| In
Corrupt UN Of Guterres UNESCO Azoyulay On
Publicly Paid Venice Junket Like SG in
Lisbon
By Matthew
Russell Lee &
sources,
Exclusive
UN
GATE, April 19
– Inner City
Pres has been
reporting on
serious
malfeasance by
the Azoulay
administration
at UNESCO in
Paris,
almost as bad
as Antonio
Guterres'
corruption in
and of the UN
in New York.
This
week, however,
we are left in
dismay as to
how to report
the latest
insider
information
from UNESCO's
Venice office.
Staff members
are outraged
by the total
lack of
integrity of
their DG
Audrey Azoulay
and her Chief
of Cabinet
Nicolas
Kassianides.
It
emerges, that
because of the
interest of DG
Azoulay, who
is a former
French
Minister of
Culture, in
several
cultural
events taking
place this
week in
Venice, Italy,
she has
instructed her
Cabinet and
Venice office
staff to also
organize a
cruise for
herself, her
husband and
her two
children, all
disguised as
‘professional
activity’.
The
yacht already
rented for the
5-day stay of
the family was
paid for by
UNESCO's
regular budget
as well as the
travel and the
hotels. In
order to
conceal the
fraud to his
best, Director
of Cabinet
Kassianides
gave the order
to take the
funds intended
to pay for the
vacation of
his boss and
fellow citizen
Audrey Azoulay
from the
Culture sector
of the Agency,
instead of
using the
funds
available for
her within the
Cabinet.
Too bad
for DG
Azoulay, this
budgetary
maneuver
proved
insufficient
for secreting
the financial
misappropriation.
Member States
may still have
nothing to say
about this, as
usual.
It has
been
foreshadowed by
Antonio
Guterres
repeated
junkets on
public funds
to Lisbon,
with unneeded
guards, and
banning the Inner
City Press which
asks.
So
let's put
three concrete
questions to
those of them
who have a
more
identifiable
responsibility
in the
governing
bodies of
UNESCO in
their capacity
as members of
the Bureau of
the Executive
Board - namely
the
ambassadors of
Germany,
Poland,
Argentina,
China, India,
Guinea, Saudi
Arabia and
Kuwait:
1) Is
it acceptable
to you that
UNESCO's
regular budget
approved by
the General
Conference for
the Culture
Sector is now
used to rent a
yacht for DG
Azoulay and
her
family?
2)
Reportedly,
the shipping
company used
to organize
the Azoulay
family's
vacation could
be linked to
Russian
owners. Do you
consider it
important to
verify this
aspect as it
could violate
the
international
sanctions
against Russia
after the
invasion of
Ukraine and
jeopardize the
financial
credibility
and general
reputation of
UNESCO?
3)
In accordance
with the
United Nations
legal
framework for
addressing
non-compliance
with UN
standards of
conduct, would
you ask IOS to
investigate
this case,
given that
under IOS's
own
mechanisms,
all cases of
fraud against
UNESCO
programs and
budgets or
involving
UNESCO staff
must be duly
investigated?
It has already
been pointed
out that in
recent times,
several heads
of UN agencies
have resigned
after their
mismanagement,
corruption and
abuse of power
files got
exposed.
The
former
Executive
Director of
UNAIDS, Michel
Sidibe,
stepped down
six months
before the
expiration of
his term
because of
defective
leadership
that tolerated
“a culture of
harassment,
including
sexual
harassment,
bullying, and
abuse of
power”. The
head of the UN
Palestinian
refugee
agency, Pierre
Krähenbühl,
resigned after
a scandal
involving
accusations of
nepotism and
abuses of
authority. The
UN’s
environment
chief, Erik
Solheim, was
fired
following his
internal
rule-breaking.
The
UN
biodiversity
Chief,
Cristiana
Pasça Palmer,
resigned after
leaked
internal audit
documents
described that
Pasça Palmer
discriminated
African staff
members on the
basis of their
race.
With her yacht
vacation paid
for by UNESCO,
DG Azoulay
faces tough
questions
about the
accountability
problem within
the
organization,
but also about
her management
style of
corruption and
abuse of
power.
The
most obvious
solution is
for her to
join the above
list of failed
UN agency
heads and
leave UNESCO
before her
term ends. We
will have more
on that. Watch
this
site.
***
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