Asked and answered

The JPost published an article this past week which reported that "Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Ron Prosor called Wednesday for the dismissal of a UN official who earlier this week tweeted a picture of a Palestinian child covered in blood and falsely claimed she was killed by an IDF strike."

Below is the first question posed and answered during the Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General of March 16th.

Question: Ambassador Ron Prosor of Israel has written a letter to Ms. Valerie Amos regarding a picture that Ms. Kuhlood Badawi has used, in which… which is a misrepresentation of events on the ground in Gaza and Israel. Please, your comments.

Spokesperson: Well, a response has been sent, I understand, to the Israeli Permanent Representative from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

It is regrettable that an OCHA staff member has posted information on her personal Twitter profile which is both false and which reflects on the issues that are related to her work. The opinions expressed in her Twitter profile in no way reflect the views of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and nor have they been sanctioned by that Office. The staff member is a national field coordination officer, who is not authorized to speak on behalf of the Office.

There was no association made to the Office in the staff member's private Twitter profile. And just to say that when this issue was brought to the Office’s attention on 12 March, an internal inquiry into the matter was initiated to determine what actions should be taken in line with United Nations rules and regulations. All staff of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs are expected to act in accordance with the obligations of United Nations staff members. And the Office says that it strives to ensure its neutrality and impartiality in all aspects of its work, and it is important that the private actions of staff do not undermine these principles in the countries in which we work.
http://www.un.org/News/briefings/docs/2012/db120316.doc.htm