Geneva Protest Tuesday: Picketers to Target UNAIDS’ Sexual Harassment Cover-up Prior to Meeting at WHO

GENEVA--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Women and other activists and advocates concerned about confronting indifference and apathy toward sexual harassment allegations in the global workplace will stage a demonstration Tuesday, June 26^th in Geneva, Switzerland near the entrance to the World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters beginning at 08:30 a.m. The advocates will protest in front of the WHO building as UNAIDS officials and members arrive for three days of Programme Coordinating Board (PCB) meetings at WHO headquarters in an effort to persuade UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé to step down—or be fired from his position by UN officials—over his botched handling and subsequent cover-up of a sexual harassment investigation involving senior staff at the agency.

MEDIA CONTACTS IN GENEVA:

• Denys Nazarov (in Geneva for press conf. & protest), Director of Global Policy & Communication for AHF, mobile +1(323) 533-9842 denys.nazarov@aidshealth.org
• Larissa Klazinga (in Geneva for press conf. & protest), AHF Regional Policy and Advocacy Manager: Southern Africa, Mobile: (+27) 71 174 6717 Larissa.Klazinga@aidshealth.org

On Monday, a day before the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board (PCB) is set to meet in Switzerland, women’s rights advocates and UN employees who have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace, told members of the media at a press conference at the Geneva Press Club that the only way out of the current #MeToo crisis gripping the UN agency, is for its Executive Director Michel Sidibé to resign or be removed as the first step on a path to substantive reforms.

Mr. Sidibé mishandled sexual harassment allegations against his former deputy Dr. Luiz Loures by attempting to cover up the incident and interfering with its subsequent investigation. He attempted to influence Martina Brostrom, a UNAIDS staffer and the target of Dr. Loures’ harassment, by offering her a promotion in exchange for dropping her case. Mr. Sidibé also threatened whistle-blowers during a UNAIDS staff meeting against coming forward with future claims of abuse.

On Monday, nearly 40 people, including journalists from AFP, The Lancet, The Swedish Daily News, the German Public Radio and others, heard public statements from Ms. Brostrom, along with former UNFPA consultant Prashanti Tiwari, who was also a victim of sexual assault, and leadership of AIDS Healthcare Foundation about the need to transform the culture within the UN system which condones abusive conduct by men in senior positions toward women.

“Today I am participating in this press conference because I want to call on the board of UNAIDS to take action and end sexism, cronyism and patronyms (sic.) at UNAIDS,” said Ms. Brostrom. “I request that the PCB dismiss the Executive Director so that the organization can have a safe environment for women and continues its important mandate to respond to the HIV epidemic worldwide. At the very minimum, I would like to call on the board to suspend Michel Sidibé from his position during the course of the independent panel investigation to avoid his interferences, which is well provided for in UNAIDS policies.”

Ms. Tiwari, who participated in the press conference via Skype, said that far too often perpetrators of sexual harassment and assault within the UN system go unpunished because they are shielded by diplomatic immunity, which discourages more women from coming forward to report such cases. “Every other person at the UN became my prosecutor, attacking me and my integrity, when I came forward about being assaulted – this is the fate of women who raise their voices, while those who engage in this despicable behavior don’t face any consequences,” she said.

“By defending himself with a PR campaign, Michel Sidibé is defending a system and a culture of acceptance and complicity with sexual harassment, that is totally wrong, and we will not stand for it,” said Terri Ford, AHF Chief of Global Advocacy and Policy. “How can we follow a global organization that is supposed to be leading the AIDS movement, with this kind of example. If Michel Sidibé really cares about the things he professes, which is people living with HIV/AIDS, the sustainability of UNAIDS and community unification, then he would put himself aside and his personal interest for the greater good of the cause and step down, because there is no way for this to heal and for reform to happen with him in place.”

To read AFP coverage of Monday’s Geneva press conference, click here.

The Geneva press conference and protest are the latest in a series of similar actions that have been conducted in major cities over recent weeks. The UNAIDS scandal has received significant coverage from mainstream media including CNN, The Guardian, The Independent, Al Jazeera, Daily Mail and others. Other UNAIDS donor countries such as the UK and the Netherlands have also been requested to intervene amidst the inaction of the current UN administration.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and/or services to over 924,000 individuals in 41 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and Eastern Europe. To learn more about AHF, please visit our website: www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/aidshealth and follow us on Twitter: @aidshealthcare and Instagram: @aidshealthcare

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