Top WHO Covid investigator fired for sexual misconduct

A top investigator at the World Health Organization who said it was “extremely unlikely” that Covid-19 leaked from a Chinese laboratory has been dismissed for sexual misconduct, in the latest scandal to hit the UN agency.

The WHO told the Financial Times that Peter Ben Embarek, a scientist and long-serving official at the agency, was fired in 2022 after two complaints were upheld following investigations that took several years to complete.

“Peter Ben Embarek was dismissed following findings of sexual misconduct against him that were substantiated by investigations into allegations received in 2015 and 2017, and [the] corresponding disciplinary process,” the WHO said.

It said there were other allegations against Ben Embarek that could not be “fully investigated” because the alleged victim or victims declined to “engage with the investigation process”. “Consequently no disciplinary action could be taken,” the WHO added.

Ben Embarek said there was still an “ongoing procedure” and that he had challenged the WHO sanction, which was “not final”. He added an incident in 2017 was amicably settled. Ben Embarek said he was unaware of any other complaints and denied harassment. He said he could not comment on details on grounds of confidentiality.

The WHO declined to comment on his remarks.

After a two-decade-long career at the WHO, Ben Embarek shot to prominence in 2021 when he led a team of scientists on a mission to Wuhan, China, where Covid is thought to have originated.

Ben Embarek endorsed some key elements of China’s account of the outbreak, saying it was “extremely unlikely” that the virus leaked from a lab in Wuhan because of the safety protocols there.

Since then, the so-called lab leak theory has gained traction among scientists and some US intelligence agencies. Following the mission, Ben Embarek remarked on the political pressure facing his team of investigators and stressed that he had never ruled out human error at the labs.

The disclosure of Ben Embarek’s dismissal will add to mounting concerns over the WHO’s work culture and the systems in place for dealing with allegations of wrongdoing by employees.

In a separate scandal, WHO staff in the Democratic Republic of Congo were accused of sexual assault during an Ebola outbreak in 2021. In some cases, women were raped after being offered work while others were forced to undergo abortions after being raped, according to a WHO-commissioned report.

Gaya Gamhewage, the woman charged with preventing sexual misconduct at the WHO, has spoken candidly about the “bloody problem” at the organisation, vowing to overhaul its approach to handling complaints.

In 2021, the WHO adopted a zero-tolerance strategy and started publishing figures on sexual misconduct online. In the past two quarters, seven WHO employees were dismissed for sexual misconduct.

WHO investigators were first made aware of the allegations against Ben Embarek in 2018, the health body said, adding that it had been dealing with a significant backlog of reports, which it cleared earlier this year. The agency said it was now aiming to close probes within six months.

Ben Embarek faced one other allegation of sexual harassment against a younger colleague, according to several people familiar with the matter. This complaint was additional to those in 2015 and 2017 that the WHO said it had substantiated in investigations.

The allegation was formally raised with the WHO in 2019 but no action was taken, said the people familiar with the case. The WHO said the office of the ombudsperson will not “impose a solution” without the co-operation of the alleged victim.

The WHO said it followed “due process” in both investigations and had added Ben Embarek’s name into a database to prevent perpetrators of sexual misconduct from being rehired by UN agencies.

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