By UN Watch ——Bio and Archives--December 27, 2023
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GENEVA, December 27, 2023 — In wake of an exposé by a watchdog group, the United Nations has admitted that UN Women Deputy Chief Sarah Douglas "committed a violation of the Code of Conduct" in connection with her anti-Israel activity on social media, that the matter is "being dealt with," according to a statement by the UN Secretary-General's spokesman.
Last week, Ms. Douglas deleted her social media accounts on X (formerly known as Twitter) and LinkedIn after the exposé revealed her partisan political activity in endorsing 153 posts since October 7th that promoted anti-Zionism, accused Israel of "genocide," and celebrated shutting down bridges and highways for campaigns opposing Israel.
Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, an independent nongovernmental organization based in Geneva, welcomed what he said was “a rare admission by the UN of malfeasance committed by one of their senior officials.”
“But this isn’t enough. Although the spokesman of the UN secretary-general referred to ‘a violation’ of the UN’s Code of Conduct by Sarah Douglas, in fact there were at least 154 violations in the past two months alone.”
“We remind the UN that Ms. Douglas publicly endorsed no less than 153 tweets accusing Israel of genocide and other crimes, and that she addressed the UN from her home sitting next to a giant ‘Palestine’ poster with the colors of the Palestinian flag. Moreover, in previous years, she attacked the U.S. and glorified former PLO official Hanan Ashrawi, who recently defended the October 7th massacre.”
“Given that Ms. Douglas deleted her accounts, how will the UN find the evidence? Fortunately, we have screenshots of her tweets that have not yet been published. If UN Women is truly investigating, why haven't they contacted us yet? We are prepared to share with them all of the evidence.”
“The UN cannot be allowed to dismiss and downplay what is in fact a lengthy, years-long pattern and practice of Sarah Douglas’ gross and systematic violations of her oath of neutrality.”
“Sarah Douglas has publicly endorsed the Hamas narrative, and every day that she remains is not only a black stain on the credibility of UN Women, but casts a shadow upon the United Nations itself. We are calling on the UN to remove her immediately.”
In a campaign launched by UN Watch with the hashtag #FireSarahDouglas on Instagram and X, nearly 5,000 people have signed a petition demanding that she be fired.
Last week, Senator Rick Scott said, “The silence of UN Women on the evil and barbaric sexual abuse of women speaks volumes. Sarah Douglas should not keep her job. These innocent women deserve better.”
Likewise, Senator Marsha Blackburn said, “UN Women has been silent about Hamas’ atrocities toward innocent civilians. It is time for terrorist sympathizer Sarah Douglas to go.”
In addition, the Wall Street Journal editorial board dedicated a column to the controversy, entitled “Hamas’s Friends at the UN,” writing that “Section 101 of the UN charter on the conduct of staff notes that working as an international civil servant demands ‘integrity, independence and impartiality.’ Staff are not permitted to make statements or ‘any kind of public pronouncement’ that would call their impartiality into question. Yet Ms. Douglas carries on without rebuke."
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UN Watch is a Geneva-based human rights organization founded in 1993 to monitor UN compliance with the principles of its Charter. It is accredited as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) in Special Consultative Status to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and as an Associate NGO to the UN Department of Public Information (DPI).