In the summer of 2020, as anti-racism demonstrations spread around the globe in response to the murder of George Floyd, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres was facing protests of his own.
U.N. civil servants who wanted to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement were up in arms about instructions from the U.N. ethics office telling personnel to steer clear of public demonstrations, even in their free time. The directive, which was initially endorsed by the U.N. chief, expressly banned participation in the protests.
