Amid
Sale of UN
Posts, Ban
Greets New PR
of Cote
d'Ivoire, NZ,
IOM &
Montenegro Too
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, May
11 -- In UN
Peacekeeping
under Herve
Ladsous,
positions in
missions in
the Democratic
Republic of
the Congo and
Haiti were
corruptly put
up for sale, a
49-page
“Strictly
Confidential”
UN Office of
Internal
Oversight
Services
(OIOS) report
obtained and exclusively
published
by Inner City
Press on
February 7
shows.
Despite the
various UN
answers to
Inner City
Press set
forth below,
the Cote
d'Ivoire
diplomat
Bafetegue
Ouattara
depicted by
OIOS
soliciting and
accepting the
bribe is still
inside UN
headquarters.
In fact, on
May 11 he was
on the UN's
38th floor
shaking hands
with Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon after
the latter
accepted the
credentials of
Claude
Stanislas
Bouah-Kamon as
the
replacement of
former
Ambassador
Bamba. Inner
City Press was
there, and
tweeted a
photo of
Claude
Stanislas
Bouah-Kamon
and of
Bafetegue
Ouattara.
Claude
Stanislas
Bouah-Kamon
used the name
of the other
Ouattara, the
president, as
he handed over
his letter of
credentials.
Minutes later
the new
Permanent
Observer of
the
International
Organization
for Migration
Ashraf
Elnour Mustafa
Mohamed Nour
used a more
booming voice
to offer the
greeting from
IOM's William
Lacy Swing and
say he would
serve under
Ban's
"mandate" (if
so, than IOM
should do
better
answering
Press
questions.)
Joining
Ban in short
meeting with
each was new
Assistant
Secretary
General for
Political
Affairs
Miroslav
Jenca, until
recently in
Ashkabat,
Turkmenistan.
The UN can be
a weird place.
We wish Gerard
Jacobus van
Bohemen
and
Zelijko
Perovic well,
and even Ashraf
Elnour Mustafa
Mohamed Nour.
But with Claude
Stanislas
Bouah-Kamon
we'll want to
see what he
does about the
sale of UN
posts exposed
in his
mission.
Bafetegue
Ouattara says
OIOS only
recently
interviewed
him -
meanwhile, UN
Deputy
Spokesperson
Farhan Haq on
May 11 praised
OIOS to Inner
City Press, as
a response to
21 NGOs
calling Ban's
response to
reported rapes
in Central
African
Republic by
French troops.
On April
22
Bafetegue
Ouattara spoke
for Cote
d'Ivoire in
the Security
Council, on
Cote d'Ivoire
sanctions, and
was praised by
the chair of
that
Committee.
Afterward,
Outtara
approached
Inner City
Press at the
Security
Council
stakeout about
the OIOS
report. He
said, they
only
interviewed me
recently.
Inner City
Press said it
would be happy
to here more
about the
processes of
OIOS - but the
report says
what it does.
We will have
more on this.
In a March
13 report (in
French), BBC
links
former
Permanent
Representative
Bamba's ouster
to the Ivorian
Mission saying
Western Sahara
is the last
colony in
Africa in a
meeting of the
UN General
Assembly's
Fourth
Committee back
on October 13,
2014. (That
was, of
course, the
Cote d'Ivoire
government's
position under
Laurent
Gbagbo,
contrary to
France's
position.)
Unlike,
for example, The
Independent
(here,
crediting
Inner City
Press), BBC
entirely
misses the
scandal of DPR
Ouattara being
exposed for
selling UN
positions but
having more
support in
President
Ouattara's
inner circle,
Ibrahim
Ouattara
(known as "photocopie"
due to his
resemblance to
his brother,
President
Alassane
Ouattara) and
two ministers,
Mamadi Diane
and Roland
Adjo-Lessing,
see below.
On
March 6, when
Michaëlle
Jean,
Secretary-General
of the
Organisation
Internationale
de la
Francophonie,
held a press
conference,
she said her
organization
is involved in
UN
Peacekeeping
missions.
Inner City
Press ran from
the Security
Council
stakeout to
the UN Press
Briefing Room
and asked if
this
Francophone
connection in
UN
Peacekeeping
should be
cleaned up. Video here.
Ms.
Jean said it
did not have
to do with
language.
Perhaps not
language -
though other
diplomats at
the UN have
asked why the
damning OIOS
report was
only in
French. But
will it be
cleaned up?
In
fact, he has
gotten a
promotion, to
"charge
d'affaires"
with his
putative boss
Permanent
Representative
Yousoufou
Bamba said on
his way out.
The question
arises: why is
Bamba and not
the
bribe-taker
being removed?
Who
is protecting
Bafetegue
Ouattara?
Inner
City Press is
infromed that
Bafetegue
Ouattara's
defenders
include
Ibrahim
Ouattara
(known as
"photocopie"
due to his
resemblance to
his brother,
President
Alassane
Ouattara) and
two ministers,
Mamadi Diane
and Roland
Adjo-Lessing.
