U.N. Official Who Resigned Denies Any Wrongdoing

A U.N. official who resigned amid allegations of financial impropriety denied any wrongdoing Friday and said he stepped down because repeated attacks had made his job increasingly difficult.

“It is quite clear that the function of the high commissioner requires a total commitment and availability to act, to convince and to galvanize,” said Jean-Pierre Hocke, who resigned Thursday as high commissioner for refugees.

Such commitment had been “reduced by repeated and irresponsible attacks,” he said. “These were the considerations that led to my resignation, which should not be seen as a withdrawal in the middle of the storm.”

Hocke’s resignation was announced in New York after U.N. Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar ordered a broadened inquiry into allegations that Hocke misused agency funds to subsidize first-class air travel.

Calling a news conference after his return from New York, Hocke read a statement saying his resignation does “not reflect any sentiment of culpability on my part concerning any of my doings.”