Corruption in the UN, Part IX

Corruption in the UN, Part IX
2010 (continued)
―The United Nations Dispute Tribunal has awarded more than $700,000 to a former senior
official in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs for breach of contract, a decision the world
organization will appeal, said Martin Nesirky, the spokesman for the secretary general.
The official, Guido Bertucci, 61, an Italian, resorted to the tribunal after he was not promoted to
assistant secretary general in 2008 despite United Nations guidelines that give preference to internal
candidates, his lawyer, François Loriot, said. The lawyer for the United Nations, Susan Maddox, refused
the tribunal‘s demand that Secretary General Ban Ki-moon reveal how the promotion decision was
reached.
Judge Michael F. Adams awarded Mr. Bertucci $655,000, covering lost wages and pension,
including $10,000 because of the United Nations‘ refusal to provide the information, and legal fees.‖
Neil MacFarquhar, “$700,000 Awarded to Official Passed Over for Promotion”, New
York Times, July 26, 2010.
[Note: amazing. Mr. Bertucci was found by an OIOS
investigation to have grossly mismanaged (of all things) a “good governance” group. His
bosses protected him from any action, and he retired recently with a big smile, now even
bigger (see Overview Quotes XIV, item 736, and XXII, item 1284.
A $700,000 payment would probably be the UN largest payout ever (after Kofi Annan‟s
second pension, see Overview Quotes XXIV, item 1383a.). But it is a scandal for many
UN staff, who spent years appealing improper and abusive treatment in the decrepit old
“administration of justice” system , but often received zero recompense. And what UN
official will be held accountable for creating this vast payout mess? The answer, as
always, is: no one.]
―It might seem paradoxical to suggest that the United Nations contributes to state failure. But
it has done just that in far too many instances.
Sometimes the UN is simply set up to fail: …inadequately resourced. … But all too often, the
problem with U.N. missions is cowardice. … Take Afghanistan. … [My former boss ordered
withholding of] compelling evidence of fraud in the 2009 presidential election … because he did not
want to disturb his relationship with the fraud‘s intended beneficiary, incumbent President Hazmid Karzai.
The result? Months of political turmoil in Kabul, the permanent tainting of Karzai‘s new term …
and … [benefit to] the Taliban, whose case that the Afghan government is illegitimate suddenly looked
inconveniently true. …
When properly resourced and led, the United Nations does a better job of national-building than
… [anyone.] . But Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, a weak leader, … has provided no meaningful
oversight of the U.N.‘s Afghanistan operations in spite of their importance. …
The Security Council … [will probably not] stop asking U.N. peacekeepers and diplomats to
undertake impossible missions in faraway lands. But at a minimum, we must insist they show some
backbone once they get there.‖
Peter W. Galbraith, “The chicken factor”, Foreign Policy, July-August, 2010, p. 99.
[Mr. Galbraith served in two UN missions. He was recalled from his post as deputy U.N.
Envoy to Afghanistan over the 2009 presidential election.]
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.
―[Robert Appleton, who headed a successful UN procurement task force investigation],
was passed over for the UN‟s top investigations job. … [He has filed a personnel dispute grievance]
accusing Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his top advisors of discriminating against him … and
demanding about $1.4 million in damages and wages. …
The complaint … [deepens] a political crisis over Ban's handling of the U.N.'s anti-corruption
efforts … [and begins] a review by U.N. judges who have frequently clashed with the U.N. leadership over
its treatment of staff. …
Ban issued a bulletin [stating his right] to appoint senior staff in the investigation division in
January 2009, after [the OIOS head] had selected Appleton for the job. … [„It is a singular effort to
operate outside the rule of law … and even more incredibly to do so retroactively,‟ Appleton
asserts. „They should be held accountable for these acts.‘ …
Appleton also claims that a senior official … [pressed for unqualified candidates for the job,
including a U.N. staffer (a UN peacekeeping personnel officer) who was married to one of his/her
assistants.
Appleton writes that the protracted [2½ year] hiring process, … has caused him financial hardship
and damaged his reputation.‖
Colum Lynch, “Tribunal to review Ban's hiring practices for discrimination”, Foreign
Policy, “Turtle Bay”, August 2, 2010. [Notes: these new and massive damage suits (see
also the item of July 26 above), might finally force Member States to insist on the
accountability of the top UN officials responsible for them. Also, the attempt to fill a
highly professional and complex investigations post with a personnel officer illustrates
the continuing blatant contempt of the UN leadership for merit staffing principles and UN
effectiveness.].
―Open discontent with the UN's Ban Ki-moon has spread, reflected in a resolution passed on
August 5 by the UN Staff Union deploring „the systemic lack of personal accountability and
transparency [which] has become more serious since the current Secretary General took office.‘
[It also] expresses deep concern about Ban's ‗apparent lack of interest in seeking a determination
of accountability for the numerous deadly incidents involving staff members.‘ …
The resolution … [cites the parting report made by the UN‘s top oversight official] , which among
other things criticized … Ban's losses in and lack of cooperation with the UN Dispute Tribunal,
where for example his Under Secretary General Shabaan Shabaan has been ordered to pay a $25,000
fine for misconduct.
