UNESCO Suspends Maghreb Representative Over Alleged Workplace Harassment in Morocco

Golda El Khoury would have even described some of the employees as "uneducated" or even "incapable". She would even have gone so far as to compare the office to a "zoo". It is this insult too many that has triggered a broader revolt against her, including from the international staff, who have expressed their solidarity with their Moroccan colleagues.

To preserve cohesion among the employees, the Evaluation and Audit Service (IOS) of the organization recommended the opening of disciplinary proceedings. Contacted by Jeune Afrique, Unesco said there was "indeed an administrative procedure underway" and that, "for obvious reasons of confidentiality and respect for procedures", the organization could not "make any comments".

At the end of the administrative procedure, the UN official loses her position. Her replacement has already been chosen and is expected in this February. It is the Austrian Alexander Schischlik, an Unesco employee since 1993, where he has held various responsibilities. He was in charge of programs related to music, arts, cultural industries and human rights, before managing the youth and sports sector of the organization from 2012.

As for Golda el-Khoury, she had joined the UN in 2002 as a senior regional advisor for Unicef for the Middle East and North Africa, before being appointed to Unesco in 2009. She had previously headed the NGO Save the Children in Iraq, Egypt, Jordan and Indonesia, according to Jeune Afrique.