The United Nations said Friday that UNICEF is taking action over serious allegations against a senior staff member accused of secretly sharing confidential UN information with Israeli diplomats while working for another UN agency.
UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said UNICEF is handling the allegations involving Yahav Lichner, who has reportedly been placed on administrative leave.
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Lichner currently heads UNICEF’s Washington office. Haq declined to provide details on the terms of the leave, including whether it is paid, or whether UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres or his Cabinet had been consulted.
He also did not confirm whether the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) is investigating the allegations.
“I don’t have further details on the status of the person involved to share with you,” Haq told reporters.
Haq emphasized that UNICEF is responsible for handling the matter because it is the agency that currently employs Lichner.
“UNICEF is the agency that employs the person, so they’re in the lead on this,” he said.
The UN spokesman stressed that if the allegations are substantiated, the conduct would conflict with the obligations expected of international civil servants.
“What I can tell you is that UNICEF is aware of serious allegations concerning an employee and is taking the appropriate action,” Haq said.
He added that any such conduct would be inconsistent with the UN Charter, staff regulations and international civil service standards, which require UN personnel to maintain independence and impartiality and emphasize that their responsibilities are international rather than national.
The questions follow a report alleging that Lichner, while working for the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), secretly provided confidential UN documents and details of internal discussions to Israeli diplomats in 2014 and 2015.
According to the report, the allegations are based on emails contained in a hacked archive belonging to Ron Prosor, Israel’s former ambassador to the United Nations.
The emails were reportedly obtained by the Iranian hacking group Handala and later published by Distributed Denial of Secrets, a nonprofit whistleblower website.
The allegations have not been established as fact. The UN has not publicly provided further details about the investigation or the status of Lichner beyond confirming that UNICEF is taking appropriate action.
The case has raised questions about the obligations of UN personnel and the safeguards surrounding confidential information, particularly when staff members have previously worked for different UN agencies.
