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By Matthew Russell Lee & sources, Exclusive

UN GATE, May 4 – Inner City Press has been reporting on serious malfeasance by the French Audrey Azoulay administration at UNESCO in Paris, almost as bad as Antonio Guterres' corruption in and of the UN in New York. Almost - a fish rots from the head.

Not a day goes by without another startling discovery about the breakdown of rules and laws at UNESCO.  Last week, Inner City Press informed you about the private visit to Venice of UNESCO’s Director General, Audrey Azoulay, here    

   This week, the vacation on public money continued. The celebration of World Press Freedom Day that was attended by DG Azoulay and her pets from the Cabinet, took place in Uruguay, in the very chic beach resort of Punta del Este. The dedicated web page that praises the site says, among other things: “Punta del Este offers some of Uruguay’s most popular beaches and surf spots, but it’s also a place where you can swim with wild sea lions and attend a sun ceremony. Party at the beaches, the yacht harbor, or casino but take in its simple joys too, like walking the forested paths of Isla Gorriti or ordering a hot chocolate at a cat café as you pet a fluffy feline. While there’s plenty to splurge on here, there’s lots of activities that require little to no money that will still allow you to relish in Punta’s golden sand, fresh sea breeze, and air of refinery”.

Imagine what a stay could be like with unlimited taxpayer provided money. So, this is the place chosen by UNESCO to organize its World Press Freedom Day celebrations. Obviously, the spirit of vacation prevails these days instead of seriousness. Most probably, the UNESCO bosses consider that this celebration in a posh resort will put some cheer into the hearts of imprisoned journalists and families