Unless Ban takes ‗immediate steps towards real reform,‘ the Staff Union will consider a „vote
of no confidence in the management of the UN and its leadership‘ in the Fall, the season of the UN
General Debate. …
This comes as countries in the General Assembly move to require Ban to appear before them to
seek a second term as Secretary General.‖
Matthew Russell Lee, “UN's Ban Slammed in Staff Union Resolution, for Lack of Action
& Staff Death”, Inner City Press, August 5, 2010.
―In South Korea, Ban Ki-moon is a prestigious brand name - like Samsung, Kia, LG and
Hyundai. … [In late] 2011, the Koreans expect him to be voted a second five-year term in office. … [A
downfall will] be construed as a monumental disaster. …
But during the last few months, the secretary-general has been on the defensive as his
beleaguered administration - and his political leadership - have come under relentless fire. …
[The scathing 50-page Ahlenius report accused Ban of poor governance, lacking transparency,
fostering secrecy], and virtually running an authoritarian regime and overextending his authority.
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[Veteran UN observers cited his weak reaction comments on global events, ‗boiling‘ staff and an
institution adrift, rambling news briefings, management reform replaced by a ‗command and control‘
culture, and marginalizing the poorest countries and losing women's substantive agenda .] …
At a press conference Monday, Ban was emotional defending himself against his critics.
‗If anybody … accuses me on the issue of accountability or ethics, then that's something I regard as
unfair,‘ he said.
He said he has personally ensured both accountability and „the highest standards of
ethics by the U.N.‟ and made „unprecedented progress‟ on both fronts.‖
Thalif Deen, “Beleaguered U.N. Chief Under Political Microscope”, IPS, August 13,
2010. [Note: this excellent, detailed article includes a sub-article “A second five-year
term for U.N. chief?”. His claims of ensuring accountability and ethics and progress in
implementing them are totally in contrast to the many grave problems and setbacks in
these areas, especially in 2010 found in the IO Watch Programme Performance Updates,
Management Reform.]
―Anna Tibaijuka, the outgoing head of [UN-Habitat, based in Nairobi, has] sharply criticized
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a parting letter [thus joining OIOS head Inga-Britt Ahlenius
and former top investigator Robert Appleton.] …
[She warned in an August 10 letter that] the avoidable ‗management and leadership vacuum‘
threatened to derail the agency's achievements and endanger international funding for its programs. She
also complained that … [she had been excluded from seeking a successor, … [and] was being forced out
of the U.N. system unwillingly. …
[In 2000, Kofi Annan appointed her as head of UN Habitat], making her the most senior
African woman in the U.N. system, … [and in 2006, he made her director general of the U.N.
Nairobi office overall.] She is perhaps best known for writing a blunt report in 2005 on Zimbabwean
President Robert Mugabe's massive [squatter evictions program, which she concluded] were
discriminatory, unjustified and inhumane.
Tibaijuka is credited with raising the profile of [UN-Habitat and achieving its upgrade from] from a
small department to a full-fledged U.N. program. But she has had cool relations with Ban, who last
year stripped her of authority for running the U.N. office in Nairobi.”
Colum Lynch, “Another one bites the dust”, Turtle Bay, Foreign Policy, August 20,
2010. [Notes: Ms. Tibaijuka was admired, and considered by many to be a top candidate
for UN Deputy Secretary-General in 2007. But Mr. Ban chose an obscure junior foreign
minister from Tanzania, who has since been invisible in this supposedly important UN
top management job (see Overview Quotes VI, items 308-309h, and the IO Watch Hall
of Shame entry for Asha-Rose Migiro.).
Ms. Tibaijuka is also, unfortunately, the highest-ranking, punished UN whistle-blower:
Mr. Ban removed her from her top job in Nairobi for urging UN headquarters to
discipline a grossly-misperforming subordinate (see Overview Quotes XIX, item 1074.)]
―An obscure U.N. board that oversees a $2.7 billion market intended to cut heat-trapping
gases has agreed to … [eventually rein in what] environmentalists are calling a huge scam. …
[Clean Development Mechanism] credits have been widely used in the carbon trading markets
of … [nations signing] the 1997 Kyoto Protocol requiring mandatory cuts in greenhouse gases. Rather
than cut their own carbon emissions, industrialized nations can buy the credits which then pay developing
countries to cut their greenhouse gases instead.
But environmentalists say … [some of the largest CDM-funded projects] are a golden goose for
chemical makers., … [They] are paid as much as $100,000 or more for every ton they destroy of a potent
greenhouse gas, HFC-23. …
But that gas is a byproduct of an ozone-friendly refrigerant, HCFC-22, which those chemical
makers also … [produce. Environmentalists say] there is so much money in getting rid of HFC-23 that the
chemical makers are overproducing HCFC-22 to have more of the byproduct to destroy.
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The Environmental Investigation Agency, … [an advocacy group, says] … ‗This is the biggest
environmental scandal in history and makes an absolute mockery of international efforts to combat
climate change.‘‖
John Heilprin, “UN board could rein in $2.7 billion carbon market”, Associated Press,
August 21, 2010. [Note: this CDM problem was first noted several years ago, but
nothing was done -- see Overview Quotes VIII, items 391b,c, and XXIII, 1321a. Maybe
now decisive action will be taken to cut this waste.]
