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Have the facts on which the disciplinary measure was based been established according to the applicable standard? It was alleged that during the Cox’s Bazar all-staff retreat in February 2020, the Applicant: a. Grabbed V01 from behind her and held her tight with his hands around her waist to the front of her body. He rested his head on her back while he pulled her back so that the front of his body rested against the back of her body. V01 did not consent to him touching her; and b. Hugged V02 from the front side of her body with his body pressed against her body. He hugged her with both his...

The staff member’s main claim pertain to the proportionality of the disciplinary measure meted out to him, that is of summary dismissal. The Appeals Tribunal found no fault in the UNDT conclusion that the staff member’s behavior toward the Complainant amounted to serious misconduct. The Tribunal noted (paras. 53 - 56): “… By sexually harassing her, the Appellant violated the applicable Regulations and Rules. He did not conduct himself in a manner befitting his status as an international civil servant. His actions not only violated the Complainant’s personal dignity but also adversely...

The investigation successfully established that the Applicant engaged in workplace harassment in seven different occasions against the three complainants. By committing workplace harassment, the Applicant breached the highest standards of integrity and engaged in behaviour unbecoming of an international civil servant. As such, her conduct constitutes serious misconduct. However, the disciplinary measure of separation from service imposed on the Applicant was found to be too harsh of a penalty lin light of the Administration’s past disciplinary measures on other cases of comparable conduct, as...

The burden of proving the provenance and authenticity of the footage is on the Respondent. The Tribunal found that the challenge as to the evidentiary value of the video can properly be dismissed, given the type of document (a video file), its content (a continuous show of people interacting with no discrepancies) and the comments on it by the Applicant (as mentioned). The Tribunal found that a forensic examination of the files was not necessary and that the anonymity of the sources did not undermine its clear and objective content. In this case, the Applicant was not simply careless to have...

The Tribunal concludes from the evidence that the Applicant commented adversely on V01’s clothing during his visit to the National Committee. However, while acknowledging that the comments may have been out of line given that he had no supervisory role over the staff in the National Committee, the Tribunal does not find that evidence supports that this conduct had a sexual component. The Tribunal is satisfied that there is clear and convincing evidence that the Applicant compared V01’s age to his son while stating that he tried to avoid speaking to older women. The Tribunal is also satisfied...

The Tribunal held that staff members’ obligations under staff regulations 1.2(a), (b) and (f) are not limited to the work environment but also apply in a certain way to their private lives. The Applicant’s actions constituted physical conduct of a sexual nature that might reasonably be excepted or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation to the complainant. There was no doubt that the Applicant’s conduct was unwelcome. The Tribunal found no grounds to review the level of the sanction imposed on the Applicant.

UNAT preliminarily rejected the Appellant’s request to present additional evidence. On the merits, UNAT held that the Appellant did not demonstrate that UNDT made any errors in finding that the Administration met its obligations to the Appellant as a permanent staff member under the applicable Staff Rules and administrative issuances. UNAT noted that the Appellant was given a three-month temporary appointment after her post was abolished and reasonable efforts were made by the Administration to try to find her a suitable post. UNAT held that there was no evidence to support the allegations of...

UNAT affirmed the UNDT award of compensation for loss of earnings for seven months from the date of the staff member’s separation from service to the date of the UNDT judgment (as an alternative to the order for reinstatement of the staff member) plus an additional amount of two years’ net base salary. The Secretary-General maintained that, while the total of these amounts exceeded the compensation limit of two years’ net base salary, UNDT did not particularize any reasons to justify an increased award under Article 10.5(b) of the UNDT Statute. UNAT held that Article 10.5(b) does not require a...

UNAT held that UNDT correctly found that it did not have jurisdiction to conduct a de novo investigation of the Appellant’s formal complaint of harassment; rather its task was to determine if there was a proper investigation into the allegations. UNAT held that UNDT awarded adequate compensation to the Appellant for the infringement of his rights with regard to the harassment complaint. UNAT held that UNDT did not make any errors of procedure in deciding upon the weight to be given to written statements tendered by the Appellant. UNAT held that it was not persuaded that UNDT made any errors of...

UNAT considered an appeal by the Secretary-General. UNAT held that no gender discrimination took place against Ms Abbasi. UNAT held that UNDT erred in finding that there was gender discrimination against her. UNAT held that the Administration applied UNICEF’s Gender Parity and Equality Policy in Ms Abbasi’s favour. UNAT did not find any violation of the right to be equally considered – or even favoured for reasons of gender – in the evaluation criteria applied or in the decisions taken by UNICEF during the selection process. UNAT upheld the appeal and vacated the UNDT judgment.