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Western Staff Get Zoom Links. Palestinian Staff Get Termination Letters.
Mrakic and Lazzarini: A Case Study in How Power Turns Against Palestinians “It is in the nature of power that it can also lead to abuse.” Immanuel Kant Few embody Kant’s warning about the corruption of power more clearly than UNDP’s Alessandro Mrakic and the UNRWA Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini whose decisions reveal exactly what happens when…
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Is Brazil Quietly Consolidating Control Over the ISA’s Justice System?
Today, the United Nations General Assembly is set to take a decision that will have profound implications for the International Seabed Authority (ISA) and for the integrity of the UN’s internal justice system. The Assembly will vote on the appointment of new judges to the UN Dispute Tribunal (UNDT) and the UN Appeals Tribunal (UNAT),…
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How the UN Fought a Paralyzed Staff Member in Administrative Litigation
There are cases that reveal, far more than any policy document or SG speech, what the UN truly is when stripped of its rhetoric. Two recent UNDT Orders Order No. 80 (GVA/2025) and Order No. 110 (GVA/2025), do exactly that. In May 2021, a long-serving UNEP staff member suffered a severe medical event that left…
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Inside IOM: How a Chief of Mission Accused of Sexual Harassment Remained in Post
In IOM, a Chief of Mission has been sexually harassing a dozen female staff members, with the former Director General covering for him. More than a dozen United Nations IOM female staff members filed independent complaints of sexual harassment against a current Chief of Mission. The former Director General was formally apprised of these complaints,…
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UNHCR: An Exit Interview That Confirms What Staff Have Been Reporting
In the wake of the open letter recently published from a feminist collective of UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency staff documenting two years of unresolved complaints involving intimidation, aggression, and a hostile work environment, and pointing to institutional failures across oversight, ethics, and human resources functions, I was contacted by aUNHCR junior staff member who…
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The Footnote on Sexual Harassment the United Nations Could Not Tolerate
Judicial Scrutiny, Counsel Conduct, and the Cost of Zero Tolerance “Thou Shalt Always Read The Footnotes.” A UN senior official once advised me to always pay close attention to footnotes in judgments. Footnotes are often where the real findings reside. They are discreet, carefully worded, and easy to overlook unless one understands what is at…
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Inside UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency: Women Staff Speak Out on Intimidation, Aggression and Institutional Failure
This open letter was entrusted to me for publication by a group of women staff members working within the United Nations system. It is formally addressed to Mr. Barham Salih, the newly appointed High Commissioner for UNHCR. The same concerns and supporting material were raised repeatedly over the past two years with his predecessor, Mr.…
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Why UNRWA Is Never Led by an Arab
Leadership, power, and the deliberate exclusion at the heart of the Palestine refugee system With less than two months remaining in UNRWA CG’s mandate, and as he appears to be leveraging the closing phase of his term to take far-reaching executive decisions that risk dismantling UNRWA, attention is already shifting to the question of succession.…
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Do More Harm: 650 Palestinian Staff Terminated in a Single Day as Lazzarini Accelerates the Dismantling of UNRWA Before His Departure
The Commissioner-General of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, is presiding over the deliberate dismantling of the Agency by terminating Palestinian staff en masse under false administrative pretexts in the final weeks of his mandate. In Gaza today, acting on his direct instructions, letters of termination are being issued with immediate effect to more than 620 Palestinian teachers, staff…
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A Case of Déjà Vu: Judge Buffa and the Reversal of Sexual Misconduct Judgments
A critical legal analysis of UNDT Judge Buffa’s jurisprudence on sexual harassment, sexual assault, and sexual exploitation. Despite having issued four separate UNDT judgments in sexual harassment, assault and exploitation cases in which he exonerated the perpetrators, rescinded their terminations, and awarded up to two years’ compensation in lieu, even after every single one was subsequently vacated…
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“Having a Baby in Africa Is Nothing”: The UN’s Moral Collapse
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Your Boss Comments on Your Booty But the UNDT Rules it’s Just a Deadlift Adjustment.
