In a mail sent to all WFP staff, WFP Staff Union conveyed the grave concerns of the staff over WFP’s position in Gaza, and the perceived ambiguous stance of the Executive Director, advisors and Leadership Group on the war and on the attendance of Ms. McCain at the Halifax International Security Forum in Canada.
The Staff Union sent a request for clarification to the Ethics Office. Note that the Ethics Office reports to the Secretary-General who personally cleared the appointment of Cindy McCain.
The Staff Union recalled that those staff who reported misconduct in good faith should be protected from retaliation.
“Whether or not the UN itself has taken up a position the use of starvation as a weapon should not prevent WFP, which has always been a leader in the pursuit of the right to food, from continuing to fight for that right.. We invite our leadership to take up this request”
Shoutout to WFP staff who dared to denounce double standards within the Ethics Office and the United Nations.
The principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence are fundamental to humanitarian action. Humanity means that human suffering must be addressed wherever it is found, with particular attention to the most vulnerable.
In 2014, following the Gaza war, UNRWA imposed disciplinary measures for Gaza staff who posted on social media about the rights of Palestinians while Israel was indiscriminately killing their families. This was done at the request of the US Administration.
Mr. Secretary-General,
Will you direct your Ethics Office to uphold the same standard of impartiality and neutrality for Cindy McCain, or will she be absolved owing to her U.S. nationality?
