By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon
UN GATE, Dec 13 – In the United Nations under Antonio Guterres, there is nothing but failure and excuses and fundraising on crises like Gaza, Ukraine, Syria, Burma, Haiti and Cameroon.
There is impunity for sexual abuse by peacekeepers and UN staff like Juan Carlos Cunillera, just "along for the ride" during the UN sex-in-the-van exposed by Inner City Press.
But now as we looked at and asked about Guterres' omission of his links to UN briber CEFC China Energy, leading to him banning the Press (and Melissa Fleming continuing the ban, not even answering a law firm's pro bono letter), on April 17, 2022 we published on other officials - including long time UNOPS operative Vitaly Vanshelboim (whom Inner City Press covered in connection with UNOPS gag orders before being banned from UN by corrupt Guterres.)
We noted that Vanshelboim's skeeze in the S3i scam of UNOPS's Grete Faremo.
While others then noted for example that a long time member of the UN Correspondents Association Gloria Starr Kins played a role in hooking up the fraud, they don't mention UNCA and their role in banning the Press. On December 13, 2024, UNCA will put access to Guterres up for sale again at Cipriani: no questions have been answered.
Now this:
Dear Matthew Russell Lee:
We are a group of current and former employees of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS). We are reaching out to kindly request your assistance. The scandal surrounding the S3i initiative in 2022, which exposed the diversion of funds, is merely the tip of the iceberg in a much broader pattern of irregularities.
These unethical practices have resulted in significant financial and moral crises, with the most recent consequence being the announcement of a series of layoffs in 2025. The executive leadership, led by [Lusophone] Executive Director Jorge Moreira da Silva, is attempting to downplay these layoffs...
This issue is further exacerbated by the lack of accountability and leniency towards abuse allegations—including sexual harassment and physical violence; reprisals against whistleblowers; and the widespread use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to silence those who try to bring these issues to light.
This issue is further compounded by contractual inequality, which systematically places the majority of staff under Independent Contractor Agreements (ICA), a controversial work arrangement that lacks legal protections against abuse. The Ethics Office and internal reporting mechanisms operate in collusion, primarily aiming to downplay or dismiss cases, leaving whistleblowers completely unprotected.
This is Guterres' UN.
The upcoming Executive Board meeting, scheduled for the first quarter of 2025, will be crucial. Management intends to mislead the board by presenting manipulated reports that falsely claim the success of the Comprehensive Improvement Plan (CRP). This so-called reform plan, introduced after the S3i scandal, has proven to be nothing more than a façade, designed solely to appease donors and the executive committee. This attempt at a cover-up is nothing but a blatant farce aimed at perpetuating corruption and evading accountability.
With utmost appreciation, The UNOPS Personnel Collective Seeking Accountability
We'll have more on this.
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