The UN decided to dispense with the Chilean Fabrizio Hochschild, Appointed last year as special envoy for Technology, after an internal investigation in response to complaints of abuse of authority and workplace harassment filed against him by several women.
Hochschild, who has been on paid administrative leave since the investigation began almost a year ago, “has been separated from service at the United Nations” and “is no longer employed” by the organization, spokesman Stéphane Dujarric explained on Wednesday. .
The conclusions of this internal process will remain confidential, according to the spokesman, who defended the length of the investigations to guarantee a rigorous result.
The investigation against the Chilean official was opened in January 2021, a few days after assuming his new position, following several complaints of harassment and abuse of authority, all filed by women who had worked with him at the United Nations, as then advanced the medium Passblue, specialized in information about the organization.
The complaints, which were not officially made public, detailed an alleged volatile behavior on the part of Hochschild, with demands for loyalty and abusive behavior, including comments about the gender or nationality of subordinates, according to sources cited by that medium.
The Chilean had been placed on administrative leave until the end of last year, which was then extended for another month while the investigation and review procedure was finalized, after the official asked before a dispute court of the organization that The decision not to renew his appointment, which expired on December 31, was halted.
According to the spokesman, once all this internal process was completed, Hochschild was informed of the result and removed from the position.
In a message published today through his Twitter account, Hochschild defended that “several factors undermined” his right to “a fair trial” and said that he is considering requesting an independent review of the case before the UN dispute court.
— Fabrizio Hochschild (@HochschildF) January 26, 2022
In his statement, the Chilean thanked all his colleagues who defended him, “particularly in the face of false and defamatory press information” that referred to sexual harassment and financial misconduct and which, he assured, were denied in the investigation. .
“My eagerness to comply led some to see me as a controlling and overly demanding supervisor, for which I apologize”, he pointed.
Hochschild began his career at the UN in 1988, working at the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees in Sudan, and later went through other agencies such as the support for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) and the coordination of humanitarian affairs (OCHA).
Later, he held several senior positions in the organization in different countries and also at the headquarters in New York.
Before his appointment as the new Envoy for Technology, he had coordinated the 75th anniversary commemorations of the United Nations.
The United Nations now plans to seek a new envoy for Technology, Dujarric confirmed today.