| Demolition
of UNESCO Culture Sector Is Endorsed by DG
Azoulay And States Under Guterres
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Exclusive, Video
UN GATE,
September 30 –
From
the corrupt UN
of Antonio
Guterres in New
York, the
whole UN
system has
been
corrupted,
including
UNESCO. For
decades, the
culture sector
was the
shining part
of UNESCO. Its
culture-related
activities
always
attracted
public
attention not
only for the
famous
heritage sites
but also for
the normative
work
protecting and
promoting
cultural
policies,
strategies and
projects
worldwide.
This cozy
state of
affairs came
brutally to an
end last year.
The
culture sector
became the
field of
inexplicable
administrative
experimentation
by the
Director
general of
UNESCO Audrey
Azoulay and
her assistant
director
general for
Culture, the
Chilean
Ernesto Ottone
Ramirez, who
is a good
friend of
Azoulay from
her previous
life as
minister of
culture of
France.
On the ground
of this close
friendship,
right after
her election
in November
2017, he
became the
first ADG to
be confirmed
in his new
position
without any
competition as
per the rules.
Since
then, he
proved to be
as poorly
prepared as
the rest of
her senior
team for such
a high
position and
particularly
for working in
the
challenging
international
environment of
UNESCO.
Famous for his
anger, feeling
easily upset,
regularly
shouting at
his
subordinates,
Ottone Ramirez
managed
nevertheless
to succeed in
getting rid
over less than
a year of all
experienced
senior
managers of
the culture
sector who
preferred to
quit rather
than to keep
working under
his leadership
and its
incarnation of
incompetence.
Still,
with the
implicit
consent of
member states,
Ottone Ramirez
is advancing
his reforms.
Convinced that
DG Azoulay
will never
disagree with
him (the
interests of
UNESCO come
clearly after
their solid
comradeship)
Ottone Ramirez
is peacefully
and
methodically
destabilizing
the culture
sector.
Particular
attention was
paid by both
to break the
effective
implementation
and monitoring
of the UNESCO
normative
instruments in
the area of
culture and to
hamper
effectively
their national
implementation.
To that
end, the
secretaries of
the
conventions
were dismissed
or reassigned
within the
organization.
Disrupting
substantially
the work of
the culture
sector is not
an easy task,
but DG Azoulay
and her
faithful
gaucho Ottone
Ramirez proved
to be capable
of doing so in
the short
run. The
reform of the
culture sector
further
obstructed the
pivotal role
of culture,
heritage and
creativity as
a means of
achieving
sustainable
development
and peace.
By
slowing down
its core
functions as
standard-setter,
capacity-builder
and catalyst
for
international
cooperation,
UNESCO is
progressively
losing its
leadership in
culture, after
losing it in
education. The
reform also
debilitated
the
safeguarding
of intangible
cultural
heritage and
encumbered the
institutional
support for
the emergence
of dynamic
cultural and
creative
industries.
But how
to concentrate
on mobilizing
innovative and
culturally
appropriate
responses to
the various
challenges of
sustainable
development
when at the
same time more
immediate and
urgent tasks
and challenges
are at stake –
such as
finding a
permanent job
in the culture
sector for the
good friend
and current
advisor of
Audrey Azoulay
the unskilled
and hopeless
Sunna Altnoder
who is on a
temporary post
in the cabinet
of Azoulay.
Or to
get rid of the
competent
chief
executive
office and of
the one of the
administrative
unit, or to
make sure that
the Italian
director in
the sector is
kept well
under the
water with no
staff or
support for
her
activities.
Staff in the
culture sector
are blaming
openly the
arrogant and
heavy-handed
management
style of
Ottone Ramirez
whispering
that UNESCO is
not a suitable
place for some
in UN
hyperbole call
a
baby-Pinochet.
These
internal
rearrangements
are having by
far a higher
priority for
the top
managers than
empowering
marginalized
communities
through
culture or
fostering
creativity and
supporting the
emergence of
cultural and
creative
industries as
a tool for
inclusive
economic and
social
development.
Not to
mention the
Forum of
ministers of
culture planed
for November
next, that is
one of the
highest
priorities of
DG Azoylay and
Ottone
Ramirez, while
it has no
other major
objective than
the
self-promotion
of their
couple.
In her
uncompromising
efforts to
shrink the
scope and the
impact of
UNESCO’s
action
worldwide, the
French Audrey
Azoulay
clearly hired
the right
people for her
senior
management
team. The
question
remains what
will member
states do in
order to
contain the
rampant
despoliation
and corruption
of UNESCO,
caused by poor
management and
slipshod
practices.
Again,
another
file for IOS
is the
verification
of the
functioning of
the
transportation
unit of
UNESCO. The
Director of
the Cabinet Mr
Nicolas
Kassianides,
is still using
an official
car without
being entitled
to do so. Even
more
unacceptable
is the use by
him of
official cars
for
transportation
to airports
and railway
stations when
at the same
time he is
getting the
terminal fare
DSA paid to
him, which in
such way goes
directly into
his pocket.
This financial
trickery,
centered on
embezzlement
and abuse of
power, may
interest IOS
to the utmost.
As pointed out
by a senior
staff member,
if DG Azoulay
still believe
she has a
chance for
re-election,
one of her
first steps
should be to
get rid of her
Director of
Cabinet,
Kassianides,
the young inexperienced
French fellow
from the Quai
d’Orsay.
