WHO Fires Director In Asia Accused Of Racist Misconduct

ENGLAND — last year that dozens of staff employees accused him of racist, abusive, and unethical behavior that may have jeopardized the U.N. health agency’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, the World Health Organization sacked its top officer in the Western Pacific.

In a message to staff members on Wednesday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that Dr. Takeshi Kasai’s appointment had been “terminated” due to “findings of wrongdoing” after an internal inquiry.

Tedros did not refer to Kasai by name, mentioning only his title as regional director in the Western Pacific. The removal of a regional director is unprecedented in WHO history.

This trip has been unprecedented and difficult for all of us, Tedros stated. He said the selection process for the Western Pacific’s new regional director would start the following month, with the election in October.

When asked about Kasai’s nomination for the position, the Japanese government chose not to respond. Although he demanded a lot of his staff, Kasai previously denied acting in a racist or aggressive manner, noting that his actions “should not result in people feeling mistreated.”

Kasai harassed personnel in Asia regularly, according to a summary of the internal WHO inquiry delivered at a meeting of the agency’s executive board this week in Geneva. This harassment included “aggressive communication, public humiliation, (and) making racial insults.”

More than 30 unnamed WHO employees had complained in writing about the director to senior WHO officials.

Top WHO directors reported Kasai’s “toxic atmosphere,” staff employees’ fear of reprisal if they spoke out against him, and a “loss of faith” in WHO to the organization’s highest governing body.

According to private documents obtained by the A.P., the officials also discovered Kasai had falsified at least one performance evaluation of a subordinate.

Kasai was fired due to an A.P. investigation reported to have been published in January 2022. The research showed that more than 30 unnamed WHO employees had complained in writing about the director to senior WHO officials and members of the organization’s executive board.

Kasai attributed the emergence of COVID-19 in some Pacific countries to his employees’ “lack of capacity owing to their inferior culture, race, and socioeconomic level,” according to documents and audio that showed him making racist statements to his workers.

Kasai allegedly unlawfully communicated secret COVID vaccination information with other WHO employees so that his native Japan might use targeted donations to gain political advantage. Dr. Kasai, a physician from Japan, began his career in the nation’s public health system before joining WHO, where he has worked for more than 15 years.

Days following the A.P. article, WHO director Tedros revealed that Kasai was the subject of an internal investigation. Tedros alerted colleagues in an August email that Kasai was “on leave” and another senior official was deployed to replace him temporarily.

the investigation discovered senior WHO management was told of multiple exploitation claims in 2019

The firing of such a senior employee contrasts sharply with WHO’s hesitation to sanction other offenders of abusive and occasionally unlawful behavior, including sexual abuse and exploitation during the Congo’s Ebola epidemic in 2018–2020.

An A.P. investigation discovered senior WHO management was told of multiple exploitation claims in 2019 but refused to act and even promoted one of the managers implicated. More than 80 outbreak responders working primarily under WHO’s guidance sexually abused or exploited vulnerable women.

Due to a flaw in how WHO defines victims, a recent internal U.N. assessment determined that the agency’s response to one example of alleged exploitation did not breach the standards, a conclusion that independent experts called “absurd.”

Despite Tedros’ assurance that the organization has “zero tolerance” for misconduct, no senior WHO personnel connected to the sexual assault in the Congo have been terminated.

Professor of international politics at the Queen Mary University of London Sophie Harman said, “What we need right now is consistency in how WHO enforces the laws against misuse. The WHO needs to demonstrate to the survivors of sexual abuse and exploitation in (Congo) that they are important.

According to an A.P. investigation from January, a WHO physician who sought Kasai’s position as regional director for the Western Pacific had previously been accused of sexual assault.

Internal records revealed senior WHO management was aware of prior allegations of sexual harassment against Fijian doctor Temo Waqanivalu, who was also charged with assaulting a woman at a conference in Berlin. Waqanivalu was getting ready to bid for the position of regional director with the backing of a few WHO coworkers and his home nation.

According to Javier Guzman of the Center for Global Development, a strong internal judicial mechanism at WHO still needs to be improved.

Making choices in important cases like the one involving Dr. Kasai, according to Guzman, is insufficient. “WHO and Dr. Tedros should improve to ensure the validity of the zero-tolerance policy.”

SOURCE – (AP)