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LONDON (AP) — When a doc tweeted that she was “sexually assaulted” by a World Health Organization staffer astatine a Berlin league successful October, the U.N. agency’s director-general assured her that WHO had “zero tolerance” for specified misconduct.
WHO main Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus replied to her, saying helium was “horrified” by the accusations of groping and unwelcome intersexual advances. He offered his idiosyncratic assistance, WHO suspended the staffer and the bureau opened an probe that is nearing its conclusion.
But interior documents obtained by The Associated Press amusement the aforesaid WHO staffer, Fijian doc Temo Waqanivalu, was antecedently accused by different pistillate of sexually harassing her respective years ago. That assertion was flagged to elder bureau directors and others successful 2018, earlier the accuser was informed that pursuing a ceremonial probe mightiness not beryllium successful her champion interests, according to the documents.
A erstwhile WHO ombudsman who helped measure the erstwhile allegation against Waqanivalu noted the similarities betwixt the 2 women’s accusations, respective years apart, and suggested the bureau had missed a accidental to basal retired atrocious behavior.
“I felt highly aggravated and blameworthy that the dysfunctional (WHO) justness strategy has led to different battle that could person been prevented,” said the staffer, who spoke to the AP connected information of anonymity for fearfulness of losing their job.
The erstwhile allegation didn’t derail Waqanivalu’s vocation astatine WHO. As the caller accusation surfaced, helium was positioning himself for an exceptionally large promotion with a precise nationalist role: He was seeking to go WHO’s apical authoritative successful the occidental Pacific, with enactment from Fiji’s premier minister, different Pacific islands and WHO colleagues, messages show.
The determination manager would enactment countries warring problems including dengue, malaria and bosom disease, arsenic good arsenic coordinating the archetypal planetary effect to immoderate caller emerging outbreaks — arsenic was the lawsuit erstwhile the coronavirus was archetypal detected successful China successful precocious 2019.
Waqanivalu hung up erstwhile the AP contacted him for comment. He didn’t respond to respective follow-up requests sent done email and 2 messaging apps.
Waqanivalu “categorically” denied that helium had ever sexually assaulted anyone, including astatine the Berlin conference, according to correspondence betwixt him and WHO investigators that the AP obtained. He said the accusations were “false” and could “irreparably damage” his vocation and reputation.
The doc said determination whitethorn person been “a communal misunderstanding” successful Berlin and that his accuser was perchance “under the power of alcohol.” He said helium was “bewildered” and “confused” by the intersexual misconduct allegation.
The U.N. wellness bureau said successful an email that it could not remark connected idiosyncratic cases for confidentiality and owed process reasons, but that intersexual misconduct by anyone moving for the bureau is “unacceptable.”
WHO said its probe into the Berlin league ailment “is successful its last stage” and that a report, which volition not beryllium publically released, would soon beryllium submitted to Tedros.
“Perpetrators of intersexual misconduct look sedate consequences, including dismissal,” WHO said. It added that the names of perpetrators are entered into a U.N. screening database, to debar their aboriginal employment.
In a code posted to Twitter successful December, Tedros said that “sexual misconduct is peculiarly sedate erstwhile the perpetrators are our ain personnel.” He called intersexual misconduct by WHO staffers “a usurpation of the spot placed successful WHO to service nationalist health.”
On Wednesday, hours aft this communicative was published, WHO told staffers it was forming a committee connected “formal complaints of abusive conduct,” according to an interior email. The committee is to see 15 staffers, astir of them designated by the U.N. agency’s director-general.
The claims against Waqanivalu are the latest successful a bid of misconduct accusations against radical moving for WHO, which is mandated to pb the planetary effect to acute crises including COVID-19 and Ebola.
In May 2021, the AP reported that elder WHO managers were informed of sex maltreatment allegations during a Congo Ebola outbreak but did small to halt it. A sheet appointed by WHO aboriginal recovered that more than 80 workers nether WHO’s absorption sexually abused women. No elder WHO officials tied to the exploitation person been fired.
