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Tensions between McCain and agency staff came to a head in a Nov. 30 call, in which WFP workers in the Middle East and North Africa also criticized her decision to appear at an event where an award in her husband’s name was given to the Israeli people, potentially compromising the agency’s efforts to feed Palestinians in Gaza, staff said.
Israel said last month that “no electricity, no food, no fuel” would be allowed to enter the densely populated enclave. Since then, Israel has allowed some aid to enter Gaza — particularly during a week-long pause in fighting — though global health organizations have warned that the amount of aid trickling into Gaza is not commensurate to the need.
In the WFP video conference, a recording of which was obtained by The Washington Post, staff asked McCain why the agency, which is tasked with “delivering food assistance in emergencies,” has not said that food is being used as a weapon of war in Gaza, as it has in places like Ethiopia and Yemen. McCain, in the video conference, said she was remaining “neutral,” adding that because the U.N. secretary general has not yet used those terms, WFP would not.
Staff also raised concerns about McCain’s apparent absence at a moment of silence held in Rome for the more than 100 U.N. workers killed in Gaza, leading to an awkward interaction in which her deputies scrambled to decide who should lead the gathering. McCain said in the call that she was in attendance, but on the sidelines.
A spokesperson for WFP said in a statement that McCain “observed the moment of silence” in front of a memorial wall at the agency’s headquarters, and opened remarks to the executive board the same day “by acknowledging the moment of silence and paying tribute to our team in Gaza.”
“The deaths of over 100 of our U.N. colleagues in Gaza is unacceptable,” the spokesperson added, “and we stand in solidarity to mourn all of them who have died in the conflict.”
One staffer of WFP’s operations in Gaza told McCain on the call that for “54 days your staff, our teams have been living through hell.” The employee, apparently getting choked up, paused, at which point McCain said, “Do you have a question?”
“Where were you, Mrs. Executive Director?” the employee responded. “We have neither your presence nor your action and not even your voice for Gaza.”
WFP workers said it is common for executive directors to visit conflict zones where the agency is serving people. McCain noted she had visited Egypt, which has led negotiations for aid to enter the Gaza Strip.
“Using the strength and parameters of WFP’s mandate, the Executive Director and her leadership team are working tirelessly to get lifesaving aid to the millions in Gaza in desperate need,” the WFP spokesperson said.
Four WFP employees who spoke with The Post on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of retribution, said they were disappointed that McCain had not been more forceful in condemning Israel’s siege of Gaza.
They have urged her to explicitly call for a humanitarian cease-fire; McCain signed on to a joint statement by the heads of U.N. agencies last month calling for such an action but has not done so individually. The head of another U.N. agency, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of the World Health Organization, called for a cease-fire a week before the joint statement was issued. The WFP spokesperson said McCain has supported U.N. Secretary General António Guterres’s call for a humanitarian cease-fire “on multiple occasions,” adding that “she has made it clear that, more than anything, what is needed is peace.”
McCain, speaking from Phoenix, said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” in November that Gaza was possibly “on the brink of famine,” adding that more aid needed to be let into the enclave. “It is a massive, catastrophic event that is occurring,” she said. WFP said last week that it has provided food to 120,000 Gazans, “but thousands more people need support.”
Employees on the call also lamented McCain’s attendance at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia, where an award named for McCain’s late husband, Sen. John McCain, was given to “the people of Israel.”
McCain interrupted the employee, saying, “I will always support the legacy of my husband. No one will ever take that away from me. So if you disagree with where I went to Halifax, or if you disagree with me supporting my husband, then that’s a disagreement that we’re going to have.”
The employee attempted to continue speaking, at which point McCain said, “I didn’t do it. I didn’t do it. I’m done now. I’m done.”
McCain’s “condescending, disrespectful” demeanor on the call further angered staff, one employee told The Post.
McCain is not a member of the forum and was not involved in the selection process for the award, the WFP spokesperson said. “Ms McCain attended as the widow of her late husband of 40 years and in support of Mr. McCain’s legacy,” the spokesperson said.
Still, her appearance at the event, where she also spoke about combating world hunger — her remarks named Ukraine, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia and South Sudan, but not Gaza — was a violation of the humanitarian principle of impartiality, WFP employees told The Post.
The staff members said that any perceived impartiality endangers workers on the ground in conflict zones, where militant groups may withhold access to provide aid, threaten or harm employees. The perception that WFP is aligned with Israel would make the work difficult for WFP staff in the Middle East and North Africa, the employees said.
McCain took the helm of the agency in April after serving as the U.S. ambassador to U.N. agencies, another posting in Rome. In an April interview on CBS’s “Sunday Morning” program, McCain was asked about having to remain politically neutral in her new role. As U.S. ambassador, McCain had made comments critical of Russia, the program noted. But as a U.N. agency head, McCain is forbidden from taking sides.
“As you know WFP is nonpolitical,” McCain said. “Our goal is to feed people.”
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