―As corruption investigations begin to focus on President Hamid Karzai‘s inner circle, an Afghan
official on Monday pinned blame for endemic corruption in Afghanistan on foreign contractors,
which he said had created an ‗economic mafia‘ in the war-torn country. …
The arrest of a little-known Karzai aide has become a significant test of [US efforts] to root out
corruption in Afghanistan. … Mr. Karzai admitted Sunday that he had personally intervened to secure the
release of the aide and said he would impose new rules governing investigators. …
‗The U.S.] is engaged in a delicate balancing act‟, … [said a former US official.] ‗The problem
is that Karzai is too associated with corruption, so if the anticorruption efforts are too vigorous, they will
lead to undermining this ally.‘
The new government rules would rein in the two American-backed anticorruption agencies, the
Major Crimes Task Force and the Sensitive Investigative Unit. … Despite widespread allegations of
corruption involving President Karzai‘s relatives, including his half brother Ahmed Wali Karzai,
investigators have not taken action against any family members.‖
Rod Nordland and Mark Mazzetti, “Graft Dispute in Afghanistan is Test for U.S”, New
York Times, August 23, 2010.
[Note: the Afghan charge is not unfounded, see
Overview Quotes XIX, item 1045, XXII, item 1232, and XXIV, item 1357. But the
Afghans‟ own actions are even more flagrant, see for example XXVII, item 1545.]
―In 2007, the U.S. mission to the U.N. … [revealed the U.N. Development Program‟s] record of
gross mismanagement while operating in … [North Korea‟s] rogue dictatorship, including large
sums of money that vanished. …
[Artjon Shkurtaj, who headed UN operations in North Korea], … was outraged at the
violations he saw and after two years of trying to get his superiors at UNDP headquarters in New York to
take corrective action, he took his information to the U.S. mission. …
[The UNDP] responded by firing him and taking every opportunity to malign his integrity.
When Mr. Shkurtaj complained, a UNDP-sponsored investigation found that … [he had not been
retaliated against.] …
Now, more than three years later, … the U.N. Dispute Tribunal ordered the UNDP to pay [him]
$166,000 in compensation for its failure to … [allow Mr. Shkurtaj to respond] to its adverse findings
against him. …
A spokesperson said that the U.N. is ‗studying‘ the panel's latest decision, … [and the Secretary
General may appeal.] … If Mr. Ban were truly serious, … he would write Mr. Shkurtaj a letter of apology,
thank him for [his] courage, … and give him his job back. ―
“Hooray for the U.N.: A dispute tribunal vindicates a whistleblower”, Wall Street
Journal, September 2, 2010. [Note: At last, the UN‟s new justice system is defending
staff whistleblowers and rewarding them compensation for their travails. Now the UN
leadership will probably file appeals, in a last drawn-out attempt to avoid accountability
for its cover-ups and punishments. For much more on Mr. Shkurtaj‟s struggles and this
major UNDP mismanagement scandal and cover-up, see the IO Watch Dark Side
subsection, UNDP,RogueAgency,2007.]
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―When the UN's criminal complaint against former UN Development Program staffer Nicola
Baroncini was dismissed on September 2, Baroncini told Inner City Press that, far from feeling
vindicated, he felt disgusted.
The underlying incident was triggered by … now retired UN official Alan Doss … [asking
UNDP] that his daughter be hired. ... ‗Doss knew she would get the job,‘ Baroncini said. ‗If that's not
nepotism, I don't know what is.‘
But Doss was never punished. He was allowed to retire. Inner City Press, which broke the
Baroncini story -- which other media quickly dubbed the ‗biter‘ story, since after being pepper sprayed,
Baroncini allegedly bit UN Security officer Peter Kolonias -- has continued asking about Doss. …
Baroncini, on the other hand, lost thousands of dollars defending himself in court, lost his job,
his friends, „everything,‟ as he put it on September 2. …
‗I could sue the UN,‟ he said. „But it would cost me fifteen thousand dollars, to win what, ten
thousand? I was retaliated against,‘ Baroncini continued. ‗But not in the UN's definition. They make up
the words, they make up the rules.‘‖
Matthew Russell Lee, Judge Drops UN's Case Against UNDP Alan Doss Nepotism
Victim, „I Am Not the Biter,‟ Baroncini Says”, Inner City Press, September 2, 2010.
[Note: The UN has long suppressed whistle-blowers, but this was an extremely ugly case,
both because both Mr. Doss and Secretary-General Ban engaged in nepotism, but
because the UN attempted to have Mr. Baroncini tried in a US court on criminal charges
for objecting to UNDP‟s actions. For more, see also the IO Watch Overview Quotes
XXI, item 1196, and XXII, item 1246. Mr. Ban and his senior staff really do have no
shame, nor any commitment to accountability.]
―According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, … companies are attacking
fraud the wrong way. For a start, annoying computer blocks and snooping software employees …
detect less than 1 per cent of worldwide occupational naughtiness. …
External audits and internal investigations probably deter many would-be fraudsters, [but catch
less] than a fifth of frauds. By far the best police are employees themselves – 40 percent of
detections come from tip-offs. …
The ACFE reckons 80 per cent of frauds involve people nicking assets. … Such thefts are
generally pretty small beer, but fiddling the books … [is very costly, with a median loss ot $4M.] No
wonder accounts departments are the most common home of wrongdoers, split eually between managers
and employees.
