at UNAIDS,
which he has
repeatedly
defended - and his
favored
scribes at
Agence
France Presse
portrayed
Guterres as a hero,
without once
mentioning his
record at
UNHCR. As to
UNAIDS,
Guterres too
late orders
his
questionable OIOS to
re-investigate
Martina
Brostrom’s
sexual assault
and harassment
allegations
against Luiz
Loures, Deputy
Executive
Director of
UNAIDS.
At
UNHCR
Handrahan
writes, "Sexual
abuse and
exploitation
of refugee
women was
occurring in
the camps by
humanitarians
and others.
When I
reported one
incident
Sanders
confronted me
in anger,
pointed his
finger in my
face, screamed
at me and said
I was not
"going to
discuss this
at the
co-ordination
meeting"
because a
food-for-sex
scandal was
"not going to
happen" on
"his watch"
and "ruin his
career".' Handrahan
says she
still reported
the rape to
the UN
meeting, but then was
'run out' of UNHCR Her
three-month
contract was
not renewed
and said she
had several
job
applications
rejected.
Where was
Antonio Guterres
during all
this? On
April 24,
Inner City
Press asked
Guterres'
spokesman Stephane
Dujarric, who
dodged, UN
Transcript here: Inner
City Press: As
you may have
seen, there's
a sexual
harassment
#MeToo issue
at UNHCR, and
it goes back
into the past
in such a way
that it
actually
intersects
with António
Guterres' time
there.
It has to do
with Craig
Sanders,
current Deputy
Director of
UNHCR, and it
has to do with
allegations,
now widely
reported in
the UK and in
at least two
publications,
that he told a
colleague not
to report,
when he was
serving in
Darfur for
UNHCR, sexual
abuse
allegations
because he
didn't want
there to be
food-for-sex
scandal on his
watch.
That's the
quote.
And so this
reverberated
around
apparently
within UNHCR
for some time
after that
while António
Guterres was
the head of
UNHCR.
So you may not
know, what was
his…
Spokesman:
Look, I'm not
aware of the
case. I
think these
questions are
up to UNHCR to
answer.
I think what I
do know is
that, while he
was head of
UNHCR, the
Sec… the then
High
Commissioner
made a
priority to
combat issues
of sexual
harassment." But
that's exactly the
question: what
did Guterres know
about
l'affaire
Craig Sanders,
and when did
he know it?
And
why now at the
UN is Guterres
imposing
targeted restrictions
on the
investigative Press
that asks the
most questions
about
this, and #MeTooUN
more
generally? We'll
have more on
this.
When
Inner City
Press asked
Guterres' deputy
spokesman Farhan
Haq on March
15 about
Michel
Sidibé's reported
threats of retaliatory
investigations
against those
making
and offering
support to sexual
harassment
complaints at
UNAIDS, Haq said
this is entire
a matter for
UNAIDS. Earlier
Inner City
Press story here.
On
April 17,
mid growing
requests for
Sidibe to
resign, Inner
City Press
asked
Guterres' led
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric, who
reiterated
Guterres has
full
confidence in
Sidibe. So much for
zero
tolerance.
Video here,
UN transcript
here
and below. On
April
19, Inner City
Press asked
Dujarric about
The
Lancet.
Video here,
UN transcript
here:
Inner City
Press: The
Lancet, a
highly
respected
medical
journal, has
written an
editorial very
much saying
that UNAIDS
(Joint United
Nations
Programme
against
HIV/AIDS) is…
I could read
you the
quotes.
Spokesman:
No, I've seen
it.
Inner
City Press:
They're pretty
damning.
Do you have a
canned
response?
Can you uncork
it?
Spokesman:
I try to
improvise as
much as I can.
Inner
City Press:
Okay. Is
there one? I
mean… I can
read…
Spokesman:
No, our
response is
the
same. I
think we… the
Secretary-General
supports the
work of Mr.
[Michel]
Sidibé, [and]
recognizes the
efforts he's
done to put
gender parity
at the
forefront of
the work of
UNAIDS.