But
what does all
this mean for
Ouattara's
stated
commitment to
accountability,
even for those
in his party?
What also is
the position
of France,
which has run
UN
Peacekeeping
the last four
times in a row
and holds the
presidency of
the UN
Security
Council this
month --
though
Ambassador
Francois
Delattre has
said "I have
to run" the
first two
times Inner
City Press
asked a
question,
on Burundi
and Mali;
video
here, Vine here. This will be a good
one to answer.
Watch this
site.
As to
Bafetegue
Ouattara,
despite its
own evidence
showing the
bribes and
sale of UN
posts, the
UN's OIOS
didn't make
any
recommendation
about him, nor
recommend any
changes so it
or the UN
could.
Now Inner City
Press has
learned that a
replacement
for the head
of OIOS Carman
Lapoint is
being sought.
The process to
select the
next holder of
this lone UN
oversight
position
should be
transparent,
so that real
oversight can
begin. We'll
have more on
this.
On
February 16
The
Independent followed
up,
crediting
Inner City
Press and
quoting an
unnamed UN
spokesman that
"we cannot and
should not
pre-judge the
results of the
national
investigation"
and that
"there are 36
UN police
officers from
the Ivory
Coast deployed
to the mission
in the
Democratic
Republic of
the Congo and
60 to the
operation in
Haiti."
Question:
I wanted to
ask about the
OIOS [Office
for Internal
Oversight
Services]
report about
acceptance of
bribes for UN
police posts
that I asked
about last
week,
yesterday The
Independent
published a
story on
it. They
quoted a UN
spokesman.
I don't know
if it was you
or Stéphane
[Dujarric].
But, what I
wanted to ask
you about was
the substance
of it.
It said, “We
cannot and
should not
prejudge the
international
investigation.”
Since the OIOS
report has
bank records
and you've
already taken
action,
apparently,
and
repatriated 10
police
officers,
doesn't the UN
think its own
report is
true?
So, what does
it mean to say
that… is Côte
d’Ivoire
supposed to
reinvestigate
the case
before taking
action on the
Deputy
Permanent
Representative?
And, finally,
they also
mention there
are 36
Ivoirian
police
officers in
MONUSCO and 60
in MINUSTAH
[United
Nations
Stabilization
Mission in
Haiti].
How many have
actually been
repatriated?
Thanks.
Deputy
Spokesman
Haq:
Well,
regarding
that,
basically,
once the OIOS
report was
received, we
took decisive
measures,
including
ordering the
repatriation
of all the UN
police
officers who
were
involved.
All those
officers
involved are
either gone or
in the process
of leaving the
peacekeeping
operations on
which they
served, which
is to say
MONUSCO and
MINUSTAH.
Beyond that,
no police from
Côte d’Ivoire
will be
extended
beyond their
current
assignments
and deployment
of any
subsequent
Ivoirian
police to UN
operations has
been suspended
until
confirmation
from Côte
d’Ivoire that
action has
been taken on
the OIOS
investigation.
And regarding…
and regarding
the quotes
that you had
referred to,
yes, we're not
going to
prejudge the
results of the
national
investigation,
which the UN
has asked the
Member State
to
conduct.
We've insisted
that the
investigation
be very
thorough and
comprehensive.
We've stressed
that the UN
should be kept
fully informed
of the results
of the Member
State’s
investigation
and that
necessary
action should
be taken as a
result.
But, saying
that, now, of
course, it's
up to them to
do it and we
won't prejudge
the results of
their actions.
Inner City
Press: I
guess it's
actions versus
investigation.
You stand
behind your
own report
since you've
already sent
police
officers home
based on it,
right?
Deputy
Spokesman
Haq:
Yes, of
course.
The people who
were found in
the internal
investigation
to have
received
improper
assistance in
getting their
jobs, those
are… like I
said, I've
either all
left or in the
process of
leaving.
On the last
line, we're
left assuming
that "I've
either all
left" means
"they've
either all
left." But how
many have
left?
And why has
the Cote
d'Ivoire
Deputy
Permanent
Representative
who sold UN
Peacekeeping
posts not been
declared
Persona Non
Grata by the
US, which says
it cares about
peacekeeping
and UN reform?
The UN strip
searched and
PNG-ed Indian
diplomat
Khobragade for
an employment
dispute. Here
an Ivorian
diplomat has
sold posts in
UN
Peacekeeping.
Where's the
PNG?
Tellingly,
after the
Press'
exclusive
February 7
exposure of
corruption in
Herve Ladsous'
UN
Peacekeeping,
its asking
about it at
the February 9
UN noon
briefing and
even the UN's
long statement
in spin and
response at
the February
10 noon
briefing, UN
insiders and
Ladsous
corruption
enablers like
Reuters
and Agence
France Presse
reported not a
word about the
corruption.
