I realized I had to develop my own tool kit to survive for the rest of my tenure.At the outset I must hasten to add that not all in the Secretariat were racists or bigots.
by Dr. Ruwantissa Abeyratne in Montreal
“What a sad era when it is easier to smash an atom than a prejudice.” –Albert Einstein
I was struck by a topical and timely article in the Daily News authored by Thalif Deen entitled Racism in the UN – A Dark Cloud where the author quotes Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations as saying “racism and discrimination have no place in our world — least of all at the United Nations”. The article says that soon, the Secretary General will appoint a Special Adviser to investigate the growing discrimination based on racial, national, or ethnic origins in the world body. The Secretary General is further quoted “[T]he diversity of our personnel is a source of profound richness. Yet I am fully aware and deeply concerned that colleagues have experienced the indignity, pain and consequences of workplace racism and racial discrimination. This is unacceptable”.
It was further reported that in pursuance of this laudable measure the Secretary General intends to establish a Steering Group to oversee implementation of the Strategic Action Plan on racial discrimination —and report progress to the Executive and Management Committees saying “[T]hese are the first steps in a relentless effort to address issues which tarnish the Organisation’s core values and behaviours and demean our shared humanity”.
He has pledged to “build a culture of solidarity and anti-racism where every individual can bring their whole self to work in a safe environment, regardless of racial, national, or ethnic origin” saying further, “This is the most effective way to transform the lives of the people we serve through enhanced professionalism, equality, dignity, and the promotion of racial diversity”.
Kudos to the Secretary General of the United Nations for taking this unprecedented and proactive step.
Recruitment of Staff by the United Nations
According to a UN document of 2012 titled Staff recruitment in United Nations system organizations: a comparative analysis and benchmarking framework, among the criteria applied for recruiting staff to the United Nations are: identification and selection of staff who demonstrate the highest standards of efficiency, competency and integrity. Selection decisions are transparent and free of bias or discrimination of any kind. Selection is made on a competitive basis for all positions irrespective of category, grade or level and selection decisions are based on pre-approved minimum requirements and evaluation criteria, and are transparent and well-documented. Managers are held accountable for those decisions. Staff at the professional level and above are recruited on as wide a geographical basis as possible. Preference is given at the time of selection to candidates from countries which are unrepresented or underrepresented, provided that qualifications and competencies are equal. Due consideration is given at the time of selection to the need for achieving gender parity, particularly for positions at the professional level and above. Full regard is given to the qualifications and experience of persons already in service, without prejudice to the recruitment of new talent.
In this text dripping with equitable fairness, words like “transparent and free of bias and discrimination” stand out loud and clear. If this be the case, there would be no racism and bigotry in the United Nations. But there is.
By “United Nations” I am referring to the Secretariat and not the delegations appointed by sovereign States.
Snakes in Suits
Researchers Paul Babiak and Robert Hare in their compelling book : “Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work” (Harper Collins: 2006) say that many psychopaths end up in the corporate world. They steal other’s jobs by ingratiating themselves with the bosses, negotiating the hiring process, inveigling themselves into high positions by depriving others who may earn these positions by performance, superior qualifications, and contributions to the workplace. These psychopaths, according to the authors, may “just want money, or power, or fame, or simply a nice car… they could appear to be strong, naive, dominant, honest, submissive, trustworthy, worldly, or whatever he or she believes will get others to respond positively to manipulative overtures”.
Perhaps the most dangerous snake in a suit is what author Aaron James calls an “asshole”. In his book “Assholes: A Theory” (published in October 2012) James, a Ph.D (Harvard) philosopher who is an Associate Professor, University of California, Ervine, has an implied analogy which matches the profile of a snake in a suit. James writes that assholes populate the vast moral middle ground between the two (rapists and murderers) . They are more than the average schmuck one finds in the workplace and act out of a deep-rooted sense of entitlement, a habitual and persistent belief that they deserve special treatment. The true asshole, James writes, “is immunized by his sense of entitlement against the complaints of other people. He is narcissistic, self-absorbed, impolite, and permanently thoughtless to those around him—and it is almost always a him—nearly to the point of sociopathy” (here I disagree as there are females who fit into this category as well) .
My Story
A few days after I was appointed I could hear, through the façade of smiles and the disingenuous cordiality of my supervisor and colleagues, the word “ geographic person” uttered over and over. At first, I did not realize what this meant. Later, I got to know that this was a term used by those from countries of the West to refer to a person recruited internationally from the East or Africa. Some days later, to my amusement I learnt that those responsible for this racist epithet comprised a rag tag of jumped up clerks and typists and stenographers in their own countries who had later gone to night school and tagged on a bachelor’s degree in fields totally unrelated to the specialized agency in which they held professional positions.
