| UNESCO
Corruption to Re-Up Azoulay Amid Worse
Sleaze for Guterres Contrasted to Falt
Letter
By Matthew
Russell Lee &
sources,
Exclusive
UN GATE, April 19
– A week
ago, the
Cabinet of DG
Audrey Azoulay
publicly
complained
about the
President of
the General
Conference, as
being too
obstructive to
their plans
and harsh on
their
management.
Today,
Inner City
Press
publishes a
letter showing
that, compared
to it, the
tone and
wording used
by the Turkish
Ambassador,
Altay
Cengizer, was
rather
moderate in
his letters
reminding
about the
constitutional
obligations of
member states
and the rules
of conduct for
international
staff.
In
October 2013,
the
Chairperson of
Executive
board at that
time, Ms
Cummins, sent
a very strong
letter to the
Director
General Irina
Bokova about
the misconduct
of a
high-ranking
official, the
ADG for
External
Relations, the
French Eric
Falt. Copy of
her letter is
available here.
Without
mincing her
words, Ms
Cummins
clearly
reprimanded
the
Secretariat
and the
Director
General
Bokova. The
ire of member
states was
directed
against the
public
statement made
by Mr Falt in
favor of the
DG. The error
was described
as “a breach
of duty on his
part, and is
contrary to
the ethics and
tradition of
our
Organization,
and may be
prejudicial to
the confidence
of all members
in the
credibility of
a fair and
democratic
election
process”.
In her
letter, Ms
Cummins also
pointed out
the “violation
of
principles”,
the “political
and ethical
implications”,
shared the
“grave concern
to member
states”,
recalled the
staff
regulations
and the UNESCO
Standards of
Conduct for
international
civil servants
and requested
Mr Falt to be
“formally
sanctioned for
his conduct,
which has
violated his
ethical and
constitutional
duties as
international
civil servant
of
UNESCO”.
Few
years later,
what did the
current Chair
of the
Executive
board, Agapito
Mba Mokuy, do
in the case of
the much more
serious
involvement of
Azoulay’s
staff in her
reelection
campaign and
in the
elimination of
the second
candidate?
Nothing.
Zero action.
Zero requests
for
sanctions.
The contrast
is appalling - and
typical of the
decay of
the UN
system
under corrupt
Antonio
Guterres,
today seeking
to inch closer
to a second five year
term by crashing
the delayed
monthly
meeting of
the PGA and
the
President of
the UNSC, so circulating
the names of
Guterres' six
opponents
cannot even be
discussed.
Member states
are aware that
the
Constitution
of UNESCO
clearly
stipulates in
its Article VI
(item 5.):
“The
responsibilities
of the
Director-General
and of the
staff shall be
exclusively
international
in character.
In the
discharge of
their duties
they shall not
seek or
receive
instructions
from any
government or
from any
authority
external to
the
Organization.
They shall
refrain from
any action
which might
prejudice
their
positions as
international
officials”.
Since
her election,
DG Audrey
Azoulay
totally
disregarded
for three
years now the
Constitution
of UNESCO as
well as her
oath
pronounced as
per the usual
ritual at the
beginning of
her
mandate.
Despite the
efforts by the
President of
the General
Conference to
bring to an
end
anti-constitutional
behaviors at
UNESCO (here),
member states
opted for
accepting the
constitutionally
unbearable
behavior and
decided to
allow the
continuation
of DG’s
politically
biased and
financially
corrupted
administration.
Therefore, in
the specific
case of DG
Azoulay, after
all the
collected and
duly exposed
evidences with
respect to her
mismanagement,
to her misuse
of public
funds, to her
disrespect for
rules and
regulations,
to her
unreserved
allegiance to
the French
national
authorities, a
specific
mechanism will
have to be
established in
order to
ensure that
any other DG
in the future
be subject to
severe
disciplinary
sanctions if
ever acting
like the
French DG.
The
term of DG
Azoulay could
therefore be
used as a
matchless
bad-practice
experiment
that can only
be followed by
improvements
with future
Director-generals.
Watch this
site.
***
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