By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, January 31 -- While the UN refuses to answer Press questions about charges against its chief investigator Michael Dudley, on Monday the UN Spokesperson sent the press a defensive statement from the Office for Internal Oversight Services, disputing that there has been a fall off in cases pursued.
But Dudley himself in a case closing memo stated that outside contractors and even UN staff as soon as they retire are of less concern, to put it diplomatically.
More than a week ago, prior to the US House of Representatives hearing on UN corruption, including the issues surrounding Mr. Dudley, Inner City Press asked UN spokesman Martin Nesirky:
“Michael Dudley, the acting head of OIOS' Investigations Division, is under investigation, for among other things, retaliation and evidence tampering. Given that Ban Ki-moon says he prides himself on the transparency of his administration, what specifically are the facts surrounding the investigation process regarding Mr. Dudley, and will the UN be reassigning him to other duties during the investigation?”
After at first ignoring the question and declining to even acknowledge it, finally Nesirky's deputy Farhan Haq responded that “On Michael Dudley's case, the case is ongoing before the Dispute Tribunal and we would have no comment as it proceeds.”
But the question was, “will the UN be reassigning him to other duties during the investigation?” It is inappropriate for the UN to not answer that one way or another, particularly as regards its chief investigator.
For now we note that in connection with the House of Representatives hearing, GAP urged
“That the UN Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services appoint a qualified Director to the OIOS Investigations Division (OIOS/ID), the unit responsible for the investigation of misconduct and whistleblower cases. OIOS/ID has been without a permanent director for more than three years and the current acting director is under investigation for allegedly retaliating against two whistleblowers.”
Here is OIOS' statement sent out Monday by Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson's office, on which we will have more:
From: UN Spokesperson - Do Not Reply ]at] un.org
Date: Mon, Jan 31, 2011 at 10:11 AM
Subject: Note to correspondents from the Office for Internal Oversight Services (OIOS)
OIOS Response to PTF Caseload Follow-up Articles
With regard to recent misinformation appearing in the press on the matter of Procurement Task Force (PTF) cases transferred back to the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) following the expiration of the PTF’s mandate, the current Under-Secretary-General of OIOS, Ms. Carman Lapointe, has set the record straight, indicating that:
· The 175 cases handed back to OIOS translated into 162 cases, once duplications and consolidations were sorted out;
· Of the 162, sixty-two were closed within six months by a Transition Team established to ensure continuity—a team primarily comprised of eleven former PTF members;
· Fully 123 cases were closed by the end of November 2009, within eleven months of the end of the PTF;
· Today, only ten cases remain "open", all in the lowest priority category as determined by the PTF itself and subsequently confirmed by former PTF members on the Transition Team;
· No outstanding PTF investigation was closed by the Transition Team, or subsequently by OIOS, without justification for doing so being documented by the investigators and approved by OIOS management.
Furthermore, no cutback in the pursuit of investigations into corruption and fraud has occurred. All reports of any such activity continue to be investigated as a high priority, given their potential for financial loss and damage to institutional integrity.
Ms. Lapointe replaces former OIOS chief Inga Britt-Ahlenius, who has just published a book savaging Ban Ki-moon's leadership. One assumes that Ban's office is keeping a closer eye on OIOS and its new chief. So will we.
Inner City Press has received a number of anonymous telephone calls defending Mr. Dudley, and would be eager to hear more -- especially on the record. Watch this site.