This week, the United Nations Dispute Tribunal issued a baffling judgment to say the very least, Novo v. Secretary-General, UNDT/2025/098 (26 November 2025), in which it rescinded the decision of termination for a former UNICEF staff member who was charged with serious misconduct for sexual harassment (and unauthorized activities). This judgment raises serious concerns about the UNDT’s understanding…
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UNStaff4Gaza: Memorial Before Justice
On 23 October, UN Staff 4 Gaza issued a press release announcing the launch of a memorial project for UN personnel killed by Israel in Gaza. The group is led by former senior UN staff, many of whom I have worked with. Before getting into what is fundamentally wrong, on multiple levels, with this action…
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The Legal Erosion of Due Process: How UNRWA’s Leadership Enabled Israel’s Narrative
A Critical Legal Analysis of UNRWA’s Commissioner-General’s Termination of Nine Gaza Staff Members I. Introduction When the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) was established in 1949, its founding resolution (302 [IV]) mandated an independent humanitarian function, insulated from political interference. The Commissioner-General, as the agency’s head, is bound by the…
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UNDP Cannot Rebuild Gaza While Terminating its Own Palestinian Staff
While UNDP Gaza leadership continues to communicate publicly about supporting Palestinians to return home, its own long-serving Palestinian staff who fled under active bombardment have already been informed that their contracts will be terminated by the end of the year. @AlessandroMrakic, the UNDP Head of the Gaza office regularly highlights UNDP’s role in helping Palestinians…
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Where Did the Money Go? Inside the UN’s Misuse of Member State Funding for Victims of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse
This week, I expose how Member States were told their contributions had funded “successful” projects for victims of sexual exploitation and abuse, while the UN’s own auditors found those very projects had failed completely. In striking contrast to the Secretary-General’s triumphant account of successfully implemented projects for victims of sexual exploitation and abuse, the United Nations’…
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The UN’s Gag Order: Staff Threatened for Speaking on Israel
On 21 September 2025, one day before the opening of the General Assembly marking the 80th Anniversary of the United Nations, the Secretary-General sent a broadcast to all UN Secretariat staff in which he threatened disciplinary action against staff who express personal views, whether in public statements, private fora, or on social media, if those…
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Irreconcilable UN Directives (UNDSS Communique of 12 October 2023) – Palestinian UNRWA Staff Punished for Complying with UNDSS Instructions
Today we expose the lies. For months, UNRWA staff, mostly Palestinian teachers, mostly women, have been unlawfully deprived of their salaries after having fled the brutal genocide in Gaza. But today, after we obtained and verified the UNDSS communiqué, we publish proof that the United Nations itself encouraged UN Palestinian staff to leave Gaza to a third country. On 12…
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Dont Look Away
This picture is published with the explicit consent of Nadia, the widow of Ahmad, an UNRWA staff member killed by Israel on 29 May 2025 on Al-Tina Street in Khan Younis, in front of the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation parcels of death. Ahmad was no stranger to service to Palestinian refugees. For 19 years, he…
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UNRWA Cuts Salaries of 480 Women Who Escaped the Bombs
Open LetterTo the Executive Directors of UN Women, UNICEF, and UNFPA Nadine Kaddoura Founder @CERTIORARIS and former UN Senior Staff 15 September 2025 To:Ms. Sima Bahous, Secretary-General of the United Nations cc: Deputy Secretary-General, Ms. Amina J. Mohammed Ms. Catherine Russell, Executive Director, UNICEF Ms. Diene Keita, Executive Director of UNFPA Ms. Reem Alsalem UN…
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UNRWA Under Siege from Within: The Commissioner-General’s War on His Own Palestinian Staff
In the past year, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini has made himself directly complicit in stripping Palestinian staff of their rights, protection, and dignity. Here is the record: 🔴 1. At the start of the Gaza war, he ordered international staff to evacuate UNRWA facilities and abandoned the Palestinian staff with nothing but a two-word text: “Good luck.” That message…
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Open Letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations
Urgent Call for Action – Unlawful Withholding of Salaries from 625 UNRWA Palestinian Staff “I am one of your UNRWA staff. I fled Gaza nine months pregnant, starving, my body breaking down from malnutrition and high blood pressure. Doctors warned me I might be cut open without anesthesia. I begged for help, sent my medical…
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Who Will Be Bombed Next?