We will have
more next week
on the
intentional
destruction of
the Culture
Sector of
UNESCO and on
the
appointment of
sons and
daughters of
Ambassadors to
UNESCO in the
Secretariat of
the
Organization.
One persisting
mystery though
is the reason
why
influential
member states
remain silent,
while no other
previous
Director-General
benefited from
such indulgence
and for how
much longer
the deep moral
and
programmatic
crisis in
which UNESCO
is swimming
today will be
considered
within
acceptable
limits by
those funding
the
Organization.
We will have
more on all
that. Watch
this
site!
And now
comes Hong Kwon went
as far as he could
perverting the
human resources
system of
UNESCO in
Paris.
Cases of
harassment expanded,
disastrous
recruitment
policy
implemented,
total mess
with the
reclassification
policy that
even exposed
the DDG from
China and made
him look like
a fool in
front of all
staff members
concerned. And
making China look
bad is one of
few firing
offenses in
Guterres'
UN.
Hong
Kwon had
plans to stay
in Paris for
at least two
years more,
but after
being severely
exposed during
the last
session of the
Executive
Board of
UNESCO in
April
for his
disastrous
management of
the cases
contested by
the staff most
of which had
been lost
because of his
incompetence
before the UN
tribunal in
Geneva, the
Director
General
Azoulay had no
other choice
but to see him
leave his
position
on an
insultingly
short
notice.
Inner
City Press
will / would ask
the following
question to Guterres'
still vacationing
(in France) spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric, whose
Deputy
Farhan Haq now
refuses to
answer Inner
City Press even as
he has in the
past on the UN's child
rape:
After
being sacked
from UNESCO
despite the
initial
extension of
his contract until
2021 for the
cases lost in
Geneva (11 out
of 13 cases in
2018), what
position might
Hong
Kwon now
be
assuming
in the UN? Can
you explain
how will he be
used and what
for given
his
record in
Paris, of imposing
the irregular
reclassification
scheme, after
disrupting the
functioning
of
entire sectors
and programs
of the
organization
with a
mobility
scheme
painfully and
partially
implemented?
What place is
reserved for a
manager with
proven lack of
respect for
staff members,
people, rules
and
procedures,
using his own
staff for
cleaning and
cooking at his
place,
relentlessly
covering up
cases of
sexual and
moral
harassment of
staff? He
seems perfect for
Guterres,
just like
Colin Stewart.
We intend
to follow the
career of this
Hong
Kwon,
another perfect
match for
Guterres -
except that Hong
Kwon unlike
Guterres has
yet to cover
up child rape.
Yet.
Here is
some of Kwan's
history, which
makes him so
appropriate
for Big Tony
Guterres -
birds of a
feather: Following
the exclusive report
by Inner City
Press of May
26, the wind
of panic in
the Cabinet of
Azoulay is
blowing across
UNESCO.
An internal
note issued on
6th June
describes the
disciplinary
measures taken
during the
period 1st
January 2017
to 31 December
2018.
Prepared
and
disseminated
hastily after
the
publication of
the Inner City
Press article,
the
Information
Circular
IC/HR/163
clearly aimed
at diverting
the attention
of staff and
member states
from the
current
scandals, in a
pathetic
attempt to
pull the wool
over their
eyes, but
actually
nobody got
fooled.
On the
contrary, the
Director of
Cabinet,
Nicolas
Kassianides is
already under
internal
investigation
after the
article by ICP
but even
before the
conclusion of
the
investigation,
he is proudly
claiming that
he committed
in fact no
crime as the
grants for
renting his
apartment had
been duly
approved by
the Director
of Human
Resources Hong
Kwon.
This is
actually not
an astute
defense
argumentation,
as corruption
schemes have
always been
diligently
validated by
the Director
Human
Resources Hong
Kwon since his
appointment at
UNESCO in 2017
.
The
most recent
example of
such
transgressions
is the
approval by
Hong Kwon of a
consultancy
contract for
the son of the
Ambassador of
Brazil to
UNESCO. Madam
Ambassador is
well known for
her unreserved
and
unquestionable
support for
the lousy
reforms
proposed by
Azoulay and
her team
during the
last two
sessions of
the Executive
Board of
UNESCO. Now,
for those good
and loyal
services, she
and her
descendant are
getting a
candy from the
Azoulay’s
private candy
shop - that's
what UNESCO is
turning into.
The
contract is
placing her
son in the
Division for
external
relations led
by Edouard
Matoko, who,
of course, as
the most
prominent
yes-man of
Azoulay in
this
Administration,
keenly
accepted this
very competent
young person
as a well-paid
by tax-payers
money
consultant.
Guess what,
once more,
this
deliberate act
of abuse of
power and
traffic of
influence was
suitably
validated by
the Cabinet of
Azoulay and by
the Director
Human
Resources Hong
Kwon.
Another
internal
investigation
launched last
week concerns
the case
exposed by
Inner City
Press on the
misuse of
tax-payers
money in large
proportions.
Take that
example - the
financial
services of
Azoulay
authorized a
payment of
some 450,000
US dollars to
an unknown
financial
institution in
London. After
effecting the
payment, those
funds vanished
in someone’s
pocket. Still,
no measures to
recover the
money by the
corrupted
UNESCO.
***
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