| In
Guterres' Corrupt UN Murky UNESCO Job
Moves Under Azoulay
By Matthew
Russell Lee &
sources,
Exclusive
UN
GATE, Oct 3
– Inner City
Press has been
reporting on
serious
malfeasance by
the French
Audrey Azoulay
administration
at UNESCO in
Paris, almost
as bad as
Antonio
Guterres'
corruption in
and of the UN
in New York.
Almost - a
fish rots from
the head.
UNESCO,
like the whole
UN system
under Antonio
Guterres is
falling apart
in corruption
and fraud. In
recent years,
Inner City
Press has
revealed the
alarming
situation of
the
Paris-based UN
agency, headed
by Frenchwoman
Audrey Azoulay
since 2017.
On
September 7,
we wrote about
the sex
scandal in the
culture sector
of UNESCO that
has been
covered up by
DG Azoulay (here)
Following this
unpleasant
revelation for
his
reputation,
Chilean
Ernesto Ottone
Ramirez, who
has been a
good friend of
Azoulay's for
many years,
vehemently
denied any
wrongdoing in
closed-door
meetings.
In
particular, he
told some
member states
that the Inner
City Press
information
was "just a
bunch of
rumors spread
by some of his
detractors".
His
hypocritical
denial
resulted in
the duty to
provide
additional
information
about his
Spanish
mistress,
whose name is
Sara Garcia De
Ugarte, born
on November
16, 1989. For
her upcoming
birthday,
sugar-daddy
Ernesto Ottone
promised to
her a P3 post
in the sector
he is
constantly
demolishing.
So much for
Ottone's
ability to
assume the
consequences
of his
misdeeds.
Opposite to
him, Nicolas
Kassianides,
the Director
of Azoulay’s
cabinet is
openly taking
responsibility
for his
transgression
of the rules
and procedures
in favor of
his mistress,
Lily Neyestani
Hailu. As
revealed by
Inner City
Press last
year, she was
covertly moved
to a P5 post
in the
education
sector, in the
division for
education
2030, headed
by Maki
Katsuno-Hayashikawa
(here)
The DG Azoulay
usual cronies,
Director Human
Resources
Kazumi Ogawa
and ADG for
Management
Nicholas
Jeffreys,
contributed to
both irregular
appointments
and
promotions.
This time they
were assisted
as well by
Maki
Katsuno-Hayashikawa,
who keenly
obeyed the new
appointment
with promotion
of Lily
Neyestani
Hailu. Those
senior
officials are
a blameworthy
for theft of
public money
with the
complicity of
some member
states who
even applaud
the
mismanagement
style of
Audrey
Azoulay.
Those
Ambassadors
are therefore
accountable as
well for the
embezzlement
of tax-payers
funds. It
remains to be
seen whether
some member
states will
take a
position on
this issue at
the next
Executive
board meeting
this
October.
Thus, after
illegally
promoting Lily
Neyestani
Hailu to a P5
position last
year,
Kassianides
left his
family and his
3 children in
order to start
a new life
with Lily and
the two of
them now live
together in a
plush
apartment on
Avenue
Bosquet, in
the 7th
arrondissement
of Paris.
Of
course, by
doing so,
Nicolas
Kassianides
implicitly and
explicitly
confirms our
information
that the
promotion was
granted to his
mistress in
total
violation of
the rules and
in a flagrant
example of
influence
peddling and
abuse of
power.
Speaking
of abuse of
power, Inner
City Press
wrote on July
30 that, from
HR sources, we
learn that the
director of
legal affairs,
Santiago
Villalpando,
is coercing DG
Azoulay and
trading his
full support
in exchange
for the
appointment of
his wife to
UNESCO. We now
have
confirmation
that the
decision to
appoint Marina
Silberman, the
wife of the
director of
UNESCO's legal
office, to the
UN agency has
been made. She
has been given
a P5 position
in the
Financial
Management
Branch (BFM).
This is
another major
conflict of
interest - a
reward for
impunity in
violating the
rules - that
deserves the
full attention
of member
states.
Last
week, on
September 26,
the board of
governors of
the
Inter-American
Development
Bank (IDB)
removed the
bank’s
president,
Mauricio
Claver-Carone.
The move came
after the
president
failed to
co-operate
into an
external
investigation
into charges
that he had a
relationship
with a
colleague he
had allegedly
favored for
promotion and
pay rises. The
board acted
after
executive
directors
voted
unanimously to
recommend
Claver-Carone’s
dismissal over
sexual
misconduct.
These are the
same member
states we are
talking about
in the cases
of sexual
abuse and
illegal
promotion at
the IDB and
UNESCO. So,
when will
UNESCO board
members show
the same
resolute
toughness
against the
corrupt
leaders of the
UN agency in
Paris?
In addition to
these family
and sweetheart
appointments,
there are a
number of
political
appointments
of French
nationals that
come to the UN
agency
directly from
the
ministerial
offices of the
French
government, a
practice
considered
highly illegal
by all UN
standards
requiring
political
impartiality.
Most recently,
the former
advisor to the
French foreign
minister
landed at
UNESCO in
Azoulay's
cabinet.
Last
June, Wadid
Benaabou left
the office of
the new head
of French
diplomacy,
Catherine
Colonna, just
three days
after taking
up his post as
advisor for
North Africa
and the Middle
East. He was
then recruited
in total
violation of
the rules by
Audrey
Azoulay.
Another
Frenchman in
her cabinet.
How many of
them there
are, only the
Quai d'Orsay
human
resources
office can
know.
Frenchman
Flavio Bonetti
also rejoined
her cabinet.
Exfiltrated
last year from
UNESCO to the
office of
French
Interior
Minister
Darmanin,
Bonetti was
accused of
several major
errors in
security
management at
UNESCO. About
the
‘achievements’
of Bonetti see
here and here.
But since no
member state
complained or
demanded
accountability,
and given that
his salary at
UNESCO is
three times
what he earned
at the
Interior
Ministry,
Bonetti begged
Azoulay to
take him back
and she
did.
Staff
associations
have voiced
their big
concerns of
seeing these
alarming
practices
thriving in
the total
absence of
respect for
rules and
regulations.
But
only member
states can
oppose the
situation in
which top
senior
managers can
exert total
abuse of power
and control
over the staff
including by
using
intimidation
and harassment
that force
staff members
into fear and
obedience.
This is where
UNESCO stands
today. We will
have more on
that. Watch
this site.
***
Feedback:
Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
Past (and
future?) UN Office: S-303, UN, NY 10017 USA
For now: Box 20047,
Dag Hammarskjold Station NY NY 10017
Reporter's mobile (and weekends):
718-716-3540
Other, earlier Inner City Press are
listed here,
and some are available in the ProQuest
service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.
Copyright 2006-2020 Inner City
Press, Inc. To request reprint or other
permission, e-contact Editorial [at]
innercitypress.com for
|
,