On 22 September, the General Assembly will resume the High-Level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution. For those who missed the first round back in July: this conference was mandated by Member States through two GA resolutions. France and Saudi Arabia were named co-chairs, and…
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UNAT Calls the Palestinian Suffering Under Israeli Occupation “Ordinary”
At the very moment the United Nations, through the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), acknowledges the devastation in the occupied West Bank, UNRWA management is actively punishing its staff, and the United Nations Appeals Tribunal (UNAT) reinforces this by refusing to recognize the exceptional hardship they endure. In July 2025, OHCHR…
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Open Letter to Mr. Guy Ryder, USG for Policy and Head of the UN80 Taskforce
To: Mr. Guy Bernard Ryder, USG for Policy and Head of the UN80 Taskforce cc: Mr. António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations Ms. Elinor Hammarskjold, USG for Office of Legal Affairs Ms. Catherine Pollard, USG for Management Mr. Courtenay Rattray, Chef de Cabinet Mr. Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General Subject: UN80 Early Separation…
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Staff Beware: If the Tribunal Says It’s Unlawful, Why Is UN80 Asking You to Sign It?
As USGs and ASGs shield themselves behind UN80 to settle scores and terminate staff under the guise of budget cuts and restructuring, the United Nations Office of Human Resources (OHR) has gone a step further. In a calculated effort to insulate themselves from future appeals and avoid paying higher awards before the UNDT and UNAT,…
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Do You See the People You’re Leading?
In my latest article, I explore why organizations, in this case study- UNESCO (and those in positions of authority) so often dismiss requests they deem excessive, when in fact these are routine, legitimate needs of long-serving staff, often entangled in complex personal circumstances. In doing so, the institution exposes itself to avoidable disputes and unnecessary…
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Apparently, You Can Survive Mortar Fire But Not a Footnote in ST/AI/2012/3 (Field staff risk their lives. HQ staff revise the rules.)
Picture taken by Nadine Kaddoura/Homs 2012 The staff in Geneva and New York and the legal apparatus that shields them have long treated field staff as second class. And when I speak about field staff, I don’t mean only those in the Field Service category, but all staff serving in field duty stations, particularly in…
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What’s Your Xanax Dose Today? The UN Tribunal Wants to Know.
⚠️ Trigger Warning: This post contains references to mental illness, psychiatric treatment, and the public disclosure of confidential medical records. In what can only be described as a fundamental breach of the principles of due process, medical confidentiality, and dignity in adjudication, the United Nations Dispute and Appeals Tribunals (UNDT and UNAT) have entered dangerous territory: staff members…
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They Warned of Millions Lost in the Pension Fund. The UN Fired Them.
Last week, the UNDT issued a damning judgment, UNDT /2025/039, Applicant vs Secretary-General which will no doubt have the UN administration pursuing them like hell at the UNAT in an effort to reverse it. Three bombshell findings before we dive into the details: But that’s not all. In this case, we also learn that OIOS’s so-called “seizure…
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What Really Happens at UNICEF When You Report Sexual Harassment
A long-serving international female staff member at UNICEF Lana* (name changed to protect her identity) found herself trapped in an ethical and institutional nightmare after reporting sexual harassment and abuse of authority by a senior official in UNICEF’s Executive Office. The staff member had spent 15 years in the UN system. When the sexual harassment and abuse…
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Survive One of the Largest Explosions in Modern History, Get PTSD, Get Terminated: The UN’s Mental Health Strategy in Action
🔺 Trigger Warning: This post contains references to the 2020 Beirut explosion, psychological trauma, and institutional neglect related to mental health. Please take care while reading. The UN’s mental health strategy looks great in PowerPoint. But when a staff member survives one of the largest explosions in history and develops PTSD, the response is to deny remote…
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How Can You Trust UN80 When Senior UN Leaders Are Dismantling Justice?
