Inner City Press Asks of UN Accused of Fraud in Lubmbashi in DRC, Spokesman Says UNDP Investigating, But No Timeline

By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive series

UNITED NATIONS, November 23 -- The United Nations,UNaccountable in Africa as it has been in Haiti and Sri Lanka, has left a trail of broken promises, with today's example being in Katanga in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Legal immunity, turned into impunity, is the cause of and link between these cases.

 The twist in this DRC case is that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's vaunted “UMOJA” enterprise resource planning computer system has been blamed for the UN's refusal to pay what it owes.

  But protests of the UN in Lubumbashi have not resulted in any accountability. On November 23, after exclusively reporting on this story, Inner City Press asked UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric, video here, transcript here:

Inner City Press: I’ve been contacted by and have seen the documents of a number of UN contractors in Lubumbashi in the DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo), who have publicly protested pretty loudly about not being paid for months by OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) in Lubumbashi and Katanga.  They’ve held demonstrations.  There’s photographs of them now living outside the OCHA compound, but they’ve gotten no response at all.  And the excuse they were given for… they delivered maize and roofing.  They were told it’s because of Umoja that they couldn’t be paid.  Now they’re told all their money’s been taken and they should just keep living outside the camp.  What is the UN’s response to this?

Spokesman:  My understanding is that OCHA has met with representatives of the provincial authorities to keep them updated on the situation and that UNDP’s (United Nations Development Programme) legal office, which administers OCHA staff in the field, has begun an investigation process into the situation.

Inner City Press:  But, I mean, I guess what… they’re living outside the camp.

Spokesman:  That’s what I have.

Inner City Press:  Is it an impact of Umoja?

Spokesman:  I… I can’t speak to it.  I don’t know.

Inner City Press:  Is there a timeline for resolving it?

Spokesman:  I don’t know.

 Again Inner City Press' DRC and Great Lakes questions to Ban's Office of the Spokesperson in New York are left unanswered, dodged, then not taken at all, in deference to a group of scribes, UNCA, which do not ask such questions and, more recently, try to sell seats next to Ban Ki-moon for $6,000.

This is today's UN, and  and in the spirit of the new Free UN Coalition for Access we'll let one of the victims start this story (Inner City Press has documents) --

“The UN's OCHA office through their representative approached us to supply the office with a number of products search as: maize flour, wheat flour, iron/roofing sheets, sugar, and stationery items like copy paper, toners to help disadvantaged people in Congo.

“We received order forms at the OCHA office fully stamped and signed by three individuals from OCHA office. We also signed a copy that the office kept. Delivery was done at three warehouses in Lubumbashi and delivery notes and invoices were signed and stamped at the office. Payments were supposed to be three weeks after delivery. In 2014 until April 2015 payments were done within the three weeks. Late May we started having problems with payments and the excuse they gave us was there will be a change in the system to UMOJA SYSTEM and there will be a one month blackout. Since UN is a big world-wide organization, we decided to be patient with them, but the excuses went on and on.

“Beginning of October, when we went to demand for payment at the office, the manager informed us they know nothing about the issue and it’s a scam! Until now we have received no proper feedback from OCHA office, claiming they are waiting for a report from the Kinshasa Office. We reported to the local MONUSCO office and they are investigating the issue but still nothing yet from them.

We also took them to court and are awaiting the court verdict. The strange thing all the workers at OCHA office have been replaced by new ones! Where did the others disappear to? Is OCHA trying to cover up for their act?

“People have lost millions of dollars. Some of us have lost their livelihoods, wondering where the next Dollar is going to come from. Some families have pulled their kids out of school as they are not able to pay their school fees. Some families are out in the streets not able to pay rent. United Nations is a humanitarian agency and its main purpose is to help disadvantaged people. Is what they did to us inline with their objective or are they creating more disadvantaged people?

“We lack International coverage in DRCongo, and UN is taking advantage of this to shurt us up as they believe no one internationally will know about our plight. we have put our hopes in you as we believe you can help us in this to make our plight known internationally.”