If you want to snitch, look out for those who seem to be living beyond their means or who
complain about financial troubles. Together 70 per cent of perpetrators display these ‗red flags.‘ …
The lesson for companies? Try to encourage a healthy culture of snooping and tattling.‖
“A fraud to tell you”, Financial Times, September 5, 2010. [Note: the United Nations
leadership, with its tin ear for integrity and swaddled in impunity, of course does the
precise opposite, punishing whistle-blowers severely. How many hundreds of millions of
dollars are lost by this ongoing casual UN behavior? Lots.]
―Transparency International (TI), the global anti-corruption organisation, warns that the failure
by governments to address corruption is threatening the fulfillment of the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs). It calls on … [all concerned] to adopt anti-corruption measures in all
their MDG action plans. …
The TI report demonstrates that increased transparency, accountability and integrity translate into
better MDG outcomes on education, health and water, three of the eight [MGD] areas. …
The report also shows that when bribery and other forms of corruption are not effectively
countered, the costs are high. These costs can be:
 Explicit: MDG related funding may be embezzled by staff in a ministry, school or clinic.
 Implicit: Basic services may be unattainable for citizens due to bribery and other illegal
payments that are demanded for clean water, schools and healthcare.
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Hidden: Chronic absenteeism among teachers and doctors leave public schools and clinics
unstaffed and compromise the provision of education and healthcare.
TI calls on all governments to … implement the UN Convention against Corruption, which has
specific articles that can advance pro-MDG policies. ,,, allow for greater public oversight, … [and]
hold to account governments receiving the funds.‖
“The anti-corruption solution: keeping the millennium development promise”
Transparency International, 15 September 2010. [Note: the TI report is The AntiCorruption Catalyst: Realising the MDGs by 2015.]

―Allegations of corruption within FIFA may have cost England the World Cup. … [And]
remember the UN Oil For Food corruption scandal? Saddam Hussein‘s vile regime received around
£8 billion in illicit income. … Even the son of then UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, was implicated in
the affair. It is difficult to believe the rot did not go right to the top. …
How are [international organizations] able to get away with it? … The people in charge are not
accountable and nobody stops them. … Many representatives on international bodies are from states
that are not democratic, or only weakly so. … [And in] most international organisations … the principle of
one-member-one-vote [means that] small corrupt states have a disproportionate impact on outcomes.
[And] surprise surprise, it turns out that the European Commission is endemically corrupt, so
much so that in 2003 the entire membership was sacked. …
But apparently we need not worry: the UN has a magic bullet that will eliminate corruption. [In
2003, the UN General Assembly designated December 9 as International Anti-Corruption Day. I‟m
sure the corrupt officials at FIFA, the UN and the EU will be quaking in their boots come Thursday.‖
Julian Morris, “Why are so many international bodies utterly corrupt?“, Mail Online,
dailymail.co.uk, 6th December, 2010. [Note: Mr. Morris is Executive Director of the
International Policy Network.]
[At a special session], the United Nations Security Council voted … to end the Saddam-era
sanctions on Iraq, as well as the remnants of the Oil-for-Food program. There was plenty of
speechifying, with each of the … [15 members] delivering orations … [with] congratulations to the Iraqis
on how far they‘ve come,
Notably missing was even a single word of apology for UN complicity in the massive
corruption of Oil-for-Food. … Plenty of blame goes to the UN Secretariat, … [as detailed in the 2005
Volcker report on] mismanagement by … [the Secretariat, which was responsible] for dealing with most of
Oil-for-Food‘s dirty details.
But the Security Council, which doubled as the Iraq sanctions committee, also bears
plenty of blame. … [It] authorized the program, approved contracts and — as we now know … -- had its
own internal wrangles, in which the U.K. and U.S. made private protests over the obvious corruption, but
failed to stop the fiesta of graft. …
Apparently, diplomacy at the UN Security Council flies high above such niceties as “We‟re
sorry.‖ … With the UN now supposed to serve as the nexus for sanctions on Iran and North Korea, that‘s
not a comforting thought.‖
Claudia Rosett, “Being the UN Security Council means never having to say you‟re
sorry”, The Rosett Report, December 16, 2010.
2011
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―The acting chief of the U.N. division that investigates wrongdoing ... is currently under
investigation himself for allegedly retaliating against two whistle-blowers, according to a U.N.
document.
Michael Dudley questioned whether the whistle-blowers [in the Office of Internal Oversight
Services, OIOS] had acted in good faith, and challenged the authority of the U.N. Ethics Office, which had
determined that a ‗prime facie case of retaliation for each complaint existed.‘ ...
[A UN tribunal judge] decided that Dudley was seeking ‗pre-emptive action‘ to block the
investigation before the key decision on whether he engaged in retaliatory conduct.
The Government Accountability Project ... filed complaints of retaliation on behalf of the two staff
members with the Ethics Office. ... „It's inexplicable (that Dudley's) under investigation for tampering
with evidence and he's still acting director of the investigations division,‘ said [a GAP official.] ...
An AP investigation last year ... [found that the UN cut back sharply on investigations into
corruption and fraud ... involving the possible theft or misuse of millions of dollars. ... [It found
that] Dudley had a record of closing cases before investigations were complete and not actively
pursuing initiatives begun by a special ... Procurement Task Force.‖
U.N. investigations chief under investigation”, USA Today, January 19, 2011
“A $21.7 billion development fund, [the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and
Malaria], backed by celebrities and hailed as an alternative to the bureaucracy of the United
Nations, sees … [substantial grants] eaten up by corruption, The Associated Press has learned.