While Everyone’s Watching UN Budget Cuts, Two USGs Are Acting With Total Impunity and No One’s Paying Attention As all eyes at the United Nations remain glued to budget slashes and the highly publicized UN80 staffing and structure review, two Under-Secretary-Generals (USGs) are quietly bulldozing every rule, principle, and safeguard that underpins international civil service…
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700 Killed, 560 Silenced: UNRWA, the UN Agency That Punishes Its Dead
One year ago, I published two articles exposing the deeply entrenched discrimination by UNRWA’s senior management against its Palestinian staff. Today, new and disturbing developments have emerged: ones that point not only to continued injustice but to an alarming pattern of decisions by the Commissioner-General and Western White Leadership within UNRWA that appear to serve…
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The UN vs. the Global South Woman: What the Hosali UNAT Judgment Reveals About Institutionalized Discrimination
Three months ago, I wrote about an important UN Dispute Tribunal case: Hosali vs. Secretary-General of the United Nations (UNDT/2024/017), which powerfully exposed the gap between the UN’s public commitments to gender parity and geographical diversity, and its actual recruitment practices. The case centered on Mita Hosali, an Indian national and longtime UN staff member…
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Coercion in the Name of Justice: OSLA’s Troubling Transformation
OSLA, the UN Office of Staff Legal Assistance, once a champion for staff rights, has transformed into an instrument of the administration. Today, it does not just fail to protect UN employees, it unfortunately actively pressures them into unethical agreements that strip them of their rights. Staff members facing disciplinary actions are coerced into signing…
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The UN’s Silent Workforce: Non-Staff Personnel
In the corridors of United Nations offices worldwide, a large but often invisible workforce sustains the organization’s daily operations. These are the non-staff personnel: consultants, contractors, daily paid, UNVs, interns and other non-staff individuals whose numbers account for nearly half of the UN’s total workforce. By design, their contracts offer the UN flexibility and cost-efficiency,…
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Why Is the United Nations Silencing Its Own Human Rights Watchdogs?
Not many people know what a Special Rapporteur actually does. They’re independent experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council to report on specific human rights issues. What’s even less known is that these individuals do this critical work without earning a single penny. That’s right—they’re not paid for their efforts, whether it’s investigating…
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Shielding Misconduct: How OIOS and the SG Weaponize Operational Independence
The United Nations administration wields an overwhelming imbalance of power in appeals launched by staff against the organization. Nowhere is this more apparent than in cases involving the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), where bad faith actions and obstructions often define the process. The Organization typically holds nearly all the evidence relevant to the…
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Neurodivergence and the United Nations: A Test of True Inclusion
“I am not feeling better, not at all. I have high blood pressure and panic attacks, one happened after I saw your message yesterday. I am not sure whether you are aware, but I have long-standing [depression], and recently my doctor doubled my medication because of the nervous breakdown. Nevertheless, even being on sick leave,…
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Exposing Racial Discrimination and Gross Incompetence Against African Colleagues in the United Nations
Today, I am sharing a deeply concerning letter addressed to the UN Secretary-General and the Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services (OIOS). The letter highlights systemic failures and racial discrimination exposed in two recent judgments (BANGAMBILA v. SG and KISUMIRO v. SG), involving unethical conduct by a senior OIOS investigator and the inaction of their supervisors. These judgments reveal: Key…
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Taking Note and Doing Nothing: The UN’s Broken Promises on Racism and Harassment
Why does the United Nations repeatedly fail to address the firmly entrenched issues of racism and harassment within its own ranks? Every year, the Ombudsman’s Office sounds the alarm, highlighting systemic failures in the workplace and devastating issues such as racism and harassment in the workplace. Every year, the Secretary-General presents these damning findings to…
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If You’re a Senior Internal Female Candidate from the Global South, 2025 is Not Your Year for Advancement in the UN
