António Guterres has spent nine years claiming to combat sexual exploitation while presiding over an institution that shields its own offenders. At the same time, he has led a relentless campaign against the Middle East’s only democracy. This is not neutral diplomacy. It is a calculated double standard that undermines both the United Nations (UN) and regional security.

The numbers expose the rot. In his March 2025 report on 2024 cases, Guterres himself documented 125 victims of sexual exploitation and abuse by UN personnel, including 27 children. Since he took office in 2017, the organization has logged well over 1,000 such allegations. The problem has not been solved. It has been normalized at the highest levels.

Two cases prove the point. In late 2020, three women accused senior official Fabrizio Hochschild of sexual harassment, bullying, and fostering a toxic workplace. Guterres’ own office was aware of the complaints by December. Weeks later, he promoted Hochschild to the position of Special Envoy on Technology. Only after a Politico investigation made denial impossible did Guterres act.

Then Colin Stewart’s story came out. In 2017, Guterres appointed him head of the UN mission in Western Sahara despite prior accusations of sexual harassment involving Ethiopian staff in Addis Ababa. Reports later revealed that Guterres was prepared to extend Stewart’s contract anyway. These were not low-level........

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