At UNDP, Memo-Writer Retaliated Against, Panel's Dervis Connections, Senegalese Surprise

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis

UNITED NATIONS, September 11 -- The chief legal officer of the UN Development Program, James Provenzano, warned in March 2007 against cutting off UNDP's North Korea whistleblower, lest it look like retaliation, it emerged on Tuesday. In the memo, an Inner City Press exclusive copy of which is online here, Provenzano for example suggested

Closer to 26 March, if Mr. Shkurtaj indicates that there is information on his computer that is essential to the audit review and that he has not removed or will not remove, Mr. Shkurtaj will be asked if he would like the information preserved. If he indicates "no", then that should be recorded in writing and the equipment will be turned over to UNDP "as is". If he indicates that he would like the information preserved, then OAPR will be called to make a copy of the hard disk of the computer in Mr. Shkurtaj's presence for handover to the UN Board of Auditors. Such an action would protect UNDP from any potential later claim that it tampered with the files. OAPR is prepared to take this step when so requested.

Mr. Shkurtaj should be treated in the same manner as any other SSA holder, per the "Policy on Use of Information Communication and Technology Resources", and have his UNDP email account maintained for two weeks after the termination of his current assignment (26th March). Notwithstanding language to the contrary in the Policy, it is not possible for UNDP to restrict his use of email as read-only.

            Following the memo, which was copied to UNDP's Kemal Dervis and Ad Melkert, the whistleblower was let go and his photo placed in the do-not-enter array. Provenzano was demoted to mere officer in charge of a less prestigious office, with his contract set to expire on November 30. He himself became a victim of retaliation, for having recommended fair treatment and, it's said, for a disagreement with Dervis involving the Iraqi port of Basra.

            Dervis' selection of three individuals to make up his North Korea panel, on further inquiry, was far from independent. Chander Mohan Vasudev served at the World Bank, as did both Dervis and Melkert. While Dervis has repeatedly denied having supervised or even worked with his subsequent selection to replace Kalman Mizsei as UNDP headof Europe and CIS State, Kori Udovicki, it is said that Chander Mohan Vasudev supervised Ms. Udovicki, and worked with Dervis. "Team leader" Miklos Nemeth was reportedly lavished with praise by Dervis in his chapter in the 1994 book "Transition in Eastern Europe, Volume 1: Country Studies" -- a chapter commented on by none other than Kalman Mizsei, for more on whom, click here.

World Bank photo with Melkert (lower right) and Chander Mohan Vasudev (middle)

            Finally, for now, after Kemal Dervis on Tuesday dodged Inner City Press' question about what he will do with the whistleblower allegations from Senegal of Mathieu Koumoin, as well as from Turkey of Imran Mumtaz, the following was received from Mr. Koumoin's lawyer:

Subj: Comment on Ethics Office or Panel on Mr. Koumoin

From: Jeanne-Marie Col

To: Inner City Press

Date: 9/11/2007 11:42:57 PM Eastern Standard Time

My client Mr. Mathieu Koumoin has received no response from the UN Ethics Office, and his case is still scheduled on the agenda of the Joint Appeals Board. I have heard that Kemal Dervis, UNDP's Administrator, has said that his investigation panel will only consider the DPRK case. 

   By denying justice to the other whistleblowers, UNDP is yet again showing the real face of an organization that seems to believe that it does not have to follow the rule of law.

   The allegations of all whistleblowers should have been reviewed and taken under consideration by the Board of Auditors, as promised by the President of the Executive Board, Mr. Staur. Justice is for all, not for the few. I am very surprised that UNDP is willing to investigate only one whistleblower case.  I believe that with more than one whistleblower case before them, the UNDP should investigate all the cases. It is only fair to investigate all the cases.

   The announcement of Kemal Dervis that he won't consider "all cases that are out there," shows that the so-called independent panel is not independent at all, and is only acting as a face-saving mechanisms in the hands of the UNDP.

  I cannot think of any reason why UNDP would not include Mr. Koumoin's case in their investigation. I hope that the fact that Mr. Koumoin is a black African is not the reason that they are ignoring his case.

Jeanne-Marie Col, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Public Administration and Protection Management
John Jay College of Criminal Justice
City University of New York

            While Ms. Col's directly-expressed hope may be considered impolitic or even subject to censorship in today's United Nations, the same hope is not unwidely shared. Developing.

  Again, because a number of Inner City Press' UN sources go out of their way to express commitment to serving the poor, and while it should be unnecessary, Inner City Press is compelled to conclude this installment in a necessarily-ongoing series by saluting the stated goals of the UN agencies and many of their staff. Keep those cards, letters and emails coming, and phone calls too, we apologize for any phone tag, but please continue trying, and keep the information flowing.

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