NEW YORK, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), A senior official at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said his criticism of the Israeli genocidal war in the Gaza Strip cost him his job after 26 years with the agency, as its director-general warned employees against engaging in human rights-related activities.
Ben Davis, director of FAO’s Rural Transformation and Gender Equality Division, said he was informed in July that his contract would not be renewed because he had violated the organization’s impartiality rules.
Davis, in remarks reported by Agence France-Presse (AFP), said he was accused of organizing moments of silence in protest against hunger and famine conditions in Gaza, referring to weekly demonstrations held by employees at the organization’s headquarters in Rome, Italy.
Gaza report
Davis also faced criticism over his involvement in preparing a report examining food availability in the Gaza Strip and international humanitarian law, which was published in May.
He said the organization’s management ordered the report to be removed, adding that “we weren’t allowed to make any references to humanitarian law.”
According to Davis, the report was among the issues that drew criticism against him, alongside his participation in the moments of silence over the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Warnings of further dismissals
The disclosure of Davis’s case coincided with remarks by FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu warning employees against participating in human rights-related activities or campaigns.
Qu said the organization does not allow its employees to “play the game of human rights,” pointing to the existence of a UN human rights agency in Geneva.
He also warned that action could be taken against employees who violate the organization’s regulations, saying he would fire more staff members if they broke the rules.
Asked whether he believed the director-general’s remarks were directed at him, Davis said yes, explaining that Qu had previously reprimanded him publicly and accused him of being “too political.”
Participation in protests declines
Davis expressed concern that the director-general’s remarks could signal further action against other employees over their positions on Israel’s war on Gaza.
He said hundreds of employees participated in the moments of silence at their peak, but attendance has since fallen to between 30 and 40 staff members each week.
The developments come amid continuing debate within UN institutions over the limits placed on employees expressing positions on humanitarian conditions and international law, particularly in relation to Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip.
