At
UNESCO in Paris and Nairobi
Bogus Reforms Questioned Amid
$1 a Year Contracts
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Exclusive series;
Video
UNITED
NATIONS, June 21 - This
week at UNESCO
again
demonstrated
the
institutional
and
intellectual
weakness of
the current
administration,
sources tell
Inner City
Press. The
supposed
reform
document
prepared by
Director
General
Azoulay and
her team drew
opposition
both at UNESCO
headquarters
in Paris and
in Kenya where
the National
Commissions
for UNESCO had
a consultative
meeting. Inner
City Press
already wrote
about the
reform
proposed by
Azoulay, and
sources at
UNESCO say
many member
states there
share this
view with the
notable
exception of
her France,
Italy which
got the ADG
position of
the biggest
sector of
UNESCO dealing
with
education, and
Brazil -- the
sources say
that a
relative of
the Ambassador
is about to
get a high
position at
UNESCO. Others
including from
the EU
questioned the
“reform,” and
it seemed,
Azoulay's lack
of interest in
UNESCO. They
noted that she
did not even
bother to come
to the meeting
room and
herself
present the
proposal for
reform - the
most important
goal of her
mandate - to
the
representatives
of the
Governments
paying her
salary. The
newly
appointed DDG
from China,
after the
ousting of the
former one,
the Ethiopian
Getachew
Engida
following the
recent Press
publications,
seemed
flabbergasted
by the debate,
leaving the
thankless task
of support to
the Director
of the Africa
Department.
Now some
Ambassadors
are asking not
whether but
when will
Azoulay step
down so that
she ends what
seems to be an
unpleasant job
for her but
also to stop
bringing shame
to the host
country.
UNESCO
insiders are
wondering why
is she paying
so little
attention to
UNESCO and is
rather
concentrating
on French
politics
agenda and
events.
They say the
budget of 20
million
dollars
requested by
Azoulay for a
reform that
according to
the proposed
outline
document is to
be done by the
staff of
UNESCO and
some external
experts is
extremely
high. Even by
the UN
standards this
is far too
expensive for
consultants
and rather
makes it up to
the "salaries
of Silicon
Valley CEOs"
as underscored
by one
Ambassador
from Latin
America.
At the end of
the meeting
member states
also asked
about the list
of all
beneficiaries
of the “one
dollar
contract”
scheme that
was exposed by
the Press. The
representatives
of the
Director
General
ignored this
request and
refused to
provide it.
This is
today's UN -
as the UNESCO
and UNHQ
sources
confirm, a
fish rots from
the head.
Like
this: in the
UN system of
Antonio
Guterres on
sexual
harassment,
despite the
rhetoric of
“zero
tolerance” the
pattern is to
cover up as
long as
possible. It
happened with
Luiz Loures at
UNAIDS under
Michel Sidibe.
It is
happening now
with Tero
Varjoranta,
the suddenly
“retired”
leader of the
Iran Deal team
at the
International
Atomic Energy
Agency under
Yukio Amano,
Inner City
Press
exclusive
series here.
At UNESCO the
ousting of
Assistant
Director
General Frank
La Rue for
severe
misconduct and
sexual
harassment was
the exception
confirming the
rule. Instead
of maintaining
the hope for
justice and
fair dealing,
the current
ruling of
UNESCO is
rather
confirming the
opposite and
this clearly
is a bad news
for UNESCO and
its staff. For
example, a
week ago on
May 23, 2018
one of the two
staff
associations
ISAU announced
the suspension
of “all
relationship
with the
Bureau of
Human
resources” led
by Hong Kwon,
the good
friend of Ban
Ki-moon who
was promoted
almost every
year thanks to
him [Inner
City Press was
first to
expose this, here
and then here
- and was evicted,
still restricted
in UN.]
The text of
the communiqué
of the Staff
association
reads as
follows: “Dear
Colleagues, in
view of the
difficulties
of
communication
and the
inability of
the Bureau of
Human
resources to
solve the
various
problems that
have persisted
form months,
ISAU has no
choice but to
suspend all
relations with
HRM”! This
says it all
about the
quality of
dealing with
staff issues
at UNESCO,
while the
#MeToo is
shaking again
UNESCO at the
highest level.
the Director
General (DG)
Azoulay
spoke in her
opening speech
at the last
Executive
Board about
her "zero
tolerance"
about sexual
harassment.
Similar to
Antonio
Guterres. But
with the same
difficulty to
put acts in
line with
words.
In the case of
La Rue, we
wrote already
about the
retaliations
and pressures
on the victim
. We also
promised to
have more on
that – and
here we go:
According to
the internal
sources, the
Organization
is powerless
to undertake
any
investigative
action until
the departure
of current
corrupted
Deputy DG
Getachew
Engida from
his position.
