Benjamin Davis, a 62-year-old senior official at the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, has filed an appeal challenging his dismissal last week after 26 years of service. Davis alleges that FAO leadership chose not to renew his contract as director of the rural transformation and gender equality division due to his team’s work documenting hunger conditions in Gaza and his participation in memorial gatherings held by concerned staff members.
Davis’s team published a briefing paper in May of last year analyzing food security in Gaza and describing current conditions as a violation of the right to food and unlawful obstruction of humanitarian assistance. The paper was subsequently removed from the FAO website following leadership direction. Additionally, his team conducted a seminar on the subject in September, which prompted a formal complaint from the Israeli mission to the FAO. Davis participated in weekly gatherings held in the FAO car park to mark those who died in Gaza, events that drew scrutiny when a representative from Israel’s mission photographed participants in October.
The FAO’s director general, Qu Dongyu, made public remarks last Tuesday that appeared to reference Davis’s case, stating the organization would not permit what he characterized as political activism and human rights advocacy beyond the agency’s mandate. Qu asserted that violation of staff regulations justified the dismissal and indicated he intended to remove additional staff members deemed to be acting outside legal boundaries. The official termination letter cited concerns about Davis’s ability to fulfill obligations as a senior international civil servant and referenced code of conduct provisions regarding impartiality and restrictions on public statements about controversial matters.
Davis contends that FAO management had previously approved all three elements of his work—the briefing, seminar, and moment of silence events—without indicating they violated conduct standards. In his formal response, he argued that remaining silent about humanitarian suffering constitutes complicity rather than neutrality and that open discussion of food insecurity and humanitarian crises strengthens rather than undermines the organization’s mission. He stated his appeal aims primarily to secure reinstatement and retraction of accusations against him.
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