UN elections official to be dismissed for harassment
By Edith M. Lederer
December 4, 2005
The Chicago Tribune
Original Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0512040328dec04,1,5792388.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed



NEW YORK -- Secretary General Kofi Annan has decided to fire the highly regarded chief of the UN office that promotes free elections around the world for harassing staff and for management failures, a UN official said.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because an announcement is not expected until Monday, said Carina Perelli was being dismissed from the United Nations.

Stephane Dujarric, the chief UN spokesman, declined to comment Saturday.

In August, the UN formally accused Perelli of harassing her staff after a four-month review into the claims of an abusive and sexually offensive environment in her division. She was given the opportunity to respond, but her reply was delayed because she was involved in parliamentary elections in Afghanistan in September and Iraq's constitutional referendum in October.

Perelli, a Uruguayan, won wide praise for her work in helping organize elections in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Palestinian territories and had been considered one of the rising stars at the United Nations.

But she had been under investigation since April, after a UN-commissioned management review quoted staff as saying sexual innuendo is part of the `fabric' of the Electoral Assistance Division that she headed.

The review never named Perelli or anyone else in her office in specific allegations of sexual or professional harassment. But it said staff reported that they were subjected to shouting and screaming by superiors, while some junior staff members were saddled with work they were not qualified to do.

The Swiss-based management consulting firm Mannet SARL, which conducted the review, said many staff members reported that they suffered emotionally as a result of the director's behavior in the office environment.

The firm's report called for an investigation of what some staffers believed to be unjustified travel, especially to Latin America; using money intended for one country for purposes unrelated to that country; and using UN money to finance a university degree for one staff member.

Perelli's firing comes at a difficult time for the United Nations, which has endured criticism over alleged corruption in the Iraq oil-for-food program, allegations of sexual harassment by former UN refugee chief Ruud Lubbers and claims of sexual abuse by UN peacekeepers in Congo and elsewhere.

Perelli can appeal her dismissal.