by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack
UN GATE, June 4 – How corrupt and decrepit has the UN system become under Antonio Guterres, in this case due to Guterres? Today's example is again from the Office of the High Commission for Human Rights, to which Guterres appointed his unqualified crony Volker Turk more than two years ago.
From OHCHR staff: "Dear Mr Lee The staff in OHCHR says basta to abuse by corrupt senior management. Two weeks ago High Commissioner Volker Turk and his chief of operations Maarit Kohonen, unable to control her anger, openly threatened us “accept relocation or be fired”. Yesterday, in another pointless townhall we made clear to Volker Turk that we will not accept barbaric threats.
Now this: ".Dear OHCHR colleagues, Like you we attended last week’s townhall where High Commissioner Volker Turk presented his latest plans for moving staff out of headquarters. We note that this project has been carried out without adequate consultation with the staff union. The key points we learned and which we are concerned about:
It’s expensive: It will involve the move of 120 staff. We conservatively estimate the cost of relocation or indemnities at $12 million. We did not hear any figures to show whether the moves will justify the cost in the long run. Its mandate is unclear: Volker Turk claims that the General Assembly backed his project. Reading the relevant resolution it is not clear how he inferred this. The justification is questionable: The main reason given was increased demand for OHCHR’s physical presence within countries.
We would like to see the letters from governments requesting this. Instead we hear from you that governments are generally less keen on OHCHR presence, are delaying visas and discouraging meetings on the ground with civil society. It’s being rushed unnecessarily: Staff may have mere months to move. One Director told her staff that if they didn’t like it they could leave, despite the initial management rhetoric of ‘moving posts not people’. We don’t understand the urgency. For UN 80 the current plan is for moves to take place in summer 2026. In addition, if UN 80 results in human rights activities from other entities being merged with OHCHR, new changes might be necessary and such moves might prove premature and unjustified...
Questions about conflicts of interest persist: There will be expansion at the Vienna regional field office, which has triggered allegations of favoritism. We have received concerns from you and would appreciate clarification from management on the ethical guardrails used."
Spoiler alert: no ethical guardrails.
This is the UN of Guterres.
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