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UN Investigator's Work Criticized in Draft Resolution,
Cronyism and Delay, Replacement Search to Begin
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of
Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED NATIONS,
December 23 -- The UN's embattled
investigator Inga-Britt Ahlenius found herself days before Christmas
dodging a resolution
against how she runs her office, amid other budget
squabbles. The fifth revised draft,
obtained by Inner
City Press and placed online here, pointedly
notes that "investigations of
fraud, corruption and misconduct in procurement are often time
sensitive."
A year ago, Ahlenius was directed to
investigate the UN's no-bid contract with
Lockheed Martin for camps in Darfur. Twelve months later, no one
was been held
accountable. While the Department
of Field Support's Susana Malcorra says that
Lockheed is out of Sudan, the work it was paid for but left uncompleted
fell to
Chinese engineers. No money has been recouped.
Also at
issue is Ms. Ahlenius' leaving
eight posts open, and otherwise manipulating
hiring to steer jobs to particular individuals. While her
supporters say these
irregularities serve a higher purpose, they ignore for example that she
pushed
to get an interview with then-Under Secretary General of Management
Alicia
Barcena for a friend of hers, Danielle Coolen. Ahlenius
refused to comment at that time,
though Inner City Press gave her the opportunity before publishing the e-mails
and story.
More recently, Ahlenius has refused
to answer simple questions
including about the Lockheed Martin matter.
UN's Ms. Ahlenius with only one of the
people pushed for posts left vacant, Lockheed not shown
A
whistleblowing
letter from staff, which Inner City Press on December 2 asked
the
Secretariat's spokesperson about, was described as "anonymous" and
"given to only one media source." Nothing has been done about the
letter, nor the detailed complaint in it. The Staff Union has written
to
Ahlenius about what they see as violations of due process by her
office. Her
response, online here,
states that while targets are denied the right to
counsel, "the interview is conducted by one investigation" [sic]. The
resolution asks the Secretariat to begin looking for Ahlenius'
replacement.
Given the lack of accountability, including fleeing from media asking
questions, it could not begin too soon.
Click here from Inner City Press'
December 12 debate on UN double standards
Click here for Inner
City Press' November 25 debate on Somalia, politics
Click here for Inner City
Press Nov. 7 debate on the war in Congo
Watch this site, and this Oct. 2 debate, on
UN, bailout, MDGs
and this October 17 debate, on
Security Council and Obama and the UN.
* * *
These
reports are
usually also available through Google
News and on Lexis-Nexis.
Click
here
for a Reuters
AlertNet piece by this correspondent
about Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army. Click
here
for an earlier Reuters AlertNet piece about the Somali
National
Reconciliation Congress, and the UN's $200,000 contribution from an
undefined trust fund. Video
Analysis here
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