  The reference to families who have pulled their kids out of school as they are not able to pay their school fees is reminiscent of the plight offamilies in Haiti whose breadwinner was killed by the cholera UN Peacekeeping brought; the UN has refused to help any of the victims. When Inner City Press asks, repeatedly, the UN repeats that it is trying to raise money from member states, but only for forward-going water and sanitation projects, nothing for its victims and their families. We'll have more on this.

 After Inner City Press exclusively reported on UN Peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous having granted extensions to Burundian forces to continue in his mission in the Central African Republic despite not having the right equipment, and telling Burundi he is “pragmatic” on human rights, Inner City Press asked UN Spokeman Stephane Dujarric about it.

 Dujarric never answered, saying repeatedly he had not seen the UN Peacekeeping notes on the meeting -- which he could or should easily be able to get.

   But when Reuters quoted an unnamed UN Peacekeeping official that Ladsous is vetting DR Congo troops -- while giving Burundi troops a waiver, and not speaking about any lack of vetting by France whose Sangaris troops are accused of rape in CAR -- Dujarric would still not respond to Press questions about DPKO vetting, or non-vetting, of Burundian troops.

 Inner City Press asked Dujarric about these issues at the November 20 noon briefing, and about UN officials still cavorting with Senior Advisers of the Global Sustainability Foundation, whose founder Sheri Yan has been indicted for using GSF for corruption inside the UN. Dujarric said he was not aware of the event Inner City Press asked about. Of course, he could easily find out.

  On Burundi, after Inner City Press asked Dujarric about an NGOs report on the government banning people from fleeing the country, Dujarric said he was unaware of the report. The NGO tweeted the report link to him. But still no answer. We'll have more on all this.

Footnote: the Free UN Coalition for Access find repeated non-answering of questions UNacceptable, as well as the setting aside of questions for UNCA, which is currently soliciting $6,000 for seats next to Ban Ki-moon at its fundraiser on Wall Street. Dujarric was asked about this as well and said, “As long as it's transparent.” Really? 

After More UN Rapes, By Vendor in DRC, Inner City Press Again Asks UN of Bentiu Cover Up, Pattern

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, July 27 -- When peacekeepers from France allegedly raped children in the Central African Republic and the UN learned about it a year ago, the UN and UNICEF did nothing, until UN Peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous asked to fire the whistleblower in March of this year.  Inner City Press asked UNICEF about its role, here.

  After BuzzFeed's Jina Moore documented that when an aid worker was allegedly raped inside UN Peacekeeping's Bentiu "Protection of Civilians" site in South Sudan, the UN system did little to nothing -- until on July 27, in transcribing Spokesman Stephane Dujarric's answer to Inner City Press' questions, the UN added in a parenthetical that Nobert did not work for the UN.

 On July 30, Inner City Press asked Dujarric about yet another case in this unfolding scandal, this one again involving one of Herve Ladsous' peacekeeping missions, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Video here.


From the UN's transcript:

Inner City Press: I’m sure you’ve seen the story in The Guardian, actually by one of our colleagues or former colleagues here, Roger, about the systematic rape by an air contractor of the MONUSCO [United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission] in the DRC [Democratic Republic of the Congo].  And they basically say that there’s some pretty horrendous evidence or descriptions of what happened, that the UN kept paying the contractor after, with some idea of rehabilitating it.  But I wanted to ask you about, there was an OIOS [Office of Internal Oversight Services] investigation of it, and it seems since it’s also a vendor, it obviously brings up this other… this case in Bentiu, which it was a vendor, and the UN said it could do nothing.  First, what can you say to those who say it’s pretty horrendous to continue to pay a contractor which raped an underage girl in the DRC?

Spokesman Dujarric:  What is…  What is horrendous is what happened to the victim and what was done to the victim by those two employees of UTair.  We go back to a story that was, in fact, reported, I think, when it happened a few years back.  Our understanding is that the contractors have been… at the time, were removed and fired from the company.  Both the DRC judicial authorities and the Russians were informed of the… of our investigation into the case.  As we explained in the article, a procedure was put in place at the time to monitor the vendor and the behaviour of the vendor and its staff.  That monitoring mechanism continues.  Every six months, it is reported to our colleagues in the Department of Management, who review it.

