The U.N.'s top refugee advocate resigned Sunday amid a festering controversy over allegations that he sexually harassed several female employees at the U.N. refugee agency.Boo-frickin'-hoo...cry me a river... What a scumbag...
Ruud Lubbers, the U.N.'s High Commissioner for Refugees, proclaimed his innocence in a letter of resignation, saying that an internal U.N. investigation failed to "prove that sexual harassment has taken place."
Ruud Lubbers, the U.N.'s top official on refugees, continues to deny the charges.
Sunday's resignation marked the end of a long career for Lubbers, who served as the Netherlands' longest governing prime minister from 1982 to 1994. Lubbers, 65, lashed out at Secretary General Kofi Annan, who had cleared the Dutch official of wrongdoing, saying Annan had bowed to media pressure to force him out.
"For more than four years I gave all my energy to UNHCR," said Lubbers, who has led the agency since January 2000. "To be frank, despite all my loyalty, insult has now been added to injury and therefore I resign as high commissioner."
There are more UN scandals out there, my friends...they won't make big news splashes, but they are out there.
Mark's Remarks
Oil for Food, Sex for Food, Rwanda Genocide, Somalia corruption...the list goes on and on....Oh, and if Rundy is so innocent, why the resignation and self-victimization???? Hmm????Failed to prove harassment has taken place. I highlighted an ABC story where a French UN worker had pictures of children in sexual situations HE TOOK on his harddrive...Gee, that is not harassment is it? Maybe they listened to Libya or North Korea's representative on their UN Human Rights council for the definition of sexual harassment/assault? Or perhaps it was the presumptive (in his own mind) future Secretary General Bill Clinton--"it all depends on what your definition of the word 'is' is...."
1:05 Feb 22 Insta-Update
The Instapundit (my prayers are with you and your family, Glenn)has more on this supposed nonexistent or failed to be proven sexual harassment:
From The Age:
Late last year, police in the Democratic Republic of Congo decided to find out if it was true that United Nations peacekeepers and aid workers were raping girls as young as 12.
They set up a sting: a child was sent to the home of senior UN worker Didier Bourguet, who was thought to be among the worst offenders.
Bourguet allegedly tried to have sex with the girl, prompting police to raid the house. They found his bedroom set up like a film studio for making pornographic films. There were mirrors on three bedroom walls, and on the fourth wall, a camera that Bourguet could operate with a remote control.
On his computer, they allegedly found dozens of videos and photos of him having sex with children. In one photo, tears are rolling down the face of a victim.
Bourguet is on trial in France, but his arrest hardly ends the matter. The UN has since admitted that some of its peacekeepers regularly raped, abused and prostituted children in their care.
Gee, Mr. Disgraced Refugee Minister, if the claims failed to be proven, why is Didier being prosecuted, and why did your own organization admit abuses occurred? The gall of the UN and its arrogance toward the masses is amazing....
2/22 Update
MATT: I want to make sure the readership understands that what Mark is talking about in the above updates are NOT the same scandal(s) that brought down Ruud Lubbers. Lubbers was brought down by allegations of sexual harassment against his staff, which apparently "weren't proven" but he resigned anyway.That doesn't mean that the scandals Mark is talking about aren't serious issues, they are...
