UNAIDS chief says behavior of ex-staffer was 'unacceptable'

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LONDON – The U.N. AIDS bureau acknowledged successful an interior email past week that the behaviour of a erstwhile apical authoritative toward women was “unacceptable” and was permitted by a civilization which allowed misconduct.

It was the latest improvement of a intersexual harassment ungraded that led the agency’s erstwhile person to bow retired aboriginal and resulted successful the firing of 2 staffers.

The missive appeared to beryllium a thinly veiled notation to Dr. Luiz Loures, a erstwhile U.N. adjunct secretary-general astatine UNAIDS, who allegedly forcibly kissed a staffer, Martina Brostrom, earlier trying to resistance her retired of a Bangkok edifice elevator.

Loures denied immoderate wrongdoing.

“I categorically cull the findings made nationalist by UNAIDS and support that I person ne'er sexually harassed anyone,” Loures told The Associated Press successful an email. He said that contempt volunteering to cooperate with the reopened U.N. probe into the intersexual harassment allegations, helium was ne'er interviewed by the investigators successful the latest probe, which took much than 2 years.

“The lone decision 1 whitethorn scope is that the 2nd probe was politically motivated, one-sided, unjust and not based connected nonsubjective factors,” helium wrote.

An earlier inquiry, successful which Loures did participate, recovered insufficient grounds to substantiate Brostrom’s claims, but a 2nd study from an autarkic sheet concluded that determination was a civilization of impunity and “defective leadership” astatine the Geneva-based U.N. agency.

Brostrom was dismissed by UNAIDS successful 2019, pursuing an AP story that revealed she herself was being investigated for fiscal and intersexual misconduct earlier she leveled the intersexual harassment charges against her superior, Loures.

The interior email appears to beryllium the archetypal clip UNAIDS has acknowledged wrongdoing by a elder staffer, though it didn't place Loures by name. UNAIDS spokesperson Sophie Barton-Knott said successful a connection connected Monday that matters concerning investigations and disciplinary hearings are confidential.

The misconduct accusations rocked UNAIDS’ leadership, prompted Sweden to denote it would suspend backing until a caller person was successful place, and was a large distraction for an bureau astatine the halfway of multibillion-dollar, taxpayer-funded efforts to extremity the AIDS epidemic by 2030.

UNAIDS’ Executive Director Winnie Byanyima, who took implicit successful 2019, told unit successful a connection past week she hoped the announcement of the results of the probe “could beryllium a infinitesimal of closure,” portion apologizing that the quality could “open up past trauma” for immoderate staffers.

Byanyima said the investigation, primitively handled by the World Health Organization, which oversees immoderate UNAIDS issues, concluded that the unnamed elder staffer “failed to observe the standards of behaviour required of an planetary civilian servant.”

His unacceptable attraction of women was “seemingly tolerated by elder absorption astatine UNAIDS astatine the time, perpetuating an organizational civilization which appeared to alteration specified conduct,” Byanyima said successful the connection obtained by the AP.

“I privation to guarantee you that I person taken due enactment successful this case, successful enactment with UNAIDS’ steadfast committedness to zero-tolerance for immoderate signifier of abusive conduct,” Byanyima wrote. She said she had been “frustrated by slow, cumbersome interior justness processes” astatine UNAIDS and was seeking amended solutions.

Brostrom archetypal went nationalist successful 2018 with claims that Loures sexually assaulted her during a enactment trip, and 2 different women described akin encounters with Loures, who has called the charges “baseless.” Loures aboriginal stepped down from his presumption portion erstwhile UNAIDS main Michel Sidibe near his station six months early.

An archetypal U.N. reappraisal aboriginal recovered determination was not capable grounds to beryllium Brostrom’s claims, but the sheet appointed to look into UNAIDS’ moving civilization concluded determination was a “vacuum of accountability” astatine the bureau and immoderate staffers described it arsenic a “predators’ prey ground.”

Edward Flaherty, Brostrom’s lawyer, said she had nary remark connected the latest UNAIDS email. Brostrom is presently appealing her dismissal from UNAIDS.

In caller months, the U.N. has struggled to grip expanding numbers of intersexual harassment claims amid concerns determination is small accountability astatine its specialized wellness agencies.

In May, the AP published an investigation showing elder WHO enactment was told successful 2019 of damaging intersexual misconduct claims involving WHO doctors during its effect to an Ebola outbreak successful Congo. WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus antecedently said immoderate staffer recovered to beryllium connected to intersexual harassment would beryllium instantly terminated.

One of the WHO officials informed of maltreatment claims successful writing, arsenic reported by the AP, was subsequently promoted and directed the agency's efforts to halt Ebola successful Guinea earlier this year.

WHO appointed a sheet past October to urgently analyse claims of intersexual maltreatment during the Ebola epidemic successful Congo. It has yet to merchandise immoderate findings and has resorted to asking media for much details of the alleged misconduct.

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