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By Matthew Russell Lee & sources, Exclusive

UN GATE, March 14 – The unprecedentedly insane week for UNESCO, which took place while in New York Antonio Guterres tried to block opponents to an UNdeserved second term for himself, ended with the disclosure of another decision that exemplifies the total privatization of the UN agency and the constantly premeditated violation of its rules and procedures by the French DG Audrey Azoulay.  

  The scandalous visit by the French spies mesmerized the entire UNESCO community (here). It was followed by the exposure of the close relations between the father of Azoulay and the father-in law of her chief of Cabinet Nicolas Kassianides ( here ).

IOS to investigate? You bet they will not be allowed to, unless member states explicitly request it as they did few years ago in the case of the unlawfully appointed ADG/BSP, the Brazilian Thomson-Flores under the former DG Irina Bokova. For the record, Thomson-Flores got removed from her high position following the IOS investigation and the subsequent heated debate at the Executive board.  

  This is to say, that mechanisms for accountability do exist and can be applied at any moment when there is a proven violation of the rules by the Director general. And here is, exposed in details, the decision disclosed about another such major violation.    

After the promotion of the mistress of Nicolas Kassianides, that was put on hold for few months following the article by Inner City Press on that subject, the P4 post in the Cabinet previously occupied by Lily Neyestani Hailu, got vacant. Instead of recruiting as per the existing rules, in order to buy the vote of Argentina, DG Audrey Azoulay decided to appoint directly an Argentinean to that position. Argentina is now one vote secured for the forthcoming election in October.

Thus, on 15 January 2021, Francisco Hugo Maria Miguens Campos, from the Argentinian national commission for UNESCO, was promptly recruited without any competitive process to a P-3 post, but was immediately granted by Azoulay a P4 grade salary in a totally unjustified ground and in violation of the rules.

For obtaining such a SPA (special post adjustment) a staff member must be working in the post for at least 6 months. But not in the Cabinet of Azoulay, where the irregularities are followed by systematic violations of basic rules.  

  Following our article, Lily Neyestani Hailu was clandestinely moved to the P5 post in the ED sector, in the Division for Education 2030, headed by Maki Katsuno-Hayashikawa, another Japanese genuflecting to the French DG.

The DG Azoulay usual puppies, Director HR Kazumi Ogawa and ADG for Management Nicholas Jeffreys, contributed to both irregular appointments and promotions. This time they were assisted as well by Maki Katsuno-Hayashikawa, Director of the Division for Education 2030, who keenly obeyed the new appointment with promotion of Lily Neyestani Hailu in cooperation with Kazumi Ogawa. Shame on Japan for being represented at the UN Agency by such dishonest and morally low-profiled, but occupying high positions staff.   Actually, those senior officials are a blameworthy for robbery of public money with the complicity of some member states who even applaud the mismanagement style of Audrey Azoulay. Those Ambassadors are therefore accountable as well for the embezzlement of taxpayers funds. Will the rest of member states take a firm stance during the forthcoming session of the Executive board in April?

 When will Director HRM get investigated for covering up these criminal arrangements violating the internal rules and procedures? We will follow all that closely.  This is another evidence that the cronyism is reaching into every corner of UNESCO, and nepotism is also rife.  Member states representatives indicate that the international body has reformed little in the three years since the election of Audrey Azoulay and, on the contrary, UNESCO became over that short period a byword for inefficiency, retaliation and corruption.

Still, Board members demonstrated to date an abdication of their paramount responsibility, as funders of the organization, to hold accountable the French DG Azoulay for her abuse of power in misusing public money.  In light of their institutional responsibility of custodians of accountability and constitutionality at UNESCO, the Chair of the Executive board, the Ambassador of Equatorial Guinea Agapito Mba Mokuy, and the President of the General conference, the Turkish Ambassador, Altay Cengizer, are both expected to request clarifications about the revealed examples of daylight robbery of public funds.      For these reasons, France is still not reassured by the absence of other candidates for the position of Director general. This is where UNESCO stands today, in a UN system corrupted by Guterres. We will have more on that.

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