Page "Ruud Lubbers" Paragraph 23

In May 2004, Lubbers was accused by Cynthia Brzak, an American UNHCR employee, of sexual harassment following a meeting in his office that was attended by two other UNHCR staff members.

The complaint was reported in the media, prompting Lubbers to inform UNHCR staff about the accusation.

On this occasion, he denied any wrongdoing and rejected the allegation against him.

On 2 June 2004, the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services ( OIOS ) which was tasked with investigating the accusation, sent its report to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.

In its public annual report to the UN secretary general ( presented to the UN General Assembly ), the OIOS reported concerning the case that it had “ submitted a report to the Secretary-General supporting the allegations and recommended that appropriate actions be taken accordingly .”