In 2017, Secretary-General António Guterres tasked his appointee Jane Holl Lute, Special Coordinator on Improving the United Nations Response to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, with leading his “New Approach” to sexual offenses committed by UN personnel. She is the UN's highest-ranking official dedicated to addressing the Organization’s sexual abuse crisis.
Ms. Lute, who holds the title of Under-Secretary-General, is employed as Special Coordinator on a “when-actually-employed” basis. In June 2018, while she continued to serve as Special Coordinator, Secretary-General Guterres also appointed Ms. Lute as his Special Envoy on the Cyprus dispute.
In September 2021, Ms. Lute stepped down as special envoy from Cyprus amid the UN Ethics Panel's questions about a potential conflict of interest between that UN role and her simultaneous position as Non-Executive Director for fossil fuel giant Shell Oil. She did not, however, step down from her role as Special Coordinator on Improving the United Nations Response to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse.
The Code Blue Campaign is perplexed by this evident discrepancy. We have written to Secretary-General Guterres asking why Ms. Lute is permitted to maintain her position as an Under-Secretary-General when she also represents the oil industry. We underscored the conflict of interest that cannot have escaped the Secretary-General's attention, since he himself has decried the fossil fuel industry's role in climate change.
But change may be coming.
On the final page of the Report of the Secretary-General on Special Measures for protection from sexual exploitation and abuse—released on March 16, 2022—Mr. Guterres declares that he will now appoint a full-time, dedicated Under-Secretary-General to carry out the Special Coordinator role. Having recognized, two months into his second term, that the pernicious crisis he once placed at the top of his reform agenda needs “constant high-level vigilance combined with the ability to initiate timely action,” the Secretary-General now intends to adopt “a more aggressive approach.”
The hiring process for the Special Coordinator is ongoing. Applications were being accepted up to March 21, 2022.
statements and open letters from The Code Blue Campaign
To read all Code Blue statements, letters, and press releases, visit our statements page.
A Fresh Start to Ending UN Sex Abuse?
April 1, 2022
The Secretary-General is Right: His “New Approach” to UN Sex Abuse Failed
March 18, 2022
Big Oil Rep Must Leave Her Top UN Post
February 17, 2022
Mr. Guterres, Where is Jane Holl Lute, Your Under-Secretary-General on UN Sex Abuse?
June 1, 2020
Asking Again: Where is Jane Holl Lute, the Under-Secretary-General on UN Sex Abuse?
July 20, 2020
in the news
PassBlue news coverage of Jane Holl Lute.
The Code Blue Campaign’s analyses of the Special Coordinator have been featured in a range of media outlets.
For a full list of articles featuring the Code Blue Campaign, see Code Blue in the News.
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(UN Photo / Loey Felipe)