UN Sexcapades Continue

UNITED NATIONS - A letter sent to Secretary-General Annan by representatives of the United Nations staff union may set up the next firing of a top Turtle Bay figure, following a weekend that brought the housecleaning under the new chief of staff, Mark Malloch Brown, to new heights.

The confidential staff union letter, dated February 17, marked a new round in a battle to investigate allegations of abuse of power by Undersecretary-General Dileep Nair, who heads the U.N. internal investigative arm, the Office of Internal Oversight Services.

Ironically, it was a leak last week of a months-old classified report on sexual harassment by the OIOS that led to the high-profile departure this weekend of the U.N.'s high commissioner for refugees, Ruud Lubbers. Mr. Lubbers' s forced resignation was universally seen at the U.N. as an attempt by Mr. Malloch Brown to pre-empt criticism of the organization.

The letter regarding Mr. Nair, who has been accused by some staffers of sexual harassment in the past, consisted of five separate new allegations, according to two sources who have read parts of it to The New York Sun. The five allegations were described by one source as "merely technical." But another said they regarded serious "hiring, promotions, recruitment, and discipline" issues in Mr. Nair's office.