A recent UNDT judgment Hosali vs Secretary general of the United Nations UNDT/2024/017 exposes the extent to which the UN manipulates recruitment processes to disadvantage internal candidates, particularly women from the Global South, in favor of external candidates with zero experience within the organization. Consider this: In December 2014, the General Assembly adopted resolution A/Res/70/133, expressing serious concern about…
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Swept Under the Rug: Grooming and Pedophilia Allegations Covered Up by Senior UNHQ Officials
Trigger Warning: This content discusses sensitive topics, including sexual harassment, grooming, pedophilia, and abuse of authority. Reader discretion is advised A Judgment Detached from Reality On 11 November 2024, the United Nations Appeals Tribunal (UNAT) issued a final judgment in the case of Sandi Arnold vs. the Secretary-General of the United Nations Judgment No. 2024-UNAT-1477. That…
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Certioraris: From Silence to Reform, Independent Advocacy for Justice in the UN
As we approach the end of the year, I want to take a moment to reflect on something that has shaped my work and so many of yours: Certioraris. ✨ This month marks the two-year anniversary since its establishment—two years of supporting, guiding, and amplifying the voices of those who needed it most. Over these years, I’ve spoken…
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“Just Let’s Wiggle a Little Bit”: Survivors Expose Sexual Harassment in UNHCR
This week, I continue my mission to expose the endemic issue of sexual harassment within the United Nations system. Once again, UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency, finds itself under the spotlight. The sexual predator, a senior staff member holding the position of Deputy Representative of UNHCR Operations in Niger at the P5 level, was…
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A Serial Kisser in the UN: When Harassment Is Dismissed as Festive Fun
⚠️ Trigger Warning: This article contains detailed descriptions of workplace sexual harassment, which may be distressing to some readers, especially survivors of similar experiences. Please proceed with caution and prioritize your well-being. “I’m a serial kisser.” These were the chilling words of AAY, a P-5 level United Nations staff member, at UNHQ in New Yorkwhen describing…
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Why Misuse of $300,000 Is Forgiven: Betraying Africa and the UN’s Double Standards
In a not-so-surprising end-of-the-year twist from the UN Dispute Tribunal, a judgment in Egenhoff v. Secretary-General of the United Nations (UNDT/2024/108) was issued two days ago, shedding light on the alarming hypocrisy and casual horror with which the United Nations mismanages funds entrusted by donors and member states. Among the most shocking revelations was an…
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UNDT Judgment Exposes Culture of Impunity for Senior Sexual Predators
In a shocking judgment issued last week UNDT/2024/100 ATR vs. SG of the United Nations, the UNDT exposed the United Nations’ fallacious standards regarding #sexualharassment and the preferential treatment afforded to some of its senior sexual predators. Despite numerous policies such as ST/ICs, ST/AIs, and ST/SGBs, allegations of sexual harassment within the #UnitedNations were still…
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UNICEF’s Dilemma: Defender of Children or Destroyer of Families?
This is the story of a mother and #UNICEF staff member, whose treatment by the very organization tasked with protecting children’s rights stands as a shocking betrayal of its mandate. The staff member began her journey with #UNICEF in #Gaza as a UN Volunteer (UNV) Assistant Education Officer in October 2022. By February 2024, pregnant…
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“The UN’s Quiet Betrayal: Palestinian Staff Who Fled Gaza Face Job Termination”
This article exposes disturbing news within the United Nations’ humanitarian agencies: the World Food Programme (WFP), the World Health Organization (WHO), and UNICEF are preparing to terminate the contracts of Palestinian staff who fled Gaza for safety. These staff members, who at great personal expense relocated to escape the intensifying conflictin Gaza, have continued to…
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Inside the UN’s Culture of Retaliation: A Senior Staff’s Story of Integrity, Corruption, and Justice Denied
Three years ago today, I won my second and final appeal against the United Nations—a victory that, while significant, laid bare the depth of the UN’s failures in delivering real justice. As a former UN Chief of Operations, I dedicated over 20 years to upholding the values the United Nations claims to represent. But when I…
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Open Letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations
Mr. António Guterres Subject: Accountability and Action Required on the Ongoing Genocide in Palestine Mr. Secretary-General, While we recognize that the United Nations reflects the collective will of its member states, these states must take greater action. However, your position as Secretary-General demands more from you in this critical moment for humanity. It is unfathomable…
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2024 Worst Year for MultiLateralism at the United Nations?
