UN's Doss Claims Email Was to Clarify, But It Asked for Rule Breaking, Nepotism

By Matthew Russell Lee
www.innercitypress.com/doss8boot121609.html

UNITED NATIONS, December 16 -- Five months ago, the UN announced it would investigate a request by the head of its Mission to the Congo Alan Doss to be shown "leeway" so that his daughter Rebecca Doss could be given a job at the UN Development Program.

Having fruitlessly asked the UN's top peacekeeper Alain Le Roy last week for the status of the investigation of Doss, who Le Roy supervised, Inner City Press on December 16 asked new UN spokesman Martin Nesirky for the status, and why it would take the UN five months to investigate a five line email. Mr. Nesirky directed Inner City Press to "ask Alan Doss."

This seems strange, since even at the UN Doss does not openly control the investigation of himself. The investigation of nepotism was assigned to the UN's own Office of Internal Oversight Services as well as UNDP. At to the latter, UNDP is investigating itself, as Rebecca Doss was in fact given the job, and the requested "leeway" shown.

Doss appeared at the Security Council stakeout on Wednesday, initially fending off questions about his seeming support of war criminals, asserted by UN experts and human rights groups. Inner City Press asked for the microphone to ask "a question about corruption."

While Doss took the question -- video here at Minute 15:08 -- he deferred his answer to the absolute end of his stakeout appearance, when he could make a statement and leave without any follow up. He said that he understands the investigation as "being completed... in due course."

Then Doss said, for the cameras, that "my email was not sent to get my daughter a job but to clarify my contractual status with UNDP." Video here, from Minute 17:40.

It is time, as they say, to go to the video tape. Doss' email, first obtained and published by Inner City Press in July, was sent on April 20, 2009 to Ligia Elizondo, the Deputy Director of UNDP's Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific. The email stated:

"Dear Ligia,

This is just to inform that I have advised UNDP in writing that I will transfer to DPKO effective 1 July 2009. I have also spoken to Martin and advised him that I cannot transfer before that date because the new DPKO contractual arrangements only come into effect on the 1 July. He informed me that the ‘deadline’ for the ALD contracts is 15 May so the period of overlap would only be 6 weeks (assuming Rebecca’s ALD would come into force on the 14th May at the latest). I have asked for some flexibility, which would allow a very long serving and faithful UNDP staff member a little lee-way before he rides off into the sunset.

Becky is very excited about the prospect of going to work for you so I hope that it will work out. With my warm regards and thanks,

Alan.

Alan Doss
Special Representative of the Secretary-General United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo"

E-mail in docx text format - download

Doss mischaracterized this email in his December 16 statement. In the email, he did not simply "clarify his contractual status with UNDP." Rather, he acknowledged a contractual status that, by the rules, made it illegal for UNDP to hire his daughter. Then he asked that the rules be ignored: "I have asked for some flexibility, which would allow a very long serving and faithful UNDP staff member a little lee-way before he rides off into the sunset."

The email presupposes that his daughter would get the job.

Given Doss' high position in the UN, while such an assumption might have been accurate, it and the message were entirely inappropriate. That the UN has done nothing yet calls into question not only Mr. Doss' leadership of MONUC, but the UN's credibility. Watch this site.

Footnote: what is perhaps worst or most telling in l'affaire Doss is that the person whose job was taken to be given to the Congo envoy's daughter, when he complained, was pepper sprayed and, after he fought back, arrested. He is still being prosecuted. And highly placed Alan Doss has done nothing.

Another indication of this is MONUC's inaction on reports that its aid to the Congolese army is being diverted and re-sold. How can the UN demand good governance when this is the head of its largest peacekeeping mission?

Since beginning this series in July, Inner City Press has heard from current and former UN staff who served under Doss in Cote d'Ivoire and Liberia as well as Congo. Nearly all speak of rule breaking by Doss, often in the context of his wife, of the misuse of UN resources, of "a fish rotting from the head." That such behavior was rewarded, with the top post in the UN's largest and most controversial peacekeeping mission, speaks badly of the organization, as does its continuing inaction. Watch this site.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/doss8boot121609.html