Here I was, with a fancy master’s degree from a top Australian university (in air law); 8 years as head of international relations in an international airline, and 26 journal articles published in top Western universities, being implicitly bestowed with the honorable title of “geographic person”. For the first few years, no paper I wrote went uncriticized nor found acceptable. Then I realized the combined reasons: jealousy and a deep-seated inferiority complex.
I remember once, while having lunch in the cafeteria with three other colleagues from the “West”, one said, referring to an absent African colleague: “we should shoot these B…. like we did once”, only later realizing to his embarrassment that I was at the table. There were many such instances which I care not to mention.
The Tool Kit
I realized I had to develop my own tool kit to survive for the rest of my tenure.
At the outset I must hasten to add that not all in the Secretariat were racists or bigots. There were wonderful professionals (some of the cleverest I have encountered in my 40-year professional career) who would go all the way to give a hand to a young, qualified professional such as myself to improve. _
I was fortunate to find one. who was both a powerful and highly respected person who encouraged me to pursue doctoral studies. When the university accepted my candidature (for a doctoral programme to be completed outside my official working hours) I was summoned to the office of the “big boss” and advised not to join the doctoral programme (of course, none of them had the slightest knowledge of what a doctorate was). But when they got to know who was supporting me, the snakes in suits dared not confront the power behind me.
Secondly, I started publishing books and articles in law, again, and prolifically, disregarding the prohibitions enforced, and with strong encouragement from my mentor. By this time racism and bigotry had given way to raw unmitigated jealousy where one even wrote a petition to the university against my candidature, which my mentor showed me later.
Thirdly, and by this time I had attracted the attention of some powerful delegates who themselves wanted to publish (needless to say, with a view to enhancing their own careers). I helped them and one or two delegates even had articles written by me and published in the inhouse journal in their own names).
Also by this time I had earned my second doctorate and I was being regularly appointed to various working groups in the Secretariat some of which I headed. I must say that there were some Secretaries General who were themselves “geographic persons” who also encouraged me to progress. That did not stop the snakes in suits (some of them my peers) “ratting” on me to the authorities against my writing. Their efforts were thwarted by two Directors who were my supervisors who saw through their jealousy, racism, and bigotry.
By the end of my tenure, I had also, in addition to my substantive duties, been appointed by the Secretary General as Counsel to the staff and the majority of staff complaints I had to address were against racism and bigotry.
Not all victims of racism and bigotry may be in the same circumstances I was and may not be able to do what I did. But at least they can find their expertise, pursue their goals relentlessly and above all, make powerful friends to overcome the snakes in suits.
Epilogue
The Secretary General of the United Nations is certainly on the right track. The answer towards eliminating this perfidious specimen from the workplace lies with the bosses. Any institution which has a code of ethics should have, as the opposite of whistle blowing (which is usually encouraged) the offence of tale-carrying. Another unethical behavior should be lack of transparency in making appointments and there should be insistence that appointments are made on the basis of superior performance and qualifications. The unjust enrichment of one at the expense of another, which devastates the career path of the latter, should be a grave offence calling for restitution and punishment of both the person who is responsible for the appointment and the invidious appointee who influences such appointment. Any form of political influence or pressure should be condemned and action taken accordingly against the perpetrators.
Workplaces should also identify human rights. A right is something due to a person by just claim, legal guarantee or moral principle. It is a power, privilege or immunity accrued to a person by law and is a legally enforceable claim that another will do or will not do a given act. It is also a recognized and protected interest, the violation of which is wrong. Therefore, the starting point should be in the words “just claim” “legal guarantee and “moral principle”. These claims and guarantees based on moral principles should be justiciable.
It is not that I did not pay a price. My appointment to a directorial position, which the Secretary General had made based on my superior credentials and signed off, was halted by insidious elements. This fact is documented in an appeal of the Secretary General filed by him in the United Nations Appeals Tribunal.
Now, nearly ten years after retirement from the UN system, with 36 books and over 450 legal articles behind me, it is a fading memory. I can only quote the lyrics of the song “My Way” “ … And now, as tears subside, I find it all so amusing. To think I did all that, and may I say, not in a shy way, oh, no, oh, no, not me, I did it my way.
Yes, it was my way.
Among other positions held at the International Civil Aviation Organization, Dr. Abeyratne was Chairman, Advisory Joint Appeals Board as well as Counsel for the staff of ICAO.
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