I think…  Again, I think the issue of vendors and contractors is a very legitimate one to explore.  Given the criticality of air support, there was a discussion among the Department of Management.  A system was put in place to ensure that this particular company was monitored and monitored on a regular basis, and that continues to do… we continue to do that.  The behaviour of our vendors and the staff that work for them should be at the same level of ethics and behaviour that we expect of our own staff, as they represent us.

Inner City Press:  And was there any accountability for the victims or victims in the DRC, was there actually any accountability, either criminal or civil?

Spokesman:  Again, those… the findings of the OIOS investigation, the UN investigation, were presented to both the DRC and to the Russian authorities, and I think you’d have to ask for them what happened on the criminal end.  As you know, we have no criminal authority.

Inner City Press: In the South Sudan case, where it was also an alleged rape by an employee of a vendor, was any information given to the authorities of either South Sudan…?

Spokesman:  I think we’re still… what happened to Megan Nobert is being looked into.  As I’ve said, both here and in interviews, she suffered horrendously, and our heart goes out to her.  The… you know, UNICEF [United Nations Children’s Fund], which was the agency that had the contract with the vendor for which her accuser… the alleged attacker worked for, was in contact with the vendor, got him removed.  I know our colleagues at UNICEF are absolutely appalled by what happened to Ms. Nobert.  And when I have more information, I’ll share it with you.

Question:  One final thing.  Do you see this as a pattern?  And two, for example, since it’s a UN system, did UNICEF impose any of these similar rehabilitation and reporting requirements on…

[inaudible]

Spokesman:  Like I said, I don’t have all the facts surrounding this case.  I think, again, I would say that we expect…  I wouldn’t call it a pattern.  I think there are hundreds, if not more, of vendors and contractors that work on behalf of the UN who do a spectacular job, partner agencies, partner humanitarian NGOs [non-governmental organizations].  But we do expect anyone who works on behalf of the United Nations to behave to the same ethical standards.  I will…

Inner City Press: The pattern I was asking about is a pattern of a lack of accountability.  Because the UN is working in places that may have not very good… not… not very developed judicial systems and because the UN itself is immune…

[inaudible - the reference was to the UN shirking responsibility for introducing cholera into Haiti]

Spokesman:  I think it’s obviously something we need… it’s something we need to look at.  Our ability to prosecute people criminally is obviously not there.  It’s up to national… either the authority where the crime took place or the citizenship of where the people worked."

  Shouldn't the UN provide some protection and accountability for aid workers in the employ of non-governmental organizations funded by the UN system, particularly inside UN "protection" camps like that in Bentiu?

 Given the vendor issue in both the DRC and South Sudan cases, Inner City Press for the Free UN Coalition for Access opines that it would have been better if the Guardian had linked to BuzzFeed on South Sudanin its otherwise good story.

 On July 28, Inner City Press asked the UN's top humanitarian, Emergency Relief Coodinatory Stephen O'Brien, about the case. Video here. O'Brien said he had recently been in the Bentiu camp but, not speaking specifically of the case he said he did not know, to his credit he said that facts should be looked into and investigated. But will they be?

  Minutes later Inner City Press asked UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric why such an investigation was not done in this case -- did it turn on the fact that the alleged victim did not work for the UN system but for a UN fundee? Video here.

   The UN to its July 27 transcript added, "[The Spokesman later clarified that Ms. Nobert did not work directly for the UN. She was employed by an NGO doing contract work for a UN agency.]" Compare to actual briefing, video here.

  She worked for Nonviolent Peaceforce, which received a $1 million grant from UNICEF for child protection in South Sudan, click here for that.

  Not only did UN spokesman Dujarric refuse to identify UNICEF, run by former US government official Anthony Lake, as the UN agency which did not act on the alleged rape, except to provide "contact information" of the contractor -- UNICEF, which was in charge of the bore hole drilling in which the alleged rapist was engaged, has not directly responded on the scandal.

   Nonviolent Peaceforce, meanwhile, has simply published anadvertisement for a(nother) "Senior Programme Manager, Nonviolent Peaceforce, South Sudan," here.