And WHO’s past regional manager successful the occidental Pacific -- the idiosyncratic Waqanivalu was seeking to regenerate -- was put connected permission successful August, aft AP reported that galore staffers had accused him of racist and abusive behaviour that compromised the U.N. agency’s effect to COVID-19.
In the coming weeks, the agency’s highest governing assemblage is gathering to acceptable nationalist wellness priorities and to code captious administrative concerns, including intersexual misconduct. The officials besides whitethorn sermon however and erstwhile the predetermination for the region’s adjacent manager mightiness occur.
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The earlier accusation against Waqanivalu came aft a 2017 chronic diseases store successful Japan, wherever a WHO worker said that Waqanivalu had harassed her astatine a post-work meal and connected different occasions. Her study was shared with elder WHO officials, according to documents obtained by the AP.
“Under the table, (Waqanivalu) took disconnected his shoes, lifted 1 of his legs and toe(s) betwixt my legs,” the pistillate wrote successful the 2018 report. “It took maine a portion to process what was really happening.”
She near the edifice and said Waqanivalu followed her to a adjacent bid station. That’s wherever helium grabbed her hand, asked if she was seeing anyone and questioned wherefore she was not attracted to him, she reported.
After she said goodbye, Waqanivalu “proceeded to springiness maine a hug, grabbing my buttocks with some of his hands and trying to buss my lips,” the pistillate said. She said she turned her caput to debar him and moved his hands.
The pistillate is identified successful the documents, but the AP does not typically sanction radical who accidental they person been sexually harassed unless they travel guardant publicly. The AP contacted the woman, but she declined to comment.
According to WHO protocols, her ailment should person been investigated by the organization’s bureau of interior oversight, pursuing guidance from ombudsmen, who assistance unit mediate unit problems.
After submitting her confidential study to WHO’s “integrity hotline” successful July 2018, the lawsuit was “tossed astir successful (Geneva) for months” among officials tasked with misconduct claims, an ombudsman wrote to the pistillate successful an email obtained by the AP.
“It seems our interior process is not businesslike capable to code specified cases,” the ombudsman said.
Months aft raising her concerns, the pistillate was informed by the WHO ombudman’s bureau that its manager had decided to springiness Waqanivalu a wide “informal warning” that didn’t notation the alleged misconduct. Following that discussion, the bureau of the ombudsman and morals considered the lawsuit closed, the pistillate wrote successful an email to a WHO official.
In a follow-up connection to a WHO ombudsman, the pistillate said the agency’s morals bureau told her it would beryllium hard to beryllium a intersexual harassment case, saying it mightiness “compromise” her sanction and that she apt lacked “hard evidence.” She said she was besides warned that Waqanivalu could record his ain ailment against her for “degrading/dishonouring” his sanction and was told that pressing for an probe “may not beryllium the champion enactment for me.”
WHO’s quality resources manager astatine the clip told colleagues successful a November 2018 email that the manager of the agency’s compliance, hazard absorption and morals section had been informed of the allegations against Waqanivalu.
“He is alert of the lawsuit ... (and has) the substance successful hand,” the quality resources manager said successful an email obtained by AP.
It is unclear if immoderate probe was ever conducted.
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In October, Waqanivalu sat connected a sheet astatine the World Health Summit successful Berlin, a high-level league with planetary heads of state.
In a edifice lobby 1 evening, galore radical were having drinks, including Waqanivalu and Dr. Rosie James, a young British-Canadian doc and erstwhile advisor for WHO.
“We were talking astir his enactment astatine WHO and helium conscionable started putting his manus connected my bottommost and keeping it there,” James told the AP. She said she felt intimidated talking to a elder manager astatine the organization. “I felt this powerfulness dynamic and I was truly uncomfortable,” she said, explaining that she moved distant to articulation her friends, who told her Waqanivalu’s actions were inappropriate.
“Somehow I ended up talking to him again and helium was virtually holding my bum cheek,” she said. James said Waqanivalu “firmly held my buttock successful his manus aggregate times (and) pressed his groin” into her. Before Waqanivalu left, she says helium cornered her and repeatedly asked for her edifice country number.
