Epress.am News from Armenia
Robert Appleton is seeking $1 million USD in damages and up to $500,000 in lost wages and benefits after he was denied a promotion on the grounds of gender and nationality, reports The Daily Telegraph.
In a 76-page application to the United Nations Dispute Tribunal Mr Appleton said that Mr Ban’s rejected the recommended candidate for the post of permanent head of the investigation division in a breach of the UN Charter and General Assembly resolutions.
An internal hiring panel selected Appleton from among about 70 applicants as the sole qualified and suitable candidate to serve as permanent head of the investigation division within the UN’s Office of Internal Services, or OIOS.
But Mr Ban insisted that all senior-level appointments to be chosen from among a field of three qualified candidates that reflect a degree of geographical diversity and include at least one woman.
Last month a leaked memo by Inga-Britt Ahlenius, the former head of the OIOS, revealed she had attempted to persuade Mr Ban to appoint Mr Appleton nine times.
Instead Catherine Pollard, the assistant secretary-general for human resources, ordered Miss Ahlenius to interview four more candidates.
Farhan Haq, a UN spokesperson, said that Mr Ban’s office could not comment on matters before the tribunal.