2024 is the year that witnessed the highest number of extrajudicial killings carried out by the state of Israel.Hello, Morris Tidball-Binz, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. Your views? 2024 is the year that saw the highest number of Children Killed and DECAPITATED by the state of Israel Hello, Virgina Gamba, Secretary-General’s Special Representative…
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UNRWA hires more international surge staff while it cuts off salaries of Palestinian staff killed in the line of duty
UNRWA management is no longer reporting the deaths of UNRWA Palestinian staff members killed by I@r@e@ in Gaza. UNRWA Commissioner-General reports the death of approximately 207 Palestinian staff members, but this number is incorrect. The actual figure is much higher, double or triple, around 500. This number excludes the hundreds of dependents that have not…
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The United Nations’Complicity in the Gaza Genocide
With the focus of global attention now on Iran’s retaliation to the Israeli assault on the Iranian embassy in Syria, the UN Secretary-General is providing additional cover for Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza. Seemingly overnight, the world’s collective gaze has swerved towards issues of ballistic missiles, belligerence, the principle of reciprocation, and Article 51 of…
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Defund as You May, The Right of Return will Not Cease to Exist, Palestine is Here To Stay.
The recent strategic move by Israel, the US, and various other Western nations to defund UNRWA is nothing but a well-orchestrated move to dismantle the Un Agency, in the mistaken confidence that doing so would somehow erase the inalienable right of return that Palestinians claim. The deja vu crisis of defunding is about much more…
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It is Time to Decolonize the United Nations
Yesterday, the Secretary-General issued a statement on Gaza that began with a lengthy paragraph that condemned Hamas and highlighted the suffering of the Israeli people in great detail. However, throughout the two-page discourse, the name of Israel was seemingly forgotten, not even a single mention. The Security Council is occupied by Western powers, which has rendered it…
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On New Year’s Eve, Women Need Sanitary Pads
As the year draws to a close, people started to exchange end-of-year reflections, New Year’s resolutions, and heartfelt New Year greetings for 2024 across various social media platforms. But one Palestinian journalist in Gaza Hind Khoudari, who had been reporting non stop from the Gaza Strip had a different end-of-year message: She tweeted: “I never thought…
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In Memory of The Palestinian Girl with A Candy Roll in Her Hand
In the bustling neighborhood of Khan Yunis, tucked away in the heart of Gaza, a little girl was born. She was raised amidst the doting love of her father (her baba), nurturing mother, and caring siblings – her universe, confined within the simplicity of their humble dwelling. Each week, following the Friday prayer, they would…
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Dichotomy of a Genocide
A brief while before the onset of the new Gaza war on October 7, heads of state conveyed promising declarations at the 78th United Nations General Assembly. Unbeknownst to them, just a few days later, a devastating Genocide would tragically unfold on the Palestinian people in the Gaza strip. The Israeli Prime Minister’s earnest endeavor in…
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Unveiling the Truth: How the United Nations Conceals Facts about Protection of UNRWA Palestinian Staff
In the year following the tragic 2003 suicide attack in Baghdad, a devastating event that claimed the lives of 22 United Nations personnel, including the Secretary-General’s envoy to Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello, the United Nations established the UN Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS). The United Nations Department for Safety and Security (UNDSS) currently operates under…
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Why are the lives of UNRWA Palestinian staff cheaper than those of international staff?
The UN Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) was created one year after the 2003 suicide bombing in Baghdad that killed 22 UN staff, including the organization’s representative in Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello. UNDSS is currently led by an Under Secretary-General (Gilles Michaud). He is responsible for the safety, security, and well-being of personnel…
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A GENOCIDE in Plain Sight
This Friday, 8 December, the Office of the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide will mark the 75th Anniversary of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The Secretary-General did not dare to use the word Genocide to describe the 24-hour live Israeli eradication of Palestinian babies and children…
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A UN official who has lost the confidence of his staff must leave.
The United Nations must come to terms with the fact that many of its staff and members of its wider family disagree with its leadership and stance on the Gaza war. To what extent can United Nations staff remain silent when the tenets of the Organization they have sworn office to are decimated and violated daily? The principles of…
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WFP Staff Union denounces the use of starvation as a Weapon of War
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…
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The immorality of the United Nations.
As Israel continues its ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people, the United Nations is losing its last shred of morality. The Israeli government has informed the UN that it will not renew the visa of Lynn Hastings, the U.N. resident coordinator and humanitarian coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The Israeli government has asked the…
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How the United Nations Discriminates Against UNRWA Palestinian Local Staff – Call for Action No. 2
Yesterday, the Commissioner General of UNRWA pinned a new tweet on X praising his UNRWA colleagues as the “true heroes” as they continue to “put on their UN vest and go to work every day.” UNRWA’s senior management rushed to post many videos and statements on social media praising the dedication of UNRWA Palestinian local staff who have…
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A call for Action: Compensation for the Palestinian local staff of UNRWA killed by Israel in Gaza.