[Much missing money involves] forged documents or improper bookkeeping, indicating it was
pocketed, … and donated prescription drugs … [are being] sold on the black market.
The fund's newly reinforced inspector general's office … has examined only a tiny fraction
of the $10 billion that the fund has spent since its creation in 2002. But the levels of corruption …
[discovered so far] are astonishing. …
The fund is pulling or suspending grants from nations where corruption is found, and demanding
recipients return millions of dollars of misspent money. … [Sweden] has suspended its $85 million annual
donation until the fund's problems are fixed. … [A U.S. congressional report has also criticized] the
fund's ability to police itself and its overreliance on grant recipients to assess their own performance. …
The U.N. Development Program manages more than half of the fund's spending, but U.N.
officials won't release internal audits of their programs to the fund's investigators.‖
John Heilprin, “Fraud plagues global health fund”, Associated Press, January 23, 2011.
[Note: a subsequent correction to the article noted that UNDP manages 12% of the
Global Funds money, not half.]
―We think this week's AP story about The Global Fund is the best possible news. Here's why.
When we formed (RED) [Designed to Help Eliminate AIDS in Africa], we wanted the Fund to
administer the money because we knew the Fund was set up to find the bad guys. … We are thrilled
that their system has worked. … The Global Fund discovered fraud in … NO (RED) money
whatsoever. …
We applaud The Global Fund for this innovative and entrepreneurial best-practice. … By
implementing stringent standards and by being diligent in quickly addressing issues such as those raised
in the IG's report, the Global Fund has made tremendous progress in the fight against AIDS.‖
Bobby Shriver, in conjunction with Bono, my fellow founder of product (RED). “Why
the AP Story is good news for the Global Fund”, Huffington Post, January 25, 2010.
“Germany's development ministry said Wednesday … that its pledge of euro 200 million
($270 million) will be withheld from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria pending
a full investigation by Germany into the corruption that the fund's own investigators are turning up.
‗We obviously look very closely at the (donated) money now. It's the money of German taxpayers,
so we have to make sure that it was rightly used,‘ a ministry spokesman told the AP. …
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The spokesman said it was demanding that the fund shed more light on the $34 million in losses
due to forged documents, improper bookkeeping and other widespread fraud and has summoned a
Global Fund representative to discuss the reports. …
The fund has been exposing corruption in its own ranks more frequently since last fall when the
fund's inspector general, John Parsons, hired Robert Appleton, a highly decorated ex-U.S. federal
prosecutor, to head up a newly beefed up investigative unit.‖
John Heilprin,”Germany suspends payments to global health fund”, Associated Press,
January 26, 2011.
[Note: Mr. Appleton was head of the UN‟s very productive
Procurement Task Force investigations until late 2009, but was blocked from becoming
head of the UN/OIOS investigation unit by Ban Ki-moon (see Overview Quotes XXVII,
item 1576.). At least the Global Fund is now smart enough to apply – not suppress -- his
excellent skills.]
“A new scandal is being investigated by OIOS this week and at the center of it is again Sha
Zukang's Department of Economic and Social Affairs. According to sources within the Office of Human
Resources there are flagrant cases of abuse of power from DESA's HR and Technical Cooperation Unit
who have allowed staffers and consultants to lie about their nationalities, thus avoiding tax in their
respective countries, without proper proof.
Meanwhile, certain individuals who in recent years worked in DESA under long-term SSAs have
been avoiding taxes in their countries with claims that they are „UN staffers‟, while their position in the
UN was only a consultant (‗long-term consultant‘). ... [An] SSA is considered an ‗independent contractor‘
and thus is required to pay all income taxes in their countries. Sources say at least 700 cases are under
review.
Also in the eyes of the investigators are certain staffers who lied about their current nationality in
order to avoid losing their jobs and have used their "second" nationality(s) as a cover up.
All this is happening at the UN's flagship department which is currently advising world leaders
and countries in matters such as transparency and accountability. What a shame!‖
“Fake nationalities scandal at UN-DESA”, Reform U.N. DESA, 25 January 2011.
[Finally! Finally! Finally! A punished UN whistle-blower has become able to speak out
decisively. In 1994, senior UN officials urged that every field mission of UN police or military units
should independently monitor observance of UN human rights standards, and report and act on abuses.
One of the first tests occurred in Bosnia where a human rights officer, Kathryn Bolkovac,
discovered in 1999 that UN contracted-staff used women and children as sex slaves and committed
other abusive acts. She protested, and in 2000 was fired.
A tribunal found in 2002 that her firing was unfair, but she vowed to work further to expose the
problems posed by corrupt peacekeepers (see IO Watch Performance Updates Refugee Sexual Abuses,
Part I, pages 1 – 4.) A decade later, she has responded with :
A full interview with the BBC World News HARDtalk TV show on her Bosnia experiences on January 27,
2011, at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/hardtalk/9377841.stm;
A book: Kathryn Bolkovac and Cari Lynn, “The whistleblower: Sex trafficking, military contractors, and one
woman’s fight for justice”, Palgrave Macmillan, January 2011, found at www.amazon.com;
An “Interview with Kathryn Bolkovac” by Marjorie Kehe, Christian Science Monitor, January 6, 2011
found at www.csmonitor.com/layout/set/print/content/view/print/354432
A highly-regarded new movie – “The Whistleblower”, with a cast including Oscar-winners Rachel Weisz and
Vanessa Regrave, with a trailer at www.dailymotion.com/video/xdinv6_the-whistleblower-trailer_shortfilms.]
