| UN Haiti Recruitment Scams
IDed As New Book UN Betrayals
Profiles Guterres Next SG Elex
By Matthew Russell Lee Patreon Book
Substack NEW YORK,
July 8 – With the UN moving in
2026 to pick a new Secretary
General, as its last one
Antonio Guterres fails on
Ukraine, Gaza and basic
transparency, a new book has
been published. And new scoops
from staff, below. It is "United
Nations Betrayals: From
Election Stolen by Guterres to
Bribes and Banning of the
Press," by Matthew Russell Lee
(who quickly discloses that he
has been ousted and banned
from the UN by Guterres, for
his reporting). And here's
expose: There are serious
concerns regarding the
integrity of recruitment
processes within the UN
Support Office in Haiti, under
the leadership of USG Atul
Khare. Allegations point to
widespread favoritism,
nepotism and discriminatory
practices that undermine the
UN’s principles of
transparency, fairness and
gender equality. Sources
indicate that most recruitment
decisions are heavily
influenced by connections to
the NYHQ or personal ties with
ASG Atul Khare. For example,
the appointment of Steven
McOwen as Director of Mission
Support D2 to establish and
lead the mission has been made
without the necessary prior
experience for such a critical
role. Despite his lack of
relevant background, he was
appointed over more qualified
candidates, raising questions
about merit and
transparency.
Recruitment for key leadership
positions has displayed
troubling patterns of bias.
All Chiefs D1 and P5
recruited so far are male,
with reports describing a
misogynistic and racist
environment that is hostile
towards female staff. This
blatant disregard for gender
parity contradicts the UN’s
commitment to gender equality
and
diversity.
An especially concerning case
involves the recent posting
for the Chief of Supply Chain
Management (D1) UN_JOB_DETAIL
. The vacancy is tailored to
favor Sandro Calavalle, a male
candidate from NYHQ. The job
announcement is customized to
ensure his selection,
including language
requirements which are
designed to exclude other
qualified candidates. For
instance, the posting listed
English at level 2 and French
at level 1 for many roles, but
for this particular position,
it specified English and
Spanish at level 3, with an
added “desirable†criterion
that favors candidates who
speak Creole—primarily because
Calavalle knows the language
and has a Haitian wife. This
manipulation is aimed at
sidelining experienced
candidates. The
language requirements for the
DMS D2, required French at
level 1 only in order to favor
Steven McOwen who does not
know French when instead for
such role French fluency is
needed. even
before the selection process
starts it is already known who
is the NYHQ person marked
for. And we wonder why
the UN has lost credibility??
With ASG Khare
and DMS Stephen Mcowen,
corruption and favoritism are
evident.
These issues must be
investigated and addressed.
The UN must uphold its
principles of integrity,
transparency and gender
parity.
UN staff deserve a transparent
process that reflects the
values the organization
champions. The time to act is
now—stop the corruption,
ensure fairness, and uphold
the dignity of all staff
members. A noted
by New York Magazine on Lee's
Maximum Maxwell book,
at times here he uses the
character Kurt Wheelock, who
first appeared in his
Predatory Bender.
The book
begins with Guterres beating
out female candidates for the
UNSG post, after a murky year
being paid by Lisbon-based
Gulbenkian Foundation. The
book digs into the bid by the
China Energy Fund Committee,
convicted of UN bribery, for
Gulbenkian's oil company.
Readers can draw their own
conclusion, including on the
need for SG campaign finance
disclosure in 2026. Part of
the book in italics delves
into the UN Correspondents
Association and its efforts to
throw Lee out. They appear
again in the afterword /
novella, "Whacking Qaddafi,"
which was first mentioned in
the New Yorker magazine's Talk of
the Town piece about
Lee. It addresses more
countries: from India to
Pakistan, Guinea to Guinea
Bissau. The main text addresses UN failures in Sri Lanka - including the UNCA connection - Cameroon, Western Sahara, Syria, North Korea, Sudan, Gaza and elsewhere. UN Betrayals indeed - this should be the first of a series.
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Friday, July 10, 2026
UN Haiti Recruitment Scams IDed As New Book UN Betrayals Profiles Guterres Next SG Elex
