UN remains silent on allegations against the head of its Pacific office

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Sanaka Samarasinha. Photo: Facebook/Sanaka Samarasinha

The UN said it was unable to comment on the allegations against top UN official in the Pacific, Sanaka Samarasinha, as it is a “personnel matter, which is confidential”. .

Samarasinha had been placed on administrative leave with full pay on May 10 after complaints of “unsatisfactory conduct” were filed against him.

Since then, allegations of sexual harassment have surfaced against him, which he calls “extremely serious and harmful”, but “UN rules” have prevented him from responding to the allegations.

The Office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator stated, “Due to confidentiality requirements, no further information on the [internal investigations] process can be provided.”

In a statement to RNZ Pacific on Wednesday, the UN Development Coordination Office in New York said “the matter is currently under review, with the accountability process subject to the internal UN legal framework.”

Communications chief Carolina Azevedo said there was due internal procedure in place, but said she could not provide any progress or timelines for the investigation process.

“SO, [we are] unable to comment further on this personnel matter, which is confidential,” Azevedo said.

She said that since taking office, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “has placed emphasis on combating any type of harassment”.

“As part of this effort, the UN now has a standard practice that any UN personnel against whom an allegation of misconduct has been investigated and substantiated, or who is departed prior to the conclusion of an investigation, is excluded from future deployment with the United Nations system.”

Meanwhile, Samarasinha’s tenure as the United Nations Cluster Office in Fiji is confirmed to end this year and its successor already selected.

“All over the world, Resident Coordinator appointments are always for a certain period, usually between four and five years. Samarasinha started serving as Resident Coordinator in Fiji in 2018,” Azevedo said.

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