―The United Nations Development Program… [boasts of creating 5,280 ‗green‘ jobs in 2010 on
135 environmental projects world-wide.
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UNDP spends about $570 million a year on implementing environmental programs and
projects, mostly … [for] outside donors. Half of that funding comes from the Global Environmental
Facility (GEF), which calls itself the world‘s ‗largest funder of projects to improve the global environment.‘
… [A 112-page internal evaluation report for its Executive Board meeting starting on January
31 states that] UNDP‘s ability to marry its environmental projects and anti-poverty efforts has been
‗haphazard‟ and uneven; „monitoring and evaluation for the poverty-environmental nexus is almost
entirely missing in UNDP‘; and the agency‘s environmental agenda is driven mainly by opportunities
to secure funding from outside sources for its activities. …
Bottom line: UNDP has learned how to talk a good game on using environmentalism to
alleviate poverty, but ‗policy is not yet systematically translated into practice.‘ …
The UNDP documentation … [for many] projects appeared to be in vast disarray. … It seemed
clear that … substantial amounts of money had gone into government and regulatory offices in countries
where corruption is often not unknown. Click here for the full report.”
George Russell, “How well does a U.N. agency do its pricey 'green job'? Not that well,
study says”, FoxNews, January 27, 2011.
.
―[A US State Department assertion that, at the UN], „We pay our bills. We push for real reform.‟
… is nonsense. …
U.N. reform has stagnated since 2006. … The Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS)—
has been directly undermined by the U.N. Secretary-General. The U.N. Procurement Task Force was
eliminated for … uncovering mismanagement and fraud. The U.N. Ethics Office is weak. … U.N.
peacekeepers continue … unpunished for criminality and sexual abuse. … [And] the U.N. Development
Program and other U.N. organizations steadfastly … [withhold] their audits. …
Congressional intervention led to U.N. budgetary restraint in the 1980s and 1990s, helped
to spur … [new UN peacekeeping rules] … and to establish the Volcker Commission to investigate the
Iraqi Oil-for-Food program.
Members of Congress … recognize the value of many U.N. activities and are angered that
they are undermined by ineffectiveness, corruption, and lack of prioritization. …
Few countries are interested in making sure that the U.N. … uses its resources effectively. Most
pay the U.N. a pittance and, therefore, have nothing at stake. … Congress has been instrumental in
pressing for U.N. reform in the past and will continue to be indispensable in the future.
Brett
Schaefer,
“Self
Delusion
at
State
on
U.N.
Reform”,
http://blog.heritage.org/2011/02/02/self-delusion-at-state-on-u-n-reform/ , February 2,
2011. [Note: Mr. Schaefer has, for years, written many excellent analyses on UN
financing and performance, which are also available at the Heritage Foundation. The US
Government Accountability Office has also written reports on inadequate UN oversight
and accountability for several decades for the US Congress: see the IO Watch Dark Side
feature, UN,unaccountable!,2008.]
―United Nations officials made ‟serious breaches‟ of U.N. rules in awarding
PricewaterhouseCoopers with a multimillion-dollar consultant contract on a project to overhaul the U.N.'s
computer system, according to a U.N. audit reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
The audit report from the U.N.'s Office of Internal Oversight Services contends there were
numerous ways in which the U.N. procurement department and the U.N.'s project director skirted U.N.
regulations to favor PwC over other bidders.
The report argues that PwC's approximately $16 million contract bid was nearly $11 million
higher than the lowest bid and exceeded the $11 million the U.N. had allocated for the project. The
project, known as Umoja, involves a redesign of the U.N. procurement, human resources and financial
management computer systems.
The project's director, Paul van Essche, and the U.N.'s procurement department declined a
request for comment.‖ … The U.N. procurement department has been hit with a series of scandals in
recent years.‖
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Joe Lauria, “U.N. Deal With PwC Is Faulted In Audit”, Wall Street Journal, WSJ.com,
February 9, 2011.
―The Global Fund to fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria, … [encountered unexpected woes
after a January story entitled ‗Fraud plagues global health fund‘ claiming … „astonishing‟ corruption in
some cases.
The fund‘s staff argued that the source was their own [limited] investigations … [and was a
relatively tiny] loss to corruption. … [Major donor countries expressed concerns, and the support of other
‗multi-stakeholders‘ – wealthy philanthropists, businesses, and the public -- is at stake.]
Mystification has … [now led] to action. ‗The Global Fund has zero tolerance for corruption,‘
insisted … [its executive director. It will] spend more money on local controls, [double] the budget
of the independent inspector-general, … [and] a panel of international experts will review
procedures. …
The Global Fund … [has much] credibility. … [Its] approach to allocating aid … makes
countries compete for money based … [mostly] on their ability to get things done. … Until the latest storm
broke, the aid world was abuzz with talk about expanding the fund‘s remit to include maternal and child
health.
