United Nations - The deputy director of
the United Nations children's agency UNICEF resigned on
Thursday, saying he did not want coverage of past mistakes he
had made to damage the organisation or other aid bodies.
Save the Children UK said on Wednesday concerns were raised
about inappropriate comments and behaviour by Justin Forsyth,
the charity's then chief executive, in 2011 and 2015. It said
reviews in both cases had resulted in "unreserved apologies" to
the women involved.
In a statement, Forsyth said his decision to step down from
UNICEF was not because of "the mistakes I made at Save the
Children".
"They were dealt with through a proper process many years
ago," his statement said.
"I apologised unreservedly at the time and face to face. I
apologise again. There is no doubt in my mind that some of the
coverage around me is not just to - rightly - hold me to
account, but also to attempt to do serious damage to our cause
and the case for aid."
His decision to step down comes as charities in the aid
sector pledge to overhaul their approach to dealing with
allegations of sexual misconduct and harassment.
Britain and the European Union put their funding of Oxfam
under review after reported abuse by some staff in Haiti after
an earthquake in 2010.