Inner
City Press:
No, what
they're
critical of is
his role
in…people are
not just
talking about
the gender
equality
record under
Mr.
Sibidé.
They're
talking about
his covering
up and not
responding to
a complaint
made in 2015
about Luiz
Loures being a
sexual
predator.
There's a…
Spokesman:
I think the
case of Mr.
Loures has
been
investigated.
And, if we
have an
update, I will
share that
with you." On
April 17,
Inner City
Press followed
up, including
about inquiries by
member states.
From the UN transcript:
Inner City
Press: on
UNAIDS [Joint
United Nations
Programme
against
HIV/AIDS].
I'd asked you
yesterday
about the
various calls,
including one
letter that's
said to be to
the
Secretary-General.
Is he going to
respond to
those
letters?
You'd said he
encouraged… he
appreciates
dialogue and
hearing from
people.
Spokesman:
As a matter of
course, the
Secretary-General's
a polite
person.
When he gets a
letter, he
either
acknowledges
or responds.
Inner
City Press:
That's not
always the
case but… I
wanted to ask
you about… on
the same topic
of sexual
harassment and
abuse, it's
said that the…
the Australian
Government,
the… the
International
Development
Minister has
said that
Australia,
specifically
as a country,
has sought
assurances
from the UN
regarding
sexual
exploitation
in… in Syria,
Central
African
Republic and
other places.
Spokesman:
In
Syria?
Yeah?
Inner
City
Press: Yes.
Is that… is
that… is that
the
case?
And I'd asked
you previously
about this
group called
MOPAN, which
is a… an
acronym I
won't unpack,
but it was
chaired by
Norway, that
it'd asked…
you'd said
that there are
reports on
these things,
but is the
Secretar… on…
on the way in
which the
Secretariat
has dealt with
sexual
harassment
cases, are… is
there a
dialogue going
on with
particular
Member
States…?
Spokesman:
Well, there's
a dialogue
going on with
all Member
States,
because
there's no way
to fight
sexual
harassment and
sexual abuse
without being
in partnership
with Member
States.
So there is a
constant
dialogue going
on.
Inner
City Press: Sure.
But has there…
I guess what
I'm saying is,
are there… has
there been
provision of
information
beyond that
which you
referred to in
public
reports…?
Spokesman:
"We respond to
Member States
as requested....And
that will be
the last
question." For
now. From
the April 17
transcript:
Inner
City
Press: I
wanted to ask
you about
UNAIDS.
As I'm sure
you've seen, a
number of… a
number of
groups have
asked for an
investigation,
but the AIDS
Healthcare
Foundation,
which does
work on AIDS
in 39
countries, has
reportedly
written to
António
Guterres
asking that
Mr. [Michel]
Sidibé step
down in light
of his alleged
retaliation
against staff,
in light of a
staff member
having, in
2015, told him
that Luiz
Loures was a
sexual
predator.
And I'm
wondering,
what does the
Secretary-General
think now
that… that…
basically, it
doesn't seem
that Mr.
Sidibé is
going to
self-resign.
What does he
make of… of a
member of
the…?
Spokesman:
I think it’s
always
important to
hear from our
partners.
Mr. Sidibé
continues to
have the
confidence of
the
Secretary-General.
Inner
City Press:
And… and the
investigation
[inaudible] of
Luiz Loures
meets António
Guterres'
standards of
zero
tolerance…?
Spokesman:
I think we've
spoken about
the
investigation."
On
March 29
when
Inner City
Press
audibly asked
Guterres, if
he had even
yet spoken to
Sidibe,
Guterres did
not answer.
Vine video here.
Present
was Guterres'
Global
Communicator
Alison Smale,
who
orders UN
staff to
"speak with
one voice" -
hers - on
allegations of
sexual harassment.
She has
continued to
restrict Inner
City Press,
declining for
monthes to
even answer
what
the rules are.
Inner
City Press has
been receiving
detailed complaints
about mismanagement
and harassment
in UNAIDS, but
the UN refuses
to answer. So
below
are
some more
of the
complaints.
