Lawsuit Alleges UN's Annan Protected Sexual Harasser

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May 09, 2006 10:16 AM

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan failed to take action against a top UN official who allegedly groped and harassed female staffers, according to a lawsuit to be filed this week with the US Supreme Court. The suit is an attempt to have the case heard by a US court and argues that the UN official's  diplomatic immunity from prosecution should be lifted.

The plaintiff, an American woman named Cynthia Brzak, is a longtime UN employee. In the suit she claims that following a meeting in 2003 with Ruud Lubbers, the High Commissioner for Refugees,  Lubbers "placed his hands on Mrs. Brzak's waist, pulled her back toward him, pushed his groin into her buttocks and held her briefly in that position before releasing her." And she is not the only woman who complained about Lubbers.

In 2004, an internal United Nations investigation found that Lubbers engaged in "serious acts of misconduct," involving unwanted physical attention of a sexual nature on female staff members indicating a "pattern of sexual harassment." One female staffer said that Lubbers invited her to his home to discuss work with others, but when she arrived no one else was there. Another claimed that Lubbers invited her to his hotel room saying he was "feeling lonely." Lubbers told ABC News' last year that the allegations were "simply crap."

The internal investigation also found that Lubbers intentionally abused his authority by trying to block the investigation. Yet, when the report was delivered to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in June 2004, he overruled the findings, saying the charges were "not sustainable."

The lawsuit to be  filed this week also names Annan himself as a defendant, along with Lubbers, the UN and other officials. The suit claims that rather than taking action against Lubbers, Annan "ignored the clear and unequivocal findings"  of the internal investigation and instead chose to "publicly exonerate" Lubbers.

No action was taken against Lubbers who resigned from his post as High Commissioner for Refugees in February 2005.

For now, the UN is not commenting on the lawsuit.

Click here to read part of the lawsuit to be filed this week.