For years, the United Nations has discriminated against the #UNRWA Palestinian local staff by excluding them from coverage under two key UN policies that apply to ALL United Nations staff in times of war. UNRWA Palestinian local staff have been systematically excluded from the coverage under these two policies and discriminated against due to cost…
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How the UN discriminates against its own Palestinian staff.
Many are unaware that the 102 United Nations staff whom Israel killed in Gaza were all Palestinians. They were all local staff. They were all from UNRWA. UN offices worldwide lowered their flags to half-mast on November 13th, mourning the loss of 102 UNRWA staff killed by Israel since the start of the war in…
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The United Nations smells of death.
A few days ago, on 11 October 2023, the Fourth Committee of the United Nations (Special Political and Decolonization) approved nineteen draft resolutions as it wrapped up its general debate on decolonization. Unsurprisingly, the three countries that consistently voted against several of these resolutions were Israel, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The resolution…
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To the United Nations we say: Your Silence is Deafening
The fact that Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu was allowed in late September 2023 to publicly hold a map of the “New Middle East” inside the General Assembly of the United Nations without #Palestine showing on this map speaks volumes about the United Nations’ lack of impartiality in this conflict and its outright support to Israel committing war…
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How OIOS, the Controller, and a weak UNDT order on interim measures will force a long-term serving D-2 Director out of the United Nations.
A committed long-term serving United Nations senior staff, Mr. Anthony O’Mullane, Director at the D-2 level in the Office of Information and Communications Technology (OICT), is facing a malicious scheme to marginalize and ostracize him under the pretext of the illustrious “restructuring exercise” in retaliation for having denounced financial irregularities in the UN Secretariat. Once…
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We want to ask you, Mr. Secretary General, why can’t you make former staff members “Whole” again?
The Secretary-General relentlessly pursues his attempts to circumvent the proper Administration of Justice by forcing his proposals to amend the Statute of the Dispute Tribunal. A few days ago, the latest report of the Secretary-General A/78/156 on the Administration of Justice at the United Nations was released. Besides the numerous pages of redundant data on…
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The United Nations Dispute Tribunal at the Mercy of the Secretary-General
How the Secretary-General keeps circumventing the authorities of the Tribunal to gain total control of the judiciary power. Another damning report that will eventually go unnoticed during the seventy-eight session of the General Assembly is the Internal Justice Council A/78/121 report, which the General Assembly will consider under item 144 of the preliminary list (Administration…
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Trumping Accountability in the United Nations: How the Secretary-General and a Failed Oversight Mechanism Keep Shielding Misconduct of Senior Appointees.
Silence in the face of the abuse of power. You are a Director at the D-1 level. You have served the United Nations with excellence, dedication, and passion for twenty years. You just returned from maternity leave while still nursing your daughter. You are assigned a new supervisor at the Assistant Secretary-General level. You are…
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“Review of the jurisdictional set-up of the United Nations Common System” – the Secretary-General’s new alarming report to the 78th General Assembly session
After fiercely objecting to the proposals of the UNDT and the UNAT to amend their rules of procedures to restore a more balanced approach to justice benefitting staff and helping curtail the Secretary-General’s maneuvering in court proceedings, which are many, the Secretary-General has now submitted his report and proposals on the “Review of the jurisdictional set-up…
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“I mean, how difficult is it not to kiss somebody on the lips? Right?”
Right. Instinctively, all women will relate to the recent story of Luis Rubiales forcing his now-infamous Kiss on Jenni Hermoso and the kind of behavior that a high-ranking official like Rubiales should not display. Strangely enough, this question was asked by the United Nations Secretary-General’s Official Spokesman during the daily noon briefings: “Question: Thanks. Given…
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Your Honour: A Kiss is not a Free Pass for Sex.
As a follow-up to two recent Certioraris blog posts about a UNDT judge adopting a sexist and victim-blaming approach to recent cases of sexual harassment and sexual exploitation in the United Nations, my jurisprudence research led me to an appalling dissenting opinion by the same Judge in yet another judgment in which he obscenely blamed…
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The Classic One.