  The alleged rapist, named as Amed Asmail, seems to also be called Ahmad Ismail, whose Facebook page here pictures him playing music,listing in his bio working with "South Sudan -Life For Construction."

 Inner City Press on July 27 asked UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric what accountability there is when UN agency personnel themselves are raped. Video here, and embedded below.

  Dujarric began by calling it a horrendous act - then said that what the UN system did was give the victim the contact information of the contractor. But, Inner City Press asked, since Sudan-based Life for Construction has let the alleged rapist Amed Asmail's contract expire, how will this "contact information" help the victim?

  Dujarric declined to even identify the agency, which used public funds to contract for water bore holes for the Bentiu camp; when Inner City Press asked if it was UNICEF or IOM, he cut the question off. Video here.

  What we can report is that UNICEF, nearly always in charge of the water cluster for the UN system, said on its website in April 2014, here, that UNICEF

"has maintained staff in Bentiu and is rapidly responding to the urgent needs, drilling new boreholes for water, and today flying in parts for the construction of new latrines. However, UNICEF said it remains hindered by a lack of funding and access."

  UNICEF also sat on reports of the sexual abuse of children in Central African Republic; we'll have more on this.


For now, here's this, and now UN's transcript of briefing - a [parenthetical] was later added, highlighted below in bold:

Question:  Sure.  Questions on Burundi but I wanted to ask you something, you may have anticipated coming.  It was a story which was on Friday on BuzzFeed, quite detailed, about an aid worker in the UNMISS camp (United Nations Mission in South Sudan) in Bentiu, who alleges that she was raped by a UN vendor or contractor working for Life For Construction.  Basically the gist of the article is that the UN did absolutely nothing and OIOS (Office of Internal Oversight Services) said they could not investigate and there are no recording or reports of sexual abuse or exploitation by vendors anywhere in the UN, DPKO (Department of Peacekeeping Operations) or other systems.  So I wanted to know, what is your response to it?  What does the UN owe people in its protection of civilian camps if they are raped there, and why was nothing done in this case?

     Spokesman:  Well, I think this was clearly a horrendous act and I think people who work, aid workers, humanitarian workers, who work within UN camps are owed the best possible protection, that's clear.  In this particular case, the agency for which Ms. Nobert worked is greatly concerned for the well-being and safety and security of all those working with it to deliver humanitarian assistance anywhere in the world and it took these particular allegations very seriously.  [The Spokesman later clarified that Ms. Nobert did not work directly for the UN. She was employed by an NGO doing contract work for a UN agency.] When it became clear that the person accused of the attack on Ms. Nobert was, in fact, an employee of a company hired to undertake work for the agency and not an UN staff member, the agency concluded it was not a position to conduct an investigation into the alleged actions of that person itself.  All of the agencies private contractors are aware of the high standard of conduct the agency accepts from their staff and the agency gave Ms. Nobert the contact details of the employer of the person accused of attacking her, so that she could take her complaint directly to the company.  The agency also instructed the company to remove the individual immediately from any project involving the agency.  

However, given the highly sensitive nature of the allegations, the agency had to respect both the need for Ms. Nobert to raise her very serious complaint with those who can take actions and the rights of the accused person for due process.  It therefore did not share the specific nature of the complaint with the contractor, allowing Ms. Nobert to decide on how and when she wanted to do that.

The agency concerned believes that in this complex circumstance it did the best it could to support Ms. Nobert, to take her complaint forward.  I think it's clear that, in any of these cases, we also need to take a look how we responded and how we can do better in responding to horrendous cases like this one.

     Question:  Thus seems to imply… obviously, Life for Construction, they have already terminated the individual, so there is no more relationship between them. So is there… what is the UN saying is the accountability mechanism for this alleged rape?  And, two, you keep saying the agency. Was the agency in charge of boring water holes in the Bentiu camp?  Was it UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund), was it IOM (International Organization for Migration)?  Which agency are you speaking of?

     Spokesman:  As the article makes clear, Ms. Nobert specifically requested the agencies she had contacts with shall not be named and we will respect her wishes.

     Question:  Who is in charge of boring the water holes?

     Spokesman:  That is what I have to share with you and, if I have, more I will share with you. 

See above - and InnerCityPress.com