(Geneva) The head of the WHO announced on Saturday that an investigation is underway into serious accusations of racism and misconduct against its regional director for the Western Pacific.
Posted at 10:19 a.m.
“We have been aware of some concerns since late 2021 and have followed due process. With the cooperation of staff members, an investigation is underway,” World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on the last day of the Executive Board meeting in Geneva.
He did not say when the investigation was opened. “We take these allegations seriously. We have acted urgently and we will continue to do so,” he said.
On the other hand, he told the states that there was “a limit” to what the WHO could say about the investigation at the moment. “We will update member states on developments in due course,” he concluded.
These serious accusations, detailed in an email of which AFP obtained a copy after the case was revealed Thursday by the Associated Press agency, target the Japanese Takeshi Kasai, who has already said he is ready to collaborate in any investigation.
According to the AP, dozens of WHO staff filed an internal complaint in October before sending an email in mid-January to member countries of the UN agency’s Executive Board.
In this email, they accuse Mr. Kasai of having an “authoritarian and racist leadership” but also of having regularly shared privileged information with the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, of not having wanted to criticize China or of having “wasted” donor money.
Several countries, including France, expressed their concerns earlier in the week after this new case.
On Saturday, several diplomats again called on the WHO to investigate all allegations of misconduct.
“We take all the allegations seriously and hope that independent investigations will be carried out as a priority,” said the Australian representative on Saturday, while the British representative regretted that the media were the first to report on this case.
“We need a WHO in which we can all trust, Member States, staff, beneficiaries and the global community”, declared the delegate of Norway, deeming “essential that the leaders of the WHO adhere to the highest ethical standards”.
This case comes when the WHO is already under great pressure.
The main donors believe that the management was slow to act after the scandal of sexual violence committed by some of its employees in the Democratic Republic of Congo.