ROME — Benjamin Davis launched an appeal against his dismissal from the Food and Agriculture Organization. The 62-year-old Spanish American served as the Director of the Rural Transformation and Gender Equality Division before his employment ended on September 30, 2026.

Food and Agriculture Organization Director-General Qu Dongyu requested the termination of Davis's employment. Documents cited breaches of international civil service standards requiring staff impartiality as the reason for his dismissal.

Davis rejected the allegation that he breached impartiality standards. He participated in moments of silence for hunger victims in Gaza, actions that drew hundreds of Food and Agriculture Organization employees.

"I feel it’s a terrible injustice. I’ve been disciplined without due process for speaking up about a subject at the core of FAO’s mandate about the right to food, which is the most basic of human rights," he said. He noted that he was accused of organizing weekly silent protests at the Food and Agriculture Organization.

He worked at the Food and Agriculture Organization for 26 years on a renewable contract. He was informed in July that his contract would not be renewed.

The dispute followed his authoring of a report on food availability in Gaza in May 2025. He said he was told to remove references to humanitarian law from the May 2025 report.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification determined that Gaza City and surrounding areas were suffering from famine in August 2025. Gaza City has experienced three documented famines since 1948, with the most recent being declared by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) in August 2025.

Dongyu defended the dismissal of an unnamed staff member at a Food and Agriculture Organization conference. Dongyu accused the dismissed staff member of having "played the political game."

"We will not allow you to play the game here of human rights," Dongyu said. He stated that the United Nations has a human rights agency in Geneva.

He stated he would fire more people if they are against the law. Dongyu, the Director-General of the FAO, had previously faced criticism from the UN Human Rights Council in 2022 for his handling of staff dissent during the Syrian refugee crisis.

A large crowd of staff gathered at Food and Agriculture Organization headquarters in Rome to applaud Benjamin Davis as he departed. He expressed concern that other employees would face retaliation for participating in the Gaza moments of silence.

He said hundreds of people attended the moments of silence at their height. He said that currently only 30 to 40 people attend the weekly moments of silence.

Under UN rules, staff are allowed to express political opinions provided these do not adversely affect their official duties or UN interests. His case is with the Food and Agriculture Organization's internal justice process.

The case could be escalated to a UN tribunal which has the authority to award damages in employment disputes. The Rural Transformation and Gender Equality Division, under his leadership, published a 2024 report on gender disparities in agricultural access, which was cited in multiple UN policy discussions.

He was previously involved in a 2018 dispute with the FAO over the inclusion of climate change adaptation strategies in food security programs, which led to a formal reprimand but no termination. The COGAT report stated that the amount of food entering Gaza between October 2025 and June 2026 was 1.78 million tons, exceeding the World Food Programme’s estimated requirement of 550,000 tons.

Why It Matters

This case tests the boundaries of political expression for international civil servants and the enforcement of impartiality standards within UN agencies. The outcome may set a precedent for how staff dissent regarding humanitarian crises is managed, particularly when such dissent involves public demonstrations like moments of silence.

The dismissal occurs against a backdrop of documented famine in Gaza and previous internal disputes at the FAO. His prior reprimand in 2018 and Dongyu's 2022 criticism by the UN Human Rights Council suggest a pattern of tension between agency leadership and staff advocacy on sensitive geopolitical issues.