Independent Expert Panel on prevention of, and response to, harassment, including sexual harassment, bullying and abuse of power at the UNAIDS Secretariat

Independent Expert Panel

on prevention of, and response to, harassment, including sexual harassment, bullying and abuse of power at the UNAIDS Secretariat

Nov. 2018 update

The Panel has conducted a few last remaining interviews and received a few final written submissions. In total 70 interviews have been conducted and over 30 written submissions received. The Panel is now finalizing its Report under its Terms of Reference which it will submit to the PCB Bureau during November. The Report will be formally presented to the Programme Coordinating Body of UNAIDS at its Board meeting in December by the Chair of the IEP, Prof. Emerita Gillian Triggs. The Panel has requested to the PCB Bureau that its Report be made public. We thank everyone for their input.

Oct. 2018

The IEP met in Geneva 13-15 October and visited the UNAIDS offices on Monday 15 October to meet staff and conduct a Town Hall meeting to which all staff had been invited. The Town Hall meeting was held in the Kofi Annan conference room and was attended by approximately 80 staff in the room and 95 online via Skype. The Panel introduced themselves and gave an update on their work to date. Questions were asked by staff both in the room and online. The Panel would like to thank all staff who attended the meeting.

The Town Hall meeting was an important way to give all staff the opportunity to interact with the Panel and receive responses in a transparent way.

It is still possible to submit your views, experience and opinions in writing to the Panel by sending an email submission (in English or French) to IEPChair@qedconsulting.com. Due to the timeline for the Panel’s Report, the deadline for written submissions is 22 October 2018.

Sept. 2018

The Independent Expert Panel met in London on 1-2 September to report on their progress through August and agreed on their programme of work for September.

With the aim of gathering information to help the Independent Expert Panel form as clear and true a picture as possible of the culture of the UNAIDS Secretariat within its terms of reference, the Panel has reached out to a wide range of both internal and external stakeholders inviting them to share their views, stories and recommendations either by speaking to a member of the Panel or by means of a written submission. Emails were sent to all UNAIDS Secretariat staff inviting them to write to the Panel at the dedicated email address of the Chair, Professor Emerita Gillian Triggs.

The response with both interviews and written submissions was very encouraging. So far nearly 50 interviews have been conducted with key global stakeholders comprising UNAIDS Secretariat staff, ex-staff, representatives of supporting organizations including co-sponsor organizations and representatives of civil society. In addition, a number of written submissions have been received to the dedicated email address of the IEP Chair.

Additional interviews are ongoing, and written submissions are still welcome (see below for email).

On 10 September the IEP launched its internal survey to UNAIDS Secretariat staff, which closed at midnight on Monday 24 September. The response to the survey was huge, with over 50% response rate. The Panel would like to thank all UNAIDS Secretariat staff members who completed the survey. Your responses and comments will provide valuable information for the Panel.

The Panel will hold a conference call on 27 September to review and discuss the findings from interviews, written submissions and the staff survey. The Panel will analyse the information, bearing in mind also the results from the USSA survey. In addition, they will draw on a large body of research material to identify best practices.

OUTLOOK for October: The IEP will hold its next meeting in Geneva on 13-14 October. The Panel will visit the UNAIDS Secretariat on Monday 15 October, when staff will have the opportunity to interact with the Panel in 3 ways: meet members of the Panel individually, have a confidential talk to a member of the Panel, and attend a brown bag lunchtime session with Q&A. This session will be webcast to all staff in all locations. An invitation to all staff to attend the session will be issued shortly.

If you would like to contact the Chair of the Panel, Professor Gillian Triggs, please send an email to: IEPChair@qedconsulting.com. All submissions will be treated confidentially. We look forward to hearing from you.

Aug. 2018

On 24 July, 2018, the PCB Bureau convened the Independent Expert Panel to review UNAIDS policies and practices on abuse of power, bullying and harassment, including sexual harassment. On the basis of this review, the Panel has been asked to make findings and recommendations to ensure that the environment at UNAIDS is safe and respectful.

The Panel met for the first time from 30 July to 1 August 2018 in Geneva and has agreed on a programme of work over the coming three months. At all meetings the Panel will declare and accordingly address any conflicts of interest.

The Panel welcomes written submissions that will help it to understand any systemic reasons for incidents of abuse of office or harassment within UNAIDS and will meet and discuss issues within its terms of reference with internal and external stakeholders around the globe.

