US, Israel criticise UN staff over Gaza war stance amid protests, documents show
GENEVA: The United States and Israel have sent complaint letters to senior United Nations officials questioning their staff’s impartiality over the Gaza war, documents showed on Thursday (Sep 18), as hundreds of UN employees protested outside the organisation’s European headquarters.
Staff carried placards saying “Peace for Gaza” and “Not a Target”. They laid more than 370 white roses beside a memorial plaque in Geneva to represent each UN aid worker killed in the nearly two-year war.
“Today, the UN staff are coming together to say that enough is enough, to say that we cannot kill our colleagues in Gaza with such impunity and to say stop to all these murders,” said Nathalie Meynet, president of the UN refugee agency staff council.
The letters highlight rising tensions between the UN and its biggest funder, the US, which has already withdrawn from the UN Human Rights Council over what Washington calls its anti-Israel stance.
A parallel vigil at UN headquarters in New York was denied permission to proceed by management, according to a message seen by Reuters.
UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said there were “rules and regulations for staff to engage in activities outside of their normal activities which sometimes need to be applied”.
ISRAEL DENOUNCES EVENT
Israel’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva Daniel Meron denounced the Geneva protest in a Sep 10 letter to Tatiana Valovaya, director-general of the UN’s Geneva office.
“UN staff are not activists or political actors. Those who incite and participate in such politically charged activities should face disciplinary measures, including suspension,” the letter said.
Séverine Deboos, one of the organisers, denied the protest was political. “The message is in honour of our colleagues in Gaza and to thank them,” she said.
Israel says it takes care to avoid civilian deaths in its war with Hamas.
‘GRAVE VIOLATION OF NEUTRALITY’
Several hundred people joined the protest and observed a minute of silence in the Geneva sunshine.
Earlier this week, around 1,000 UN employees joined an online briefing with Francesca Albanese, a UN independent expert whose criticism of Israel has led to US sanctions.
Both Meron and US charge d’affaires Tressa Finerty complained to Valovaya in a Sep 16 email. Finerty said the matter had also been raised with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
“This is a grave violation of the UN’s principle of neutrality on multiple levels,” Finerty said.
“If UN staff during the UN workday, using UN email addresses and UN computers on UN-supplied smartphones, participate in this Teams meeting, there can be no dodging the charge that the UN is systematically and uniquely anti-Israel and, because of that, antisemitic.”
A staff union member confirmed the meeting but said it was part of core UN work. The US mission in Geneva declined to comment.
UNPRECEDENTED STAFF LOSSES
Since the conflict erupted on Oct 7, 2023, 543 aid workers have been killed in Gaza, including 373 UN staff and team members, according to UN data. The losses are unprecedented in the body’s 80-year history.
Under the UN’s Standards of Conduct for the International Civil Service, staff are advised not to take sides or express their convictions publicly on controversial issues.
Staff representatives received a management note on Sep 17 reminding them to remain impartial on the Gaza conflict, according to a confidential memo seen by Reuters.
Under-Secretary-General for Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance Catherine Pollard acknowledged in a Sep 17 letter that the loss of colleagues had caused “immense suffering”.
“I want to remind you that staff associations should not organise or promote activities that may be perceived as political in nature,” she wrote, warning of risks for the organisation.
“It’s not a question of neutrality,” said Yousra Ahmed, a UN staff worker at the protest. “I’m just outraged that the rules of the United Nations and humanitarian law are not being applied.”
