Michel Sidibe will leave UNAIDS in June 2019

The head of the United Nations Program on HIV / AIDS (UNAIDS), Michel Sidibé, announced that he would resign early in June of the coming year. The resignation of the UNAIDS head has become known against the backdrop of a scandal that has flared up in the organization in connection with the statements of employees about sexual harassment.

Executive Director Michel Sidibé announced that he was leaving UNAIDS during a meeting of the board of directors of the union, held in Geneva last Thursday.

The term Sidibe was supposed to end in January 2020.

According to CNN, last Friday a group of independent experts published a report in which they talked about the culture of impunity and the oppressive work environment at UNAIDS, explaining that the situation cannot be changed unless Sidibe resigns.

According to them, the leaders of the organization could not prevent or properly respond to allegations of sexual harassment, bullying and abuse of power.

Sidibé, a native of Mali, denied claims that he was trying to force one of his employees to drop the charges that she had been sexually abused by her former deputy.

Recall that earlier this year, UNAIDS employee Martin Brostrom announced the accusations against the former deputy director of the program agency Luis Lures. According to her data, originally set out in a complaint of sexual harassment and assault in 2016, Loures, while on a working trip to Bangkok in May 2015, forcibly kissed and hugged her.

The Bureau of the World Health Organization, which investigated this case, concluded that there was not sufficient evidence to support the statements of Ms. Brostrom.

Moreover, despite serious criticism, four experts from the WHO team that analyzed the situation at UNAIDS pointed to Sidibe’s “outstanding contribution” to UNAIDS and called him a “passionate and effective advocate” for the most vulnerable people. At the same time, one of the most striking achievements of the current head of the agency is that he always “boldly spoke” about the risks of HIV / AIDS among adolescent girls and women.

A statement by the UN agency on Thursday said nothing about the report that was sounded last week, it simply indicates that Sidibe wants to “change the leadership at UNAIDS” and will resign at the end of June.

Co-chair of the World Without AIDS, Paula Donovan, who led the Code Blue campaign to end impunity for sexual violence by UN colleagues, said that Sidibé "does not deserve to be in his position and at the time specified by him."