Despite all
efforts for
months he
blocked all
possibilities
to investigate
the Ethics
Adviser
Rebecca Trott
and the CI
senior
officials
perpetrating
relentlessly
acts of
retaliation
against the
victim,
including the
CI Chief
Executive
office
appointed by
La Rue a year
ago and a CI
Director,
another close
friend of La
Rue for many
years.
The
deeds of
retaliation
against the
victim by the
friends of La
Rue still in
office are put
on record but
with no
effect. The
Chief of the
CI Executive
office
appointed by
La Rue is
still left in
place and has
a direct link
of supervision
with the
victim.
Appointed by
La Rue,
affected
directly
professionally
and humanly by
the ousting of
La Rue he now
has the
professional
fate of the
victim in his
hands. And the
DG is fully
tolerating it
by not taking
any measures
despite the
facts put on
record and
brought to the
attention of
her Cabinet -
"zero
tolerance"
indeed. Thus,
the pressure
and
retaliation
against the
victim of La
Rue are not
only
encouraged,
but
continuously
strengthened,
heightened and
intensified.
Even member
states are
getting
concerned
about it. An
Ambassador
asked why this
is yet to be
dealt with
properly
instead of
being
immediately
stopped in a
public meeting
of member
states with
the DG Azoulay
but got no
answer. No one
can
understand
why this is
still
tolerated by a
woman
Director-General.
The
victim after
suffering
great moral
damage, sees
all her
efforts to
bring the case
to an end is a
just and fair
manner
annihilated by
the omerta
and vendetta
surrounding
the concerned
officials, who
remain fully
protected -
while nobody
was protecting
the victim. We
will have more
on that after
the ousting of
Engida from
the DDG
position in
few days only.
The
La Rue case is
unfortunately
not the only
one at UNESCO.
At least two
more Assistant
DGs had issues
of the same
kind but
because of
their close
relationship
with the
current DG of
UNESCO Audray
Azoulay, their
deeds were
covered by all
concerned
sevices
including the
Medical
Service.
Still,
the Director
General
Azoulay issued
last March a
circular Note
to all Staff
members
affirming her
commitment to
fight against
sexual and
other
harassment in
the most
decisive way.
She went
beyond the
possibility
for punishing
the direct
perpetrators
by
stating that
disciplinary
measures will
even be
“imposed in
the light of
the results of
the
investigations
into an
official who
deliberately
tolerated such
acts after
becoming aware
of
them.”
So why, if so,
not taking
into account
the case
brought to the
services who
did everything
possible to
discourage
another victim
of sexual
harassment
working in the
Africa
Department so
as to not to
fill in a file
with an
official
complaint
against the
supervisor?
Because the
concerned
Assistant
Director
General is a
close friend
of Azoulay and
is fully
protected by
her.
There is a
second case
involving the
“Club
echangiste” in
Paris...
In
other UNESCO
news, failures
directly on
its purported
mandate:
beyond the
censorship
exhibited on
World Press
Freedom Day in
UN
Headquarters,
from the
Alliance of
Civilizations
to the
continuing
lack of
content
neutral media
access rules
by the UN
Department of
Public
Information's
Alison Smale
and extension
of
restrictions
on the Press,
UNESCO's
Director
Audrey Azoulay
didn't even
both to go to
the launch of
the Day, in
Ghana.
Instead, she
left that
responsibility
to her Deputy
the Ethiopian
Engida, his
country of
origin being a
better paragon
for free
press.
Several Nordic
states'
Ambassadors
questioned
Azoulay's
decision not
to attend the
celebrations
this year.
Some linked it
to what they
say is the
desire of
Azoulay to
conciliate
with the
Egyptian
government as
per Macron’s
instructions,
after UNESCO's
award to
Shawkan and
with Egypt
still
digesting both
the lost
elections for
UNESCO
Directorate
General last
November and
the subsequent
decision of
Azoulay to
push aside the
Egyptian
candidates for
senior
management
positions in
UNESCO. Others
say it was
simply
contempt. The
Director of
the Division
for Freedom of
Expression at
UNESCO Guy
Berger himself
is an example
of
intellectual
self-censorship
and unashamed
deceitfulness
as exposed by
Inner City
Press during
the press
conference by
Berger at the
UN. His direct
former boss
and good mate
Frank LaRue
got ousted
early this
year for
sexually
harassing a
UNESCO staff
member. Still,
Berger managed
to keep his
job despite
all his woeful
efforts to
protect La Rue
to the hilt by
mobilizing
member states
and
demoralizing
the
investigation
process behind
the scene. We
will have more
on this.
***
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