By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive Series
UNITED NATIONS, February 12 -- In UN Peacekeeping under Herve Ladsous, positions in missions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Haiti were corruptly put up for sale, a 49-page “Strictly Confidential” UN investigative report obtained and exclusively published by Inner City Press on February 7 show.
On February 12, despite the UN investigative report depicting in detail Cote d'Ivoire's Deputy Permanent Representative Bafetigue Ouattara soliciting and taking bribes to sell posts in Ladsous' MONUSCO and MINUSTAH missions, Inner City Press ran into Bafetegue Ouattara in the basement of the UN, by the garage. After an exchange of words, including a demand to know who leaked the report to Inner City Press (demand rejected), at noon Inner City Press asked, video here:
Inner City Press: the corruption one is as follows: It has to do with that OIOS [Office of Internal Oversight Services] report that was leaked showing the payment of bribes for peacekeeping posts. I’d asked Farhan, but I wanted to ask you more because, this morning, I actually ran into the named deputy representative of Côte d’Ivoire, Bafetigue Ouattara, in the building, and since this report, which began in 2013 and was finalized in 2014, has banking records proof of the payment of bribes for peacekeeping posts, I just wondered what does the UN do? I understand that the peacekeepers have been asked to return home, but the person who solicited and took bribes… does the UN have no recourse at all?
Spokesman Dujarric: You know, as you well know… As you well know, diplomats are sent here by their Governments. We have no authority over them. It is up to national Governments to take action against these, against individuals.
Inner City Press: Is there nothing that a diplomat could do even inside this building that the UN would take action on? This was soliciting bribes for UN posts.
Spokesman: As I said, this person works for the Government of the Côte d’Ivoire, it would be up to them to take appropriate action.
Spokesman Dujarric: You know, as you well know… As you well know, diplomats are sent here by their Governments. We have no authority over them. It is up to national Governments to take action against these, against individuals.
Inner City Press: Is there nothing that a diplomat could do even inside this building that the UN would take action on? This was soliciting bribes for UN posts.
Spokesman: As I said, this person works for the Government of the Côte d’Ivoire, it would be up to them to take appropriate action.
So again - there is NOTHING that a diplomat couldn't do at the UN? It cannot be said that this UN has zero tolerance for corruption - far from it. Later on February 12, UN Peacekeeping chief Ladsous, who refuses to answer any Press questions, was hobnobbing with diplomats in the Delegates' Entrance to the UN General Assembly. We'll have more on this.
On February 10 there was a partial answer, video here;transcript here, including
Inner City Press: Do you think that this… the panel on peacekeeping operations under [José] Ramos-Horta, is this the type of obviously kind of hole in the system that was exploited for personal gain that should be reviewed?
Deputy Spokesman Haq: This is a clear-cut case of corruption which was found by our Office for Internal Oversight Services, and we're following up on that. Clearly, quite a good measure of the follow-up also needs to be handled by the Member State involved.
Inner City Press: Do you think that this… the panel on peacekeeping operations under [José] Ramos-Horta, is this the type of obviously kind of hole in the system that was exploited for personal gain that should be reviewed?
Deputy Spokesman Haq: This is a clear-cut case of corruption which was found by our Office for Internal Oversight Services, and we're following up on that. Clearly, quite a good measure of the follow-up also needs to be handled by the Member State involved.
But there are many unresolved questions; watch this site.
Two days after that exclusive, on February 9 Inner City Press asked UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq for the response of UN Peacekeeping, whose chief Herve Ladsous since Inner City Press raised corruption has refused all Press questions, specifically what Ladsous has done in the ten months he has been on notice of this corruption, as shown by the leaked documents. February 9 video here.
On February 10, UN deputy spokesperson Haq came to the noon briefing with a prepared answer, which he read out. February 10 video here. He said that further recruitment of UN Police for Cote d'Ivoire has been suspended pending that country taking action.
Inner City Press asked if all ten police described as paying bribes have been repatriated, for the status of the Deputy Permanent Representative Ouattara shown taking bribes, and if inquiries have been made with other countries which send soldiers or police to the UN.
Haq said that the ten have left or are in the process of leaving. Six months after the final report? "In the process of leaving"?
Haq said that the ten have left or are in the process of leaving. Six months after the final report? "In the process of leaving"?
Worse, Haq said it is up to Cote d'Ivoire if the Deputy Permanent Representative remains in his post at and in the UN. Isn't collective bribes for UN posts a crime? And not only in Cote d'Ivoire?
Inner City Press asked Haq if this obvious loophole allowing corruption will be reviewed by Ban Ki-moon's panel of Peace Operations, to which Inner City Press has already forwarded the OIOS report. Video here.
Another question that has been raised to Inner City Press by diplomats after reading the exclusive is whether Ladsous had a duty, at least before the UN Security Council's trip to Haiti last month led by Chile and the US to tell Council members that bribes had been collected for positions in the MINUSTAH mission there.
Inner City Press has raised the question to MINUSTAH's chief and spokesperson, as to DR Congo mission MONUSCO's chief Martin Kobler, separate story here (as Kobler runs to be Ladsous' peer atop UN aid agency OCHA.)
Haq told Inner City Press that "this was corruption found by our own internal oversight." But the report says the UN's OIOS "received" information about these possibly corrupt practices on July 24, 2013. We'll have more on this.
