In
Censoring UN of Guterres UNESCO Sinks in
Disorganization & Lawless 1-Candidate
Election
By Matthew
Russell Lee &
sources,
Exclusive
UN GATE, August
29 –
UNESCO, like
the entire UN
system under
Antonio
Guterres'
leadership, is
collapsing
into absurdity
and
corruption.
Recent events
in Haiti,
Ethiopia,
Syria and
Afghanistan
have proven
once again its
total
irrelevance
and absence
from the major
decision-making
processes.
Song here.
At UNESCO
though, it is
the
destructive
business as
usual since
the election
in 2017 of the
French
Director
general Audrey
Azoulay. The
maneuvers of
Azoulay and
her team
surprise even
the Agency's
politically
minded
ambassadors.
After
individually
lobbying
member state
representatives
on the
Executive
board to
obtain their
public
statements in
favor of her
re-election,
after the
public
announcement
that Azoulay,
like the North
Korean regime
(and following
the example of
Big Tony) ,
will be the
only candidate
for the DG
position this
year, thus
locking in her
re-election
next November,
diplomats are
watching with
genuine
amazement the
frantic
agitation of
Azoulay and
her Office to
obtain
additional
letters of
support for
her candidacy.
Contrary to
all rules and
regulations,
these efforts
make no sense
at this time,
when there is
no other
candidate
vying for
UNESCO's top
job.
An
explanation is
emerging,
however. Some
observers note
that, in the
current
circumstances
of the
COVID-19
pandemic,
there is a
debate to
convene an
extraordinary
session of the
General
conference of
the
organization
in order to
decide on the
rules of
procedure for
a possible
virtual
holding of
this major
statutory
event for
UNESCO which
is convened
every two
years.
Azoulay's
and French
Ambassador
Roger-Lacan's
nervousness
could be
explained by
the fact that
if such an
extraordinary
session were
to be held,
there is a
risk that the
candidacy for
the post of DG
would be
reopened, and
that the
current
President of
the General
conference,
the highly
respected
diplomat Altay
Cengizer,
would run
against Audrey
Azoulay.
This
could indeed
be one of the
reasons why
Audrey Azoulay
is frantically
collecting
more letters
of
support.
However, and
despite the
decision of
the Executive
board to “call
according to
Article IV.D.9
(a) and (b) of
the
Constitution,
for an
extraordinary
session of the
General
Conference, on
4 September
2021, to
decide solely
on (a) the
format of the
General
Conference and
(b) the
adoption of
[its] working
methods”,
there is still
no indication
of any
political move
in that
direction.
The
consultation
of member
states that
was to have
been organized
by Executive
board Chairman
Agapito Mba
Mokuy has not
yet taken
place, and it
is not certain
that it will
take place at
all in the
short time
remaining
until
September 4.
This shows how
far UNESCO is
sinking into
mismanagement
and
rulelessness.
Over
the past three
years, the
Paris based
Agency has
experienced
corruption and
abuse of power
on a number of
occasions, but
never before
has the lack
of respect for
governing body
procedures and
for the
Constitution
reached such
proportions.
UNESCO is
clearly losing
its solid
constitutional
foundation
with the
French DG
seemingly
afraid of the
option of fair
competition in
the
re-election
process from
the
beginning.
The
Nordic
countries and
Western
democracies
have had
nothing to say
about these
blatant cases
of influence
peddling. They
always claim
to be the
paragon of
righteousness
and morality,
but in the
case of the
French DG,
they all
preferred to
timidly turn
their backs on
rules and
procedures.
What is more,
the French
Government and
the EU
countries
flip-flopped
on all
constitutional
principles so
as to protect
fully the
French DG in
her dishonest
demarches.
Thus,
Audrey
Azoulay's
maneuver has
set a
dangerous
precedent of a
parallel
decision-making
process linked
to elections,
replacing the
one adopted by
the General
conference.
This is where
UNESCO is
today. A UN
agency where
corruption,
unconstitutional
political
maneuvering,
promotion
based on
sexual
performance,
abuse of power
and nepotism
thrive. We'll
tell you more
about it.
***
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