What happens when you’re a female staff member, sexually harassed by supervisors who abuse their authority for three years, and Administration does nothing to protect you? NOTHING. The Story started in February 2020. Female staff member. Sexually harassed by her supervisor. Submits official complaints of sexual harassment and abuse of authority to OIOS and Conduct…
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Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in the United Nations – a discerning statement
On the 1st of May 2023, for the second part of the 77th’s resumed General Assembly session, the Secretary-General of the United Nations presented his report on the Special Measures for Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse. One of the Secretary-General’s statements in his report stood out. Stood out. The Secretary-General stated that: “No allegations could indicate…
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Endemic Coercion Schemes: #UNRWA’s savvy “Separation Agreements”
Consider this. You are a long-term senior UN staff. You are invited to a meeting with an Under-Secretary-General. You are accused of serious misconduct and asked to resign. You refuse. A few hours later, you are presented with a termination letter effective the same day. No investigation, due process, an opportunity to respond, right to…
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What does a guilty sexual harasser deserve? According to UNAT: dignity and respect.
In a UNAT judgment issued last week, the Tribunal appallingly held that sexual harassment offenders are entitled to be treated with dignity and respect, just like victims and survivors. A P-3 staff member of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reported sexual harassment by both her first reporting officer (FRO) and her…
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A “Boys will be Boys” Judgment casts doubts about the UNDT’s interpretation of the United Nations’ zero-tolerance policy on sexual harassment and the cost of perpetuating the Boys’Club culture of impunity.
“Your breasts look like mountains….” “The water jets in the pool could be pleasurable between a woman’s legs….” Let me show you a picture you’ll find amusing: a picture of a penis on my phone. These are a few examples of a male #unitednations staff member’s comments and actions toward his female colleagues during a…
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Please Let Me Take Care of My Baby and Keep My Job with the United Nations…
“No.” That was the short answer of UNHCR. For a staff member who has been serving with them for sixteen years. Sixteen years. Yes. Let’s first recap the recent statements of the Secretary-General and his global advocacy efforts before delving into the shocking details of this fresh appeal. In his own words, the Secretary-General proudly…
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What is the point of moral damages, we ask?
Following my recent review of 12-year moral damages at the UNDT, I am sharing my second 12-year review of moral damages at the ILOAT. Apart from the fact that words such as stress, harassment, institutional harassment, harm to Dignitas, humiliation, suffering, moral injury, severe distress, and retaliation are common denominators for the two lists, one…
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Unearthing key reports buried deep in the UN ODS system…
In 2005, the General Assembly commissioned an expert Redesign Panel to look into a new justice administration system and make recommendations for its set-up. The Redesign Panel noted that reforming the internal justice system was essential for reforming the Organization. It further cautioned that a large part of the management culture in the Organization existed…
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Who is responsible for the obstruction of justice in the United Nations?
Note: This post is to be read in conjunction with the previous one. The UNDT has recently proposed amendments to its rule of procedures Annex I of the Report of the Secretary-General on Administration of Justice A/77/156. In its introductory paragraph, page 30, the UNDT recalled that the “current rules of procedure were adopted before…
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Your everyday justice story, but something else is brewing…behind the scenes
Staff members prefer to avoid the UN system of justice. With regards to UNDT, they describe it as a cumbersome process, clearly representing a disparity in representation powers, leaning more towards management, not doing enough of what it should be, and quickly disposing of cases, particularly termination cases. As to UNAT, one former UN senior…
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“To Build a World of Justice, We Must Be Just” ~ Dag Hammarskjöld, former Secretary-General of the United Nations
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Settlement Agreements, Non-Disclosure Agreements, Agreed Terminations, and Separation Agreements in the United Nations.
The UN has all that it takes: Ethics Offices, an Ombudsman, numerous policies, SGBs, ST/Ais addressing unsatisfactory conduct, investigations, discrimination, harassment, and abuse of authority, a decentralized system of administration of justice, a code of conduct, Oath of Office and above all its Charter: “We The People Of The United Nations Determined to reaffirm faith…
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On Impropriety in Recruitment and Selection Processes, Misrepresentation and Referral for Accountability .
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On Reassignment, Restructuring and Abolition of Posts
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