2010-UNAT-018, Mahdi
On appeal, the Appellant asserted that the Commissioner-General erred in not following the JAB’s recommendation. UNAT held that the JAB did not assess the totality of the evidence when making its recommendation. UNAT specifically held that the JAB’s recommendation that no clear policy or instruction prevented the Appellant from giving the individual the authorization to use the DSA Facility did not take into account that there was a clear policy to inform his supervisors, which the Appellant failed to do. UNAT accordingly dismissed the appeal.
The Applicant contested the decision to summarily dismiss him. The Commissioner-General of UNRWA rejected the Joint Appeals Board (JAB) recommendation and upheld the dismissal. The Commissioner-General held that the Applicant’s conduct amounted to willful and serious misuse of the UNRWA’s assets, rendering him liable to disciplinary measures, including summary dismissal.
A staff member’s clear violation of the Organisation’s policies may constitute misconduct warranting summary dismissal.