UN: The former Dutch prime minister Mr Ruud Lubbers resigned yesterday as UN High Commissioner for Refugees in the wake of allegations of sexual harassment.
Mr Lubbers (65), who has been in charge of the UN's refugee operation since 2001, stepped down following a meeting with UN Secretary General Mr Kofi Annan on Friday.
"The complaint of sexual harassment could not be substantiated," Mr Lubbers wrote in his letter of resignation to Mr Annan.
"For more than four years I gave all my energy to UNHCR," he said.
"Now in the middle of a series of problems and with ongoing media pressure you apparently view this differently.
"To be frank, and despite all my loyalty, insult has now been added to injury and therefore I resign as high commissioner."
Mr Lubbers told Mr Annan he would continue to be available to the UNHCR "until you have found the successor and she or he is confirmed by the general assembly and ready to take over".
The issue came to a head after the leak of a confidential UN report into the allegations of sexual harassment against Mr Lubbers.
The report found that Mr Lubbers was guilty of sexual harassment and suggested that this reflected a pattern of behaviour. But after taking internal and external legal advice, Mr Annan decided he was unable to act against Mr Lubbers. He instead issued him with a strong warning about his conduct.
The main allegation, which first surfaced last year, concerned an incident at the end of a meeting in December 2003.
A female UNHCR employee claimed that Mr Lubbers had asked her to stay behind, placed his hands on her waist, pulled her towards him and pressed his groin against her.
Mr Lubbers denied the charge, saying that two witnesses were present in the room at the time and had not reported any untoward behaviour.
He insisted that he had placed his hand on the small of the woman's back as he ushered her out of the room.
"I call it familiar but certainly not sexual harassment," he said.
Four other women subsequently came forward to claim they had been sexually harassed by Mr Lubbers, although they did so on condition that their identities not be revealed.
They said they had declined to make formal complaints for fear of retaliation.
In his resignation letter Mr Lubbers rejected that assertion, saying: "There was no retaliation at all."
The report, which was finalised last summer but not made public, concluded: "Mr Lubbers did engage in unwanted physical contact with a subordinate female staff member.
"New allegations that came to the OIOS's [ Office for Internal Oversight Services] attention during the investigation were also examined and indicate a pattern of sexual harassment by Mr Lubbers."