Sanaka Samarasinha. Photo: Facebook/Sanaka Samarasinha
The United Nations says it is unable to comment on the allegations against senior UN Pacific official Sanaka Samarasinha as it is a "personnel matter, which is confidential".
Samarasinha had been placed on administrative leave with full pay on May 10 after complaints of "unsatisfactory conduct" were filed against him.
Since then allegations of sexual harassment have surfaced against him, which he says were "extremely serious and damaging" but "UN rules" prevented him from responding to the allegations.
The UN Resident Coordinator's Office said, "given confidentiality requirements, no other information on the [internal investigations] process can be provided."
In a statement to RNZ Pacific on Wednesday, the UN Development Coordination Office in New York said the "matter is currently under review, with the accountability process being subject to the UN's internal legal framework."
Communications chief Carolina Azevedo said there is an internal due process in place but said they cannot provide any progress or a timeframe on the investigation process.
"Therefore, [we are] unable to comment further on this personnel matter, which is confidential," Azevedo said.
She said since assuming office, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "has put a premium on fighting any type of harassment".
"As part of this effort, the UN now has a standard practice whereby any UN personnel against whom an allegation of misconduct has been investigated and substantiated, or who left prior to the conclusion of an investigation, is barred from future deployment with the UN system."
Meanwhile, Samarasinha's term as the UN Fiji multi-country office is confirmed to end this year and his successor already selected.
"Around the world, the appointments for Resident Coordinators are always for a certain timeframe, generally between four to five years. Samarasinha started serving as Resident Coordinator in Fiji in 2018," Azevedo said.