It would be odd if that plan stalls … [and the money now goes to less efficient and more
fraud-prone agencies.]‖
“Aid and corruption. Can the Global Fund to fight Aids, Tuberclosis and Malaria restore
its reputation as the best and cleanest in the aid business?”, The Economist, February
19th, 2011.
‖[Most of the funds the United Nations channeled to help] train Filipino soldiers prior to their
departure to peacekeeping duties on foreign shores has been misused. Perhaps [a Phillipine
Government investigation] would serve as a wake up call for the U.N. to review the millions of funds it
channeled to other countries as well. ...
Public hearings] revealed that some $2 million in U.N. funds had been found to be infused in
the accounts of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Then it was diverted to an intelligence account
instead of ... the safekeeping of the Bureau of the Treasury – an illegal diversion of funds. ...
The Commission on Audit (COA) ... has been asked to] conduct a special audit of all United
Nations remittances to the Philippine government. ... [An official] said that COA failed to complete its
audit investigations many years back due to lack of records needed for the audit, ... [but it] is now
committed to resume its audit investigations on the misappropriated UN peacekeeping funds.‖
Al Jeratso, ”UN fund mess in the Philippines probed”, groundreport,com, February 24,
2011.
―A year ago in March 2010 Inner City Press asked the UN and wrote about corruption in the UN's
Enterprise Resource Planning or UMOJA program, with the UN dodging questions about detailed hiring
irregularities.
The UN's own Office of Internal Oversight Services investigated the hiring violations and
confirmed them, also finding procurement irregularities in contracts to PriceWaterhouseCoopers. … The
UN did not respond to queries on these matters. …
Now Inner City Press has obtained and is publishing the OIOS report, which is worse than
previously reported. … The irregularities extend to the UN Capital Master Plan, into which an additional
$100 million in US Tax Equalization Funds are being poured, so far with no paperwork.‖
Matthew Russell Lee, “UN Corruption Scandal in ERP Extends from Hiring & PWC to
Capital Master Plan, Inner City Press, February 28, 2011. [Note: Mr. Lee also
provides a lengthy and very telling “insider's account and exegesis of this OIOS report”,
focusing on the key procurement issues and hiring corruption involved, see
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www.innercitypress.com/oios1umoja022811.html.]
―Multilateral lending institutions … are ostensibly committed to the values of transparency and
accountability. But … insiders who blow the whistle on waste, fraud and abuse … [are typically
punished.] …
In June 2008, the World Bank issued what it described as a ‗strengthened‘ whistleblowing
policy … after numerous whistleblowers exposed … corruption during Paul Wolfowitz‘ tumultuous twoyear tenure. … [Some institutions have since issued new policies] but Beatrice Edwards, … of the
Government Accountability Project (GAP), … [says that] whistleblowers who reach out to GAP have
usually ‗been subjected to some form of harassment.‘. …
‗Conflict resolution systems‘ …[are often a sham.]. A World Bank review of cases between 2000
and 2008 found that 85 percent of those who were found to be unjustifiably terminated for speaking
out were never actually reinstated.
‗Management dominates and manipulates these processes,‘ says Edwards. She advocates
creating an independent, third-party arbitration process that can assess whistleblowers' claims and
whether action taken against them was retaliatory in nature.
More broadly, though, ‗the internal administrative justice systems at the banks must be reformed
so that they cannot operate as the Kangaroo Courts that they can often be now‘, she said.‖
Charles Davis, “Despite Reforms, Whistleblowers at Development Banks Face
Retaliation”, IPS, March 8, 2011. [Note: here again UN system managers respond
shamefully to serious problems. Whistleblower protection is a key element to combat
corruption. After almost two decades of non-compliance, Member States must finally
demand that the organizations implement such protection so that their staffs can report
abuses of power, corruption, and harassment without fear.]
―When the UN in Haiti rented two luxury ships to house its staff after the earthquake there,
various UN officials told Inner City Press that it was a good use of UN money … ‗to find quickly
accommodations to handle the surge of UN personnel coming in to the country.‘
But now an [Office of Internal Oversight Services audit] has found that ‗the Organization had paid
for services, … including $600,000 for fuel charges, which were not fully rendered or were
discontinued during the contractual period. Owing to the nature of the contract, … there was
unfortunately no legal basis for recovery of the amount by the United Nations.‘
‗The Department of Field Support explained that the hiring of the passenger ship had been an
exceptional action … with a limited precedent, … [and that it had made a record of the issues
encountered to serve as lessons learned.]‘
Pretty expensive lesson. We could have said and did say it from the beginning: for the UN
system to rent The Love Boat sent the wrong message, and ended badly. But will there be any
accountability? Watch this site.‖
Matthew Russell Lee, “In Haiti, UN's deal for 2 luxury ships led to $600,000 loss, no
accountability”, Inner City Press, March 29, 2011.
―A World Bank session on „Corruption Hunting‟ Wednesday at the International Monetary
Fund's & World Bank's Spring Meetings devolved into little more than an advertisement for the Bank's
work, … and its lack of planning and coordination.
[Robert Zoellick started] by bragging of forcing restitution payments from Indonesia. …
International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo‘s … story began with the
‗Ukraine mafia‘ doing business in Ituri in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and ended with ‗Ronald
Desmet,‘ whose aircraft ‗9QCMC‘ flew the DRC's Bemba as well as [now-arrested arms dealer] Viktor
Bout, and who according to Ocampo had Gaddafi's private number.
