Report Says Top U.N. Official Engaged in Sexual Misconduct
Annan Overruled Report's Findings

By Brian Ross, Rhonda Schwartz and David Scott
February 18, 2005
ABC News
Original Source: http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=513567&page=1
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Ruud Lubbers, engaged in serious acts of misconduct and lacks the requisite integrity for the job, according to a secret report of a U.N. investigation obtained by ABC News. The report's findings were never made public but were dismissed last year -- by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who said the allegations were not sustainable. 
But the 15-page document contains a detailed analysis of the allegations against Lubbers and finds a pattern of misconduct involving unwanted physical attention of a sexual nature. The U.N. investigation was triggered by a complaint last year from an American woman who works for Lubbers at the UNHCR headquarters in Geneva. 
Lubbers, a former Dutch prime minister, told ABC News the allegations and the investigation were baseless. 
I think it was simply crap, Lubbers said. I cannot feel bad. 
The woman who first made the allegation, identified by her lawyer with only her first name, Cynthia, has worked at the UNHCR for over 20 years. She said Lubbers grabbed her from behind and pushed his groin in her buttocks as she was leaving a meeting in Lubbers' office, according to the report. 
It's like any assault, said Ed Flaherty, the woman's Geneva lawyer. You feel violation, anger, fear, disappointment. It's a sexual assault. 
It was not the first time she was sexually harassed by senior managers at the UNHCR, Cynthia said, but she felt so angry and humiliated that she had to speak out, according to the report. 
Lubbers claims he only showed the woman out of his office in a courteous manner. I gently pressured her out of the room, he said. There were two witnesses in the room, so it was nothing. 
The two witnesses were subordinates of Lubbers, the report said, and the high commissioner's attempts to discuss the allegations with potential witnesses before and during the investigation may well have influenced their testimony, the report said. 
In addition to finding out who was cooperating with the investigation, Lubbers held staff meetings with managers about the allegations and encouraged other women to speak in his defense, the report said. He even put his own spin on events in a note to all UNHCR staff, both at headquarters and in the field, according to the report. 
A senior manager described Lubbers' note as a message to shut up, the report said. 
Lubbers, in the middle of the investigation, also sent Cynthia a letter urging her to drop the charges. 
It is now 'two minutes before twelve': either we clear the air or we close the door, Lubbers wrote. You cannot undo the damage which you -- unwillingly! -- caused, but Cynthia it will be easier to carry that burden in the years to come if I am on your side. 
Lubbers told ABC News he was merely offering her a way out. 
The report also concluded that allegations made by four other women were corroborated. Those allegations made by women who either worked for Lubbers or with him ranged from being groped by Lubbers, to being asked to his hotel room because he was feeling lonely, according to the report. 
In fact, the United Nations' Office of Internal Oversight Services found a pattern of sexual harassment and asked in the report that appropriate action be taken against Lubbers. But when the findings were delivered last June to U.N. Secretary-General Annan, he overruled the complaints as unsustainable, and the matter was closed, according to an annual report released by OIOS last September. 
Annan rebuked Lubbers for his behavior in an open letter to the UNHCR staff sent last July. But in his year-end press conference at U.N. headquarters six months later, the secretary-general said Lubbers was doing an excellent job. 
Indeed there have been accusations. There's been inquiry, Annan said. And we stated our view that Mr. Lubbers is working as high commissioner for refugees, he works very closely with the other members of his team, and I believe that he will continue to do his job properly. 
Lubbers oversees a staff of more than 6,000 people in more than 116 countries, and the agency tends to the plight of some 17 million refugees. 
No action has been taken against Lubbers, much to the dismay of those familiar with the sexual allegations against him. 
There's a feeling they're above the law, said Flaherty. That they're not accountable, they can do no wrong because they're dong the Lord's work, they're humanitarians. 
Lubbers met today with Annan at U.N. headquarters, and a U.N. statement said the main focus was Mr. Lubbers' future in the organization, particularly in light of recent developments -- including today's press coverage. But though Lubbers said he was warned to watch his behavior in the future, he said he intended to complete his five-year term, which expires at the end of this year.