Lawyer Seeks Lifting of Diplomatic Immunity for UN Refugee Chief Accused of Sex Harassment

Lawyer Seeks Lifting of Diplomatic Immunity for UN Refugee Chief Accused of Sex Harassment
By Sam Cage
ASSOCIATED PRESS
3:49 a.m. November 2, 2004

GENEVA – A lawyer said he has asked for the lifting of diplomatic immunity from U.N. refugee chief Ruud Lubbers so that one of the former Dutch prime minister's employees can file a lawsuit against him for sexual harassment.

Edward Patrick Flaherty said Monday that he has demanded that U.S. and Swiss authorities remove Lubbers' immunity over the allegation that Lubbers harassed the female employee during a meeting in December 2003. The case could go to court in the Netherlands, Switzerland or the United States, he said.

Flaherty said that already on Oct. 18 he appealed against a decision by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan simply to send a letter to Lubbers "conveying in the strongest terms my concerns about the incident."

Annan rejected the sexual harassment allegation against Lubbers in mid-July, even though an investigation by the Office of Internal Oversight Services, the U.N. watchdog, upheld the allegation.

The office revised its annual report last week to reveal for the first time that U.N. investigators not only supported the allegation but recommended that "appropriate actions" be taken.

"One of the main things we have been demanding is a copy of that OSIS report," Flaherty said. "We want to see that report."

Lubbers said in a statement in early May that the original case was filed at the United Nations on April 27 and related to a meeting that took place in his Geneva office on December 18, 2003, which was also attended by five other staff members.

He acknowledged making "a friendly gesture," which he said was misunderstood by the woman. "There was no improper behavior on my part," he said.

The 51-year-old woman who made the complaint has never been identified but has been described as a senior American staffer who had worked for the refugee agency for about 20 years.

Flaherty told the AP that separate cases could be filed in the United States, Switzerland and the Netherlands because internal U.N. procedures "could take 4-5 years."

"Hence we are pursuing other avenues," Flaherty said.

The United Nations is headquartered in the United States and the original incident is alleged to have happened in Switzerland. Lubbers was the longest-serving postwar premier of the Netherlands, serving from 1982 until he retired from politics in 1994.

The Geneva-based joint appeals board of the United Nations will consider the appeal before making its recommendations to the secretary-general. If the complainant is still dissatisfied, the case can be appealed again to the U.N. administrative tribunal in New York, whose decision is final for the United Nations, Flaherty explained.

Ron Redmond, spokesman for Lubbers, said Monday that he was unable to comment because the refugee agency had not been contacted regarding the appeal or the lifting of diplomatic immunity.

Lubbers, 65, was appointed as high commissioner for refugees by the U.N. General Assembly in 2000. His original three-year term was extended last year and now runs until Dec. 31, 2005. He is married and has three children.