UN GATE,
Jan 7 –
As inside the increasingly
marginal United Nations a
process begins to select a
successor to Antonio Guterres
who banned
Inner City
Press from the
UN as it
reported on
his links
with briber
CEFC China
Energy and to
sex trafficker
Ghislaine
Maxwell, now at the
start of 2026
a smaller
but related
bit of cronyism
at the UN
Office in
Geneva. From
what staff
sent Inner
City Press:
At a
time when the
United Nations
claims
it is saving
money,
UNOG [like
Guterres'
office] is going
the other way.
"One
case has
reached
particularly
troubling
proportions.
It concerns
the D1 post of
Director of
the Library.
The previous
incumbent
retired at the
end of August
2025. Instead
of keeping the
post vacant,
and despite
clear
instructions
from the
Secretary
General, UNOG
announced on 3
June the
appointment of
Charlotte
Warakaulle as
Director of
the Library,
effective 1
January
2026.
Warakaulle
left the
organization
ten years ago
to serve two
five year
terms as
Director of
External
Relations at
CERN. This
appointment
raises serious
concerns for
several
reasons.
First, UNOG
had already
been
explicitly
requested to
identify post
reductions for
2026 under
UN80, with a
particular
focus on
senior level
positions.
Second,
Warakaulle,
who previously
worked at
UNOG, spent
the past ten
years outside
the UN system.
She was
appointed
without any
recruitment
process,
vacancy
announcement,
or competitive
selection.
Senior UN HR
officials have
indicated that
this
represents a
breach of
fundamental HR
rules.
There is also
a strong
perception of
favoritism.
Warakaulle is
widely
understood to
be a close
personal
friend of the
current
Director of
Administration,
Kira
Kruglikova. Kruglikova
has previously
been
associated
with decisions
perceived by
staff as
favoring
friends and
compatriots.
The
appointment
was reportedly
driven by
Kruglikova and
approved by
both the
Director
General and
ASG
OHRM.
The
announcement
triggered
significant
staff outrage.
Staff had
repeatedly
been informed
that, under UN
staff rules
and
regulations,
secondments
are limited to
a maximum of
five years,
and special
leave without
pay to a
maximum of two
years. Yet
Warakaulle was
reinserted
into a post
she had left
ten years
earlier, after
having
occupied it
for only seven
months. At the
same time,
proposed post
cuts have
disproportionately
targeted lower
level
positions,
often
affecting high
performing and
productive
staff.
During the
2026 budget
deliberations,
the ACABQ
raised
concerns and
recommended
that this
position be
kept vacant,
consistent
with
approaches
taken at other
duty stations.
But no.
This
situation has
seriously
undermined
staff morale
and warrants
close
scrutiny.
Other
staff ask if the UN Libraries
will ban the new "UN
Betrayals" book, here.
From it, on 2017:
Guterres was flying first
class, and threatening UN
staff that they cannot strike.
Inner City Press
asked Guterres' spokesman
Stephane Dujarric, transcript
here:
"I've seen it written that the
Secretary-General and the
Deputy have a right to, in
every instance, travel first
class. There's a big
controversy in the US right
now about Scott Pruitt and
others for travelling first
class, they say,
wastefully. And a US
Senator from Louisiana said he
never travels first class
because his constituents would
be offended. What is the
unique safety issue for the
Secretary-General that he must
always, in every case, fly
first class?
Spokesman:
The Secretary-General and the
Deputy Secretary-General also
often travel business when
first class… because an
increasing number of flights,
planes, in fact, do not have
first class, so they often
also do travel business.
Thank you."
So the only way
Guterres did and does NOT fly
first class is if it's
full.
On strikes, here
was his UN's response:
"Based on guidance from UNHQ,
staff are also reminded that
action, such as work stoppage
or other collective action,
may be considered as
unauthorized absence, and may
result in administrative
consequences in line with the
staff regulations and
rules.(Signed)
Director-General of UNOG."
Guterres,
of course, claimed to not be
aware, despite the reference
to "guidance from UNHQ." And
at UNHQ, there was a staff
march around the Circle,
filmed by Inner City Press.
Guterres and his Communicators
took note. In a few short
months, it would be time to
throw out Inner City Press
permanently, without due
process or appeal.
More on this -
and on how few journalists the
UN Censorship Alliance even
purports to represent - on
Substack here
***
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