Tellingly, the
day after
Guterres
refused Inner
City Press'
question
about UNAIDS,
here
are Loures' victims
speaking publicly,
in their own
names:
Martina
Brostrom, a
policy advisor
at UNAIDS, said of
Loures at
a conference
in Bangkok,
Thailand in
2015: "I
was pleading
with him, and
I was just
bracing with
all that I
could just to
not leave the
elevator."
Guterres? No
answer -
and no action.
Where is
Guterres on
this? Where is
Guterres?
Malayah
Harper, who
used to run
UNAIDS'
programs in
Uganda and
Kenya, on
Loures
a year
earlier, also
at a hotel: "He
got into the
lift with me,
and then kind
of lunged
forward to --
you could call
it -- kiss me,
but I thought
a kiss had to
be
consensual."
We'll have more on
this, and on retaliation. Some
more of the
complaints
exclusively
published by
Inner City
Press: "Michel
Sidibé
has established
this 'boys
club'
culture where
qualified
women are made
to feel less
worthy, are
openly
ridiculed by
male
colleagues
except those
women who are
providing
favors to him
and his 'boys,' he
continues to
give perks
to his boys
who serve as
his connectors
to presidents,
prime
ministers etc
by appointing
them to
important
positions as
well as even
when they
retired
bridging them
back on
special
assignments
for them to
make easy
money. People
such as Fritz
Lherisson,
Georges Shaw
and more
recently
Abdoul Dieng."
There are the
Mali connections,
beyond
what Inner
City Press
reported about
Burundi on March
23, here:
"Ben
Wahab - A
Malian
recently
appointed as
UNAIDS Country
Director for
Burundi with
no country
level and no
management
experience. He
came in as a
P4 Adviser and
very quickly
in 3 years he
rose to his
present
position of
UNAIDS Country
Director.... Theresa
Poirier, a
Malian
Canadian,
UNAIDS Country
Director for
Malawi .Also a
relatively new
comer to
UNAIDS
appointed by
Michel as
Director in
Mali and now
serving in
Malawi as
UNAIDS Country
Director... Fode
Simanga a
Malian serving
as senior
adviser in
Geneva but
graded at
Director level... Dado
SY Kagnsssy a
Malian before
UNAIDS Country
Director for
Djibouti, very
little
experience,non
articulative
and a fairly
new comer to
UNAIDS who was
appointed to
this position
whilst many
longer serving
staff members
are over
looked and now
posted to
Guinea as
UNAIDS Country
Director.. Amakonde
Sande (moved
from
consultant to
P4 in short
order to
P5 as UNAIDS
Country
Director in
Malawi and
then sent to
Uganda a
D1 position
where she
stayed only
for 3 months
only to be
appointed to
China as
UNAIDS Country
Director... Bridgitte
Quenum
recently
appointed as
UNAIDS Country
Director but
she has no
leadership,
management
experience and
was appointed
over other
more
senior
persons. It is
reputed that
her family
is/was a great
friend of
Michel Sidibe
and that is
how she
entered UNAIDS
and now gained
this
distinguished
position." But
note - not
only has
Antonio
Guterres
bragged
recently that
now at the
UN "we have
some Portuguese
things" - he
also has his
own hiring and
traveling
patterns.
As to
UNAIDS and
Sidibe, there is
talk of mining
business; there
are harassment
complaints
and findings
that Sidibé
refuses to act
on. Of
Girmay Haile,
the current
UNAIDS country
director in
Zimbabwe, whistleblowers
tell Inner
City Press
that a recent
internal
investigation
came
unanimously to
the conclusion
of severe
bullying and
intimidation
just two weeks
ago - but Sidibé
has refused to
move him. This
followed a
previous
investigation
against
Girmay Haile Girmay
HaileGirmay
HaileGirmay
Hailein
Kenya;
Sidibe
refused the
recommendation
of the
internal team
and promoted
him to country
director
Ghana. Girmay
Haile
has reportedly
said
he knows too
much and if he
falls they all
fall. We shall
see.
