COP28: Harassment accusations hit climate talks – 06/21/2023 – Environment

Female delegates at UN climate talks report being bullied, mobbed and sexually harassed by male negotiators, casting a greater shadow over this year’s COP28 summit.

Women who took part in the UN discussions in Bonn this month told the Financial Times about several instances where female delegates faced intimidation or harassment from male colleagues, leading to a letter of protest signed by two dozen countries concerned about abusive behaviour.

And the director of the Mexico delegation, Camila Zepeda, told the FT that she suffered sexual harassment at COP27 in Egypt last year, including inappropriate messages from a delegate.

Zepeda did not denounce what happened at the time, but decided to come forward now because he said that women continue to suffer harassment in UN discussions. “We need proactive measures to ensure everyone’s safety,” she said.

According to a person briefed on the facts, other cases of sexual harassment were formally denounced at COP27.

Mexico, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Peru and Canada are among two dozen countries that have written to the UN since then urging it to take steps to “ensure an environment free of harassment” at the talks.

The letter, seen by the Financial Times, urges organizers to “pay particular attention to how women negotiators are treated at the venues (of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change), inside and outside the negotiations, ensuring that all participants feel part of a respectful and safe work environment”.

The allegations are yet another problem for the UN’s climate discussions, which will culminate at the end of this year at COP28 in the United Arab Emirates, a petrostate. This week UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the process is being undermined by the interests of the oil and gas industry.

Speaking at the close of the Bonn conference on Thursday, UN climate chief Simon Stiell confirmed that he has been “informed that inappropriate behavior has occurred during this session”.

“I will be clear: Harassment, whether in the form of sexism, bullying or sexual harassment, is not acceptable under the UNFCCC process. [sigla em inglês da Convenção-Quadro]”, he said.

The UNFCCC is said to be studying whether its code of conduct needs to be updated and whether new measures should be adopted before the COP28 climate summit in Dubai.

Nearly 8,000 people signed up to attend the discussions in Bonn, which are crucial in setting the talking points for the main event, COP28.

A trader from a major European country said “direct examples” of bullying and harassment had been seen over the past two weeks in Bonn, where women faced “intimidating behaviour” and “inappropriate language”.

Two people said several of the bullying allegations in Bonn involved female members of the Mexican delegation. Some men who are part of the delegation allegedly “sought to damage their credibility”.

A senior delegate said: “People think they can say and act as they see fit. We are dealing with a situation that heightens emotions, but that does not authorize men to intimidate women.”

Allegations include that women were treated with contempt, that male colleagues raised their voices so they could not be heard and that they were yelled at in meetings, said people who took part in the discussions in Germany.

A negotiator from a G20 country said there is a “cultural problem” at UN conferences, saying they are marred by “a lot of toxic alpha male behavior”.

“It’s a very aggressive thing,” she said. “Men behave worse when they’re at these conferences. It’s like a western.”

During a taped accountability session in Bonn on Tuesday, representatives from Switzerland, the EU and Australia noted and condemned the allegations of inappropriate and unacceptable behaviour.

The UNFCCC declined to comment. COP28 said it “has full confidence that the UNFCCC is taking this situation seriously. The COP28 Chair has zero tolerance for discrimination, racism or harassment of any kind.”

COP27 did not respond to a request for comment.

_{Translated by Clara Allain}