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Giovanni Kessler of Olaf (the European Union Anti-Fraud Office) bemoaned not being able to
better share information, and Singaporean Boon Hui Khoo of Interpol complained of lack of resources.
Khoo predicted that the UN Security Council will never deem corruption a threat to international
peace and security, and therefore the ICC won't have jurisdiction.
Not mentioned, or able to be questioned about, was Ocampo's Wikileaked briefing to Susan
Rice and Alejandro Wolff at the US Mission to the UN, urging them to speaking publicly about Bashir of
Sudan having $9 billion dollars, and naming Lloyds Bank.‖
Matthew Russell Lee, “In DC, session on corruption hunting is World Bank ad, ICC
tales, Gaddafi”, Inner City Press, April 13, 2011.
―According to the Aviation Safety Network (ASN), since 1961 there have been 23 plane
crashes involving … [U.N. operated] aircraft, not including helicopter accidents, … [and] 128 fatalities.
... The 4 April 2011 accident in Kinshasa resulted in the highest number of fatalities (32). …
The Staff Union … [is] particularly concerned about the disclaimers on the Movement of
Personnel (MoP) form, … [whereby staff members boarding such planes] are asked to ‗acknowledge
that the operating conditions and facilities for the flight may not meet ICAO or other international or
national standards, which could pose special risks for the flight‘, and to ‗assume all risks and liabilities
during such travel arising out of the conditions under which the flight is operated...and recognize that the
United Nations shall not be held responsible for any loss, damage, injury or death that I may sustain due
to such conditions.‘ …
The Committee called for an immediate review of these disclaimers in the wake of this latest
fatal incident. … [It] should be made public, … [so] families and colleagues of the victims … [may] know
the cause of these accidents and if adequate air safety standards were met.‖
“What‟s a „MOP‟ form”, UNforum, at www.unforum.com, April 15, 2011. [Note: UN
leaders have often grandiloquently noted that “the most precious asset” of the UN is its
staff.]
―The Geneva-based Global Fund‘s grants for programmes that fight tuberculosis, malaria
and HIV-Aids have gotten a US$1 billion boost for the 2011 fiscal year. ... Michel Kazatchkine,
Executive Director, said he was ‗grateful‘ to President Barack Obama and to the US Congress for the
‗vote of confidence in the Global Fund and for [their] unwavering commitment to international health, even
when facing strong pressure to contain budget deficits.‘
The grant is particularly significant for the Global Fund, which had been under heavy public
scrutiny since an article published in early January 2011 alleged the organization was ‗plagued by
fraud.‘ ... Germany, Ireland and other donor countries suspending funding to the health fund. In the
US the story was picked up by conservative groups which called for a halt of donations to the
organization.‖
“ Geneva-based Global Fund granted US$1 Billion by the US”, GenevaLunch, April 20,
2011.” [Note: good news, but see below.]
―The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria believes millions of dollars worth of
its donated malaria drugs have been stolen in recent years, vastly exceeding the levels of theft
previously suspected, according to confidential documents obtained by The Associated Press. …
Officials identified 13 countries, mostly in Africa, where millions of dollars worth of malaria drugs
have gone missing. … Drug theft in which donated drugs are sold on the black market ‗appears to be
on the rise and (is) becoming increasingly sophisticated.‘
The Global Fund … [began last year] to investigate allegations of ‗organized theft‘ … after
discovering that drugs were ending up on store shelves in African countries instead of going to the
intended recipients for free. .. In about 70 percent of cases, the drugs were stolen at governmentoperated warehouses by security personnel, warehouse managers and doctors. …
[The] drug misappropriations are well-organized and … pilfered drugs are being shipped to other
countries for resale, often within hours of their arrival.
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Officials wrote there is a ‗parallel market for the sale of Global Fund-procured drugs‘ and that
many other investigations on alleged thefts in other countries are under way.―
“AP Exclusive: Millions in malaria drugs stolen”, Associated Press, April 20, 2011.
[Note: How awkward. Certainly, and with many other investigations now under way,
shouldn‟t the Global Fund release this report and urgently fix the drug distribution
system, rather than concurrently throwing a billion dollars into the existing, criminalized
system?]
―More than 30 years after the murderous Khmer Rouge were driven from power in Cambodia,
the UN-backed effort to bring justice to the victims of the killing fields stands on the brink of
ignominious failure due to political interference from the Cambodian government and the indifference of
the international community.
The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia has spent over $200 million since it
was set up in 2003 with both international and local judges and prosecutors. It has tried only one
person, … who is appealing his conviction. …
Now Cambodia‘s Prime Minister Hun Sen … [has] declared that the court should try only one
more case. … Donors want to save money and are anxious for the court to wind up operations. …
The United Nations and the Cambodian authorities should openly declare that the hybrid court
will cease operations after conclusion of … [that case.] …
Even with these conditions fulfilled, … every Cambodian will know that all the will the international
community could muster was not sufficient to create a truly independent court. It‟s time for the UN to
end the charade.‖
James A. Goldston, “No Justice in the Killing Fields”, International Herald Tribune,
April 27, 2011.
This topic continues in Corruption in the UN, Part X, which follows
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