UNDT/2013/025, Kacan
He alleged that the non-renewal of his appointment was based on discriminatory grounds, i.e. because of his Kurdish ethnicity, and not for reasons of force majeure, namely due to the occurred earthquake, leading to the subsequent closure of the UNHCR office in Van/Turkey. The UNDT found that the decision not to renew his appointment was lawful, as the Applicant failed to adduce evidence of any breach of his rights.
The Applicant, a former staff member of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (“UNHCR”) in Van/Turkey, contests the decision not to renew his fixed-term appointment beyond 31 December 2011.
Reasons for non-renewal/burden of proof of extraneous factors: If an Applicant contests the legality of a non-renewal decision, she/he has the burden of proving that the true reason behind a decision is unlawful.