Later that night, she tweeted astir the encounter, saying that she was “sexually assaulted” and that “this was not the archetypal clip successful the planetary wellness sphere that this has occurred.” WHO main Tedros replied, pledging to bash “everything we tin to assistance you.”
James was aboriginal interviewed by WHO’s investigators. She said WHO officials told her she would not beryllium entitled to spot its last probe report. James besides said Tedros ne'er personally followed up straight but said the agency’s communications manager contacted her and that the 2 had luncheon during the Berlin conference. She said WHO besides offered to reimburse her for immoderate backstage therapy costs related to her brushwood with Waqanivalu.
Waqanivalu told WHO investigators helium greeted James that evening “by tapping her connected her near precocious arm” and did not judge that was inappropriate, according to a grounds of the treatment obtained by AP. He acknowledged asking for her edifice country number, saying helium made the petition “to connect, if request be.”
“I callback that we faced each different the full clip with astir an arm’s magnitude region betwixt us,” Waqanivalu told investigators, adding that the speech lasted astir 5 minutes. He said helium believed radical successful the group, including James, “were nether the power of alcohol” and that helium remembered the lawsuit arsenic “a bully evening mixing astir with everyone.”
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Waqanivalu is simply a portion caput astatine WHO’s Geneva headquarters, overseeing a tiny squad successful the non-communicable diseases department. He has been featured successful respective WHO Facebook videos and besides sits connected the agency’s health, information and wellbeing committee.
Last fall, helium enactment himself guardant arsenic a campaigner to beryllium WHO’s adjacent manager for the occidental Pacific, a portion that has a 4th of the world’s population.
“The acquisition and expertise I person gathered implicit the years … person fixed maine the applicable credentials to pb the Western Pacific,” Waqanivalu wrote successful a September missive addressed to Fiji’s then-Prime Minister Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama and different officials.
About a week aft the Berlin conference, the seat of WHO’s apical governing assemblage successful the portion told Waqanivalu successful a connection seen by the AP that his sanction was mentioned “as a imaginable candidate” to beryllium the adjacent determination director. The seat messaged him to accidental that Pacific wellness ministers planned to propulsion for a campaigner from the region.
“That would beryllium an accidental for you, Dr. Temo,” Waqanivalu was told.
Correspondence obtained by the AP betwixt Waqanivalu and a elder staffer successful Bainimarama’s bureau besides amusement Waqanivalu asked astir formalizing his candidacy.
A memo from the premier minister’s bureau dated Oct. 17 and marked “approved,” confirmed “Fiji’s projected candidacy” of Waqanivalu to the position. A handwritten enactment said officials should coordinate with the country’s ministry of wellness and pass each different Pacific nations of Waqanivalu’s candidacy. Bainimarama, who mislaid a December predetermination successful Fiji, did not respond to aggregate requests for remark from the AP.
Waqanivalu’s candidacy besides had supporters wrong WHO itself. A WHO-produced election-style run brochure created successful September — earlier the Berlin league — outlined his imaginativeness for the portion and was aimed to garner votes from subordinate countries successful the region.
“Under my leadership, WHO volition empower radical to service wrong their countries,” the papers reads.
Paula Donovan is co-director of the Code Blue campaign, which seeks to clasp U.N. unit accountable for intersexual offenses. She said the allegations regarding Waqanivalu were unsurprising but profoundly worrying.
She said it was peculiarly concerning that an authoritative accused of intersexual harassment had been perchance successful enactment for specified a salient enactment relation and that WHO seemingly had failed to uphold its ain “zero tolerance” argumentation for unprofessional behavior.
“It’s patently mendacious that WHO does not condone intersexual misconduct,” Donovan said, calling for its subordinate countries to overhaul the agency’s interior structures truthful that its officials are held accountable. “When WHO keeps this benignant of worldly nether wraps, they are giving intersexual predators carte blanche to bash it again with impunity.”
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives enactment from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely liable for each content.
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