Back
on March 15 when
Inner City
Press asked
about the UN
Secretariat's
own investigation
of
whistleblowers,
for the second
day in a row,
Haq again
defended it,
as somehow
benefiting
member states.
From the UN transcript:
Inner City
Press: I'm
sure you've
seen the
article in The
Guardian
quoting Michel
Sibidé [sic]
of UNAIDS
[Joint United
Nations
Programme
against
HIV/AIDS].
What I wanted
to ask you is,
he seems to be
attacking
those who came
forward in the
sexual
harassment
case against
Luiz
Loures.
He's attacked
them.
He's said that
Loures is a…
is… made a
courageous
decision.
And, of his
detractors, he
says, we know
these people
are taking
their golden
shan…
handshakes
from us here
and knowing
they have a
job and then
attacking
us. We
know all about
that. We
know every
single
thing.
Time will come
for
everything.
When I hear
anything about
abuse of our
assets, I ask
for an
investigation.
Maybe these
investigations
are going
on. And
so, many staff
and many
people in the…
in the
“#MeToo”
movement see
this as a
direct threat
against those
who came
forward.
And I wonder,
what does
António
Guterres… who
I'm… I… I
would assume
is a reader of
The Guardian,
what does he
think of these
comments?
Deputy
Spokesman:
We're aware of
this
article.
Obviously,
it's for
UNAIDS and
Mr.
Sidibé to
explain what
the comments
attributed to
him are.
At
UNESCO in Paris
there are cover-ups
and retaliation in
the wake of the
two-step firing of
Assistant Director
General Frank La Rue
for sexual
harassment.
But
when Inner City
Press on March 20
asked Guy Berger,
the grandly titled
Director of Freedom
of Expression and
Media Development at
the United Nations
Educational,
Scientific and
Cultural
Organization, if he
thought reporting on
l'affaire La
Rue, which has
included Inner City
Press' exclusive
report that after
his suspension he
was still getting
paid and now
questions about
UNESCO Ethics
Adviser Rebecca
Trott, Berger said
he was unaware of
the specifics of the
case and to ask
UNESCO's press
officer.
Since Inner City
Press published the
video
of the Q&A, it
has heard from
UNESCO staff in New
York that Berger
"lied - he was among
the best friends of
La Rue, defended him
at every turn, while
also trying to take
his job." This is
how the UN works -
work with
collaborators like
Berger's former
student, to cover up
abuse, while seeking
mutual advancement.
It is disgusting. So
too on Rebecca
Trott, UNESCO's
"Ethics" adviser. As
question mount about
cover up, it will be
interesting to know
who is still
protecting her
within the
organization. We'll
have more on this.
Likewise,
after Berger has
spoken and joked
with a former
student (given the
first question)
about the importance
of independent media
and even holding
power in check, when
Inner City Press
asked about the UN's
FAO and WIPO going
after the press, he
said he was unaware
but implied it might
be justified.
When
Inner City Press
asked about the UN
Department of Public
Information's
continuing lack of
content neutral
media access rules,
despite Inner City
Press' repeated
requests to DPI boss
Alison Smale, both
his student and the
UN moderate looked
surprised, as if
they didn't
understand.
OK:
Inner City Press was
evicted from its UN
work space for
pursuing the Ng Lap
Seng UN bribery case
in the UN Press
Briefing Room - an
event of the group
headed by Berger's
student - and has
been a non-resident
correspondent
requiring DPI
“minders” to cover
the UN General
Assembly and its
President. Meanwhile
its office was given
to a no-show
Egyptian state
media, Akhbar al
Yom's Sanaa Youssef,
who has not ask the
UN a question in ten
years.
Media
that rarely come in
and ask anything
have arrived since
Inner City Press'
eviction and have
been given UN office
space. Inner City
Press has been told
it is not even on
the list, and Smale
has not answer a
single email. No
rules. We'll have
more on this
(charade) - and on
UNESCO. Watch this
site.
***
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