The Panel will build on the research conducted by the UNAIDS Secretariat Staff Association (USSA) over the last few years and augment their annual findings with a short on-line survey. All UNAIDS personnel will have the opportunity to respond to the Panel's anonymous and confidential survey, that will be available by early September. The Panel plans to report to the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board at its December 2018 meeting.

There are thus 3 ways that you can engage with the Panel:

Submitting a written statement
Requesting to speak to a member of the Panel
Completing the survey (UNAIDS staff only)

From the Chair

I am delighted to have been selected to Chair the Independent Expert Panel on prevention of and response to harassment, including sexual harassment, bullying and abuse of power at the UNAIDS Secretariat. These are critical issues that require urgent action. I am looking forward to working with an exceptionally strong team of panellists and the Panel’s independent secretariat to really understand the experiences of those who have worked in and with the UNAIDS Secretariat and make positive recommendations on future strategies for culture and change.

I have worked on important issues of harassment, including sexual harassment, bullying and abuse of power for several years, and I know from personal experience how crucial it will be that the Panel creates a safe space where everyone feels comfortable in sharing their experiences and insights. I would like to invite anyone who so wishes to provide submissions in writing at IEPChair@qedconsulting.com I can assure you that these will be treated in the strictest confidence. I will also ensure that the Panel is widely consultative throughout the course of our work.

I have had preliminary discussions with my fellow panellists, Sir Robert Francis of the United Kingdom, Ms Vrinda Grover of India, Dr Fulata Moyo of Malawi and Ms Charlotte Petri Gornitzka of Sweden. Individually and as a group they bring a diversity and breadth of experience and expertise which will be important in delivering the ambition of the Panel, and I look forward to working with and learning from them.

I am very conscious that the concerns that the Panel has been asked to address are pressing, and that we need to move ahead quickly. I give my personal commitment that the Panel will do everything we can to deliver a final report by December.

Best wishes,

Professor Gillian Triggs

Confidentiality

The Independent Expert Panel (IEP) for UNAIDS has been given the remit by the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board (PCB) to inquire into the following primary areas at UNAIDS --harassment, including sexual harassment, bullying, and abuse of power. The IEP is to review policy and practices and the response of the organization to reports and concerns and make recommendations for action in these areas.

All information gained from interviews is confidential. It is intended to help the panel in writing its Report.

All notes from interviews with a member of the IEP or with QED Consulting, the Secretariat to the IEP, will remain confidential and stored in a private Dropbox open only to IEP members and QED. All information gathered in interviews will be handled anonymously without any attribution if used in the Report.

This non-disclosure agreement is on-going without term.

All documents held by the IEP will be destroyed one year after the Report is delivered.

Members of the IEP (including QED Consulting) have an obligation to disclose any personal interest that conflicts or might reasonably be perceived to conflict with their responsibilities as a member of the Panel, according to its terms of reference. The term ‘personal interests’ may include the interests of family, friends, or colleagues and any organization with which a member is involved. IEP members have a duty to:

act with reasonable care and diligence
act in good faith when carrying out the terms of reference of the IEP
not misuse their position as a member
not misuse information they gain as a member
disclose any actual or perceived conflict of interest

Biographies of the IEP Chair and Members

Gillian Triggs

Prof. Gillian Triggs was the President of the Australian Human Rights Commission from 2012-2017.

Gillian was Dean of the Faculty of Law and Challis Professor of International Law at the University of Sydney from 2007-12 and Director of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law from 2005-7. Gillian is a former Barrister with Seven Wentworth Chambers and a Governor of the College of Law.

Gillian graduated in Law from the University of Melbourne in 1968 and gained a PhD in 1982. She has combined an academic career with international commercial legal practice and worked with governments and international organisations advising on including law including human rights law. She is focused on the implementation in Australian law of the human rights treaties to which Australia is a party, and on working with nations in the Asia Pacific region on practical approaches to human rights.

Gillian has been a consultant on International Law to King & Wood Mallesons, the Australian representative on the Council of Jurists for the Asia Pacific Forum for National Human Rights Institutions, Chair of the Board of the Australian International Health Institute, a member of the Attorney General's International Legal Service Advisory Council and Chair of the Council of Australian Law Deans. She is Vice President of the Tribunal for the Asian Development Bank.

She is the author of many books and paper, including International Law: Contemporary Principles and Practices (Second Edition, 2011).

Gillian also served the Commission as Acting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner from 1 August 2016 to 9 February 2017.

