A senior United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) official says he lost his job after 26 years with the agency because of his criticism of Israel’s war on Gaza and his involvement in protests over the territory’s worsening hunger crisis.

Ben Davis, director of FAO’s Rural Transformation and Gender Equality Division, said he was informed in July that his contract would not be renewed after management accused him of violating the organization’s impartiality rules.

According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), Davis said the allegations included organizing weekly moments of silence at the agency’s headquarters in Rome to protest hunger and famine conditions in Gaza.

Davis’s case has raised questions about the freedom of UN employees to speak out on humanitarian crises and international law, particularly regarding Israel’s military campaign in the Palestinian territory.

Davis also faced criticism over his involvement in preparing a report examining food availability in Gaza and the implications of international humanitarian law. The report was published in May.

He said FAO management subsequently ordered the report’s removal and restricted references to international humanitarian law.

“We weren’t allowed to make any references to humanitarian law,” Davis said, describing the restrictions imposed on the report.

He said the document was among the issues that prompted criticism from senior management, alongside his participation in protests highlighting the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.

The controversy emerged alongside remarks by FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu, who warned employees against participating in human rights-related activities or campaigns.

Qu said the organization did not allow its employees to “play the game of human rights,” referring to the existence of a UN human rights agency in Geneva.

He also warned that staff members could face disciplinary action for violating the organization's rules, adding that he would dismiss more employees if they breached the regulations.

Asked whether he believed Qu’s remarks were directed at him, Davis said they were, noting that the director-general had previously reprimanded him publicly and accused him of being “too political.”

Davis warned that the director-general’s statements could signal further action against employees who speak out about Israel’s war on Gaza.

He said the weekly moments of silence had attracted hundreds of participants at their peak, but attendance had since fallen to between 30 and 40 employees.

The dispute highlights tensions within UN institutions over staff members’ ability to express views on humanitarian emergencies and international law while complying with organizational rules on impartiality.

It also comes amid sustained international concern over the devastating humanitarian consequences of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, including widespread destruction, displacement and severe restrictions on access to food and other essential supplies. (ILKHA)