On February
12, despite
the UN
investigative
report
depicting in
detail Cote
d'Ivoire's
Deputy
Permanent
Representative
Bafetegue
Ouattara
soliciting and
taking bribes
to sell posts
in Ladsous'
MONUSCO and
MINUSTAH
missions,
Inner City
Press ran into
Bafetegue
Ouattara in
the basement
of the UN, by
the garage.
After an
exchange of
words,
including a
demand to know
who leaked the
report to
Inner City
Press (demand
rejected), at
noon Inner
City Press asked, video
here:
Inner
City Press:
the corruption
one is as
follows:
It has to do
with that OIOS
[Office of
Internal
Oversight
Services]
report that
was leaked
showing the
payment of
bribes for
peacekeeping
posts.
I’d asked
Farhan, but I
wanted to ask
you more
because, this
morning, I
actually ran
into the named
deputy
representative
of Côte
d’Ivoire,
Bafetegue
Ouattara, in
the building,
and since this
report, which
began in 2013
and was
finalized in
2014, has
banking
records proof
of the payment
of bribes for
peacekeeping
posts, I just
wondered what
does the UN
do? I
understand
that the
peacekeepers
have been
asked to
return home,
but the person
who solicited
and took
bribes… does
the UN have no
recourse at
all?
Spokesman
Dujarric:
You know, as
you well know…
As you well
know,
diplomats are
sent here by
their
Governments.
We have no
authority over
them. It
is up to
national
Governments to
take action
against these,
against
individuals.
Inner City
Press: Is
there nothing
that a
diplomat could
do even inside
this building
that the UN
would take
action
on? This
was soliciting
bribes for UN
posts.
Spokesman:
As I said,
this person
works for the
Government of
the Côte
d’Ivoire, it
would be up to
them to take
appropriate
action.
So again -
there is
NOTHING that a
diplomat
couldn't do at
the UN? It
cannot be said
that this UN
has zero
tolerance for
corruption -
far from it.
Later on
February 12,
UN
Peacekeeping
chief Ladsous,
who refuses to
answer any
Press
questions, was
hobnobbing
with diplomats
in the
Delegates'
Entrance to
the UN General
Assembly.
We'll have
more on this.
Inner City
Press:
Do you think
that this… the
panel on
peacekeeping
operations
under [José]
Ramos-Horta,
is this the
type of
obviously kind
of hole in the
system that
was exploited
for personal
gain that
should be
reviewed?
Deputy
Spokesman
Haq:
This is a
clear-cut case
of corruption
which was
found by our
Office for
Internal
Oversight
Services, and
we're
following up
on that.
Clearly, quite
a good measure
of the
follow-up also
needs to be
handled by the
Member State
involved.
But there are
many
unresolved
questions;
watch this
site.
Two
days after
that
exclusive, on
February 9
Inner City
Press asked UN
Deputy
Spokesperson
Farhan Haq for
the response
of UN
Peacekeeping,
whose chief
Herve Ladsous
since Inner
City Press
raised
corruption has
refused all
Press
questions,
specifically
what Ladsous
has done in
the ten months
he has been on
notice of this
corruption, as
shown by the
leaked
documents. February 9 video here.
On
February 10,
UN deputy
spokesperson
Haq came to
the noon
briefing with
a prepared
answer, which
he read out. February 10 video here. He said
that further
recruitment of
UN Police for
Cote d'Ivoire
has been
suspended
pending that
country taking
action.
Inner
City Press
asked if all
ten police
described as
paying bribes
have been
repatriated,
for the status
of the Deputy
Permanent
Representative
Ouattara shown
taking bribes,
and if
inquiries have
been made with
other
countries
which send
soldiers or
police to the
UN.
Haq
said that the
ten have left
or are in the
process of
leaving. Six
months after
the final
report? "In
the process of
leaving"?
Worse,
Haq said it is
up to Cote
d'Ivoire if
the Deputy
Permanent
Representative
remains in his
post at and in
the UN. Isn't
collective
bribes for UN
posts a crime?
And not only
in Cote
d'Ivoire?
Inner
City Press
asked Haq if
this obvious
loophole
allowing
corruption
will be
reviewed by
Ban Ki-moon's
panel of Peace
Operations, to
which Inner
City Press has
already
forwarded the
OIOS report. Video here.
Another
question that
has been
raised to
Inner City
Press by
diplomats
after reading
the exclusive
is whether
Ladsous had a
duty, at least
before the UN
Security
Council's trip
to Haiti last
month led by
Chile and the
US to tell
Council
members that
bribes had
been collected
for positions
in the
MINUSTAH
mission there.
Haq
told Inner
City Press
that "this was
corruption
found by our
own internal
oversight."
But the report
says the UN's
OIOS
"received"
information
about these
possibly
corrupt
practices on
July 24, 2013.
We'll have
more on this.
, 