Robert Francis

Sir Robert Francis QC is a barrister and non-executive director of the Care Quality Commission. He has been a barrister since 1973 and became a Queen’s Counsel in 1992. He is a Recorder (part time Crown Court judge) and authorised to sit as a Deputy High Court Judge. He is a governing Bencher of the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, where he has chaired its Education and Training Committee.

Francis specialises in medical law, including medical and mental health treatment and capacity issues, clinical negligence and professional discipline. He has appeared in a number of healthcare-related inquiries and between 2009 and 2013 chaired the Independent Inquiry into the care provided by the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, and subsequently the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry, in which he made wide-ranging recommendations for culture change. He then led the Freedom to Speak Up Review for the Department of Health into the treatment of whistleblowers in the NHS.

He is the honorary President of the Patients Association and a trustee of the Point of Care Foundation and the Prostate Cancer Research Centre. He has also been elected to Honorary Fellowships of the Royal College of Surgeons (England), the Royal College of Anaesthetists and the Royal College of Pathologists.

Vrinda Grover

Ms. Vrinda Grover is a lawyer, researcher, and human rights and women's rights activist. She has been a fearless champion of rights, but also of due process. She has contributed to the drafting of laws including, The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005; The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012; The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013; The Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2013 – relating to sexual violence against women; the Prevention of Torture Bill, 2010; a legislation for protection from communal and targeted violence. She has a nuanced understanding of the concerns of people from different communities affected by HIV. She has, for example, stood in solidarity with sex workers in India and intervened to assert the distinction between sexual exploitation and sex work.

Grover has also appeared for the victims in prominent cases in India, such as the Soni Sori rape-torture case, 1984 anti-Sikh riots, 1987 Hashimpura police killings and the 2008 anti-Christian riots in Kandhamal. In the aftermath of the 2013 Muzaffarnagar communal attack, she represented seven of the gang rape survivors. She has also been a vocal critic of abuses of power when she has encountered them. Focused on the impunity of the state in relation to human rights violations, her research and writing looks into the role of law in the subordination of women; the failure of the criminal justice system during communal and targeted violence; the effect of 'security' laws on human rights; rights of undocumented workers; challenges confronting internally displaced persons; and examines impunity for enforced disappearances and torture in conflict situations.

She is a Board member of the International Service for Human Rights, and was part of the team which drafted the Model Law on the Recognition and Protection of Human Rights Defenders. She has associated with Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the International Commission of Jurists on responses to torture, arbitrary detention, sexual violence and extra-judicial killings.

Grover graduated from St. Stephen's College, Delhi, where she was a student in History. She obtained her degree in law from Delhi University and a Masters in Law from New York University.

Fulata Moyo

Dr. Fulata Moyo is President and Co-Founder, Global Studies in Gender and Religion Incorporated (in the process of registering). Moyo has spent her professional career challenging religious communities to address a host of issues around gender justice as intersectional with sexuality and other marginalisation. A substantial area of focus for her work is also the ‘ethic of care’: pursuing a meaningful, compassionate, faith-inspired response to issues such as human trafficking, which she started developing in 2016 at Harvard Divinity School as a visiting scholar.

She has worked for more than ten years on addressing human rights and gender justice and peace with no sexual and gender based violence as programme executive with the World Council of Churches (WCC) in the 120 countries that WCC works through member churches and their Faith based organisation partners and other international partners, including the United Nations. Her work here has involved challenging accepted patriarchal patriarchy through research and dialogue. She has an extensive track record of working across national borders and linguistic and ethnic contexts to create theoretical frameworks, which can then be applied in specific contexts.

Moyo holds a Batchelor of Arts from the University of Malawi and a Master of Arts in Religious Studies from the University of Zimbabwe. In 2003, she held a Research Fellowship for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS at Yale Divinity School. She has also completed a PhD. In Religion and Theology at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Announcement

CHARLOTTE PETRI GORNITZKA NO LONGER A MEMBER OF THE IEP

Charlotte Petri Gornitzka has informed me that as a result of her recent nomination as Assistant Secretary General and UNICEF’s new Deputy Executive Director, Partnerships, she will unfortunately no longer be able to serve as a member of the UNAIDS Independent Expert Panel, and I am hereby informing you of this decision.

I would like to express my thanks to Ms Petri Gornitzka for her work and advice on the Panel so far.

Professor Emerita Gillian Triggs

Chair of the IEP

12 September 2018

Contact

Contact the Independent expert panel at IEPChair@qedconsulting.com