Gunness broke down sobbing uncontrollably during an Al Jazeera interview this summer during Operation Protective Edge. That uncontrolled emotional outburst, coupled with these latest public rants, raises questions about such a person holding the position he has.
But things may have just gotten a whole lot worse for Gunness.
UNWATCH DEMANDS INVESTIGATION OF UNRWA’S BREACH OF NEUTRALITY PACT
As a result of Gunness’s latest outburst, UNWatch, a non-governmental organization monitoring the United Nations, is now urging U.N. Secretary-General Ban-ki Moon and U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power to investigate UNRWA for a breach of the neutrality agreement the UN recently signed.
That agreement was entered into by the U.S. State Department and UNRWA less than a month ago. By signing that agreement, the agency committed to “ensure adherence to principles of neutrality,” including neutrality of UNRWA’s staff.
Hillel Neuer, the executive director of UN Watch, wrote “UNRWA’s call to boycott an Israeli newspaper is a markedly political act that is inconsistent with the neutrality requirements applicable to all humanitarian agencies, and specifically negates provisions of UNRWA’s just-signed agreement with the U.S. State Department.”
Neuer pointed out that under the new agreement UNRWA must adhere to obligations under the U.S. Foreign Assistance Act, including confirming that its staff follows “appropriate behavior consistent with UNRWA’s neutrality rules.”
An additional obligation to which UNRWA committed by signing the neutrality agreement is the “prompt initiation of investigations upon receipt of credible information about alleged staff/personnel misconduct.”
The Twitter feed of Chris Gunness is surely credible information about staff misconduct sufficient to trigger an UNRWA investigation.
The danger of too much Twitter, similar to the danger of too much alcohol, is that one tends to lose control and reveal ugly parts of oneself better left contained. Gunness’s twitterburst reveals an intemperate and unbalanced UNRWA official. It tells you what is really in his heart – and proves Eid’s point.