Inner City Press -- Investigative Reporting From the Inner City to Wall Street to the United Nations

UNDP Finds "No Mal-Intent" For Money Herfkens Is Asked to Return, Charges Denied

UNITED NATIONS, May 27 -- Dutch parliamentarians are demanding that Evelyn Herfkens, who took $7000 a month rent from her government while ostensibly working only for the UN Development Program, repay the money. This despite a letter last week from UNDP's Kemal Dervis, attempting to whitewash the scandal.

   Dervis acknowledges that Herfkens had been handed a copy of the rules which she went ahead and broke, and that governments are charged with knowing these rules. But he concludes, on what basis is not clear, that there was no intention to break the rule, no "mal-intent." So $280,000 in illegally received money can be kept? The UN speaks from time to time again impunity. But UNDP, even when its Administrator admits that rules have been broken, tries to promote impunity.

UNDP's Dervis frames the issue, Herfkens $ and PRO-FIT and Zimbabwe answers not shown

            Similarly, in Timor Leste, UNDP continues to pay Roque Rodrigues, the former defense minister who the UN's commission of inquiry said should be prosecuted for handing out guns to mobs.  On May 22, UNDP partially answered these follow-up questions, posed on May 14:

Is UNDP paying Rodrigues' salary? You say that Rodrigues "does not have any UN status."  What do you mean, he is a contractor, right?  Isn't this his status -- he holds a SSA contract with UNDP?  Or are you referring to privileges and immunities; that he has no such status, given that he is a contractor? Did the Govt of Timor Leste specifically request that UNDP hire Mr. Rodrigues as a consultant? If so, which official made this request?

            UNDP responded that "anyone one on a consultant/SSA contract has only functional immunity so his UN status has no bearing on any potential legal developments in Timor Leste relating to developments prior to his employment with the UN. In fact, the only immunity he may have relates to his membership of the Council of State. Lifting that would require a decision by the President of the country. The SRSG has already spoken to the President about this who confirmed that he would do so. The UN in Timor Leste continues to support the work of the Commission of Inquiry is committed to full accountability for all those whom the report names."

            On May 22, Inner City Press asked UNDP some questions, some of which have so far been answered as noted below:

Q: What ever happened to the promised investigation by OAPR of UNDP's award of no-bid contracts to a firm called PRO-FIT?  At the time, UNDP promised its own investigation. did it ever happen?  will UNDP make it public? So far not answered.

Undp claimed a couple months ago that internal investigations and a Kimberly Process investigation had cleared undp from any wrongdoing in Zimbabwe, concerning undp's support of diamond mining operations.  but undp refuses to make public the investigations. what is the basis for undp not sharing copies of these investigation reports:  Will UNDP release the reports? So far not answered.

Q: Has UNDP hired consultants whose responsibilities include monitoring the computers and communications of staff and other consultants? If yes, are Mr. Dervis and/or Mr. Melkert aware of this monitoring, and are they given any of the information that is collected? Does UNDP or these consultants monitor the computers or communications of the Independent Review Panel?

Partially answered: " On the issue of the monitoring, UNDP does not have any consultants or staff or anyone "whose responsibilities include the monitoring of computers and communications of staff and other consultants." (to use your words). We, of course, are not in any way shape or form monitoring the computers of the Independent Review Panel. Frankly, allegations that UNDP would be involved in such practices are just downright preposterous."

   We'll see.

Q: Beyond UNDP, what about the question of UN requiring letter from a media's country's mission for accreditation?

Answered thusly: " I have been advised that for regular accreditation missions do not get involved. However, they do get involved when a visiting senior official travels with a press corps. In those instances, the mission would sent the UN Media Accreditation and Liaison Unit a list of journalists who need to get a one or two day pass."

  We less sure of this last answer, as several journalists have been asked to get letters from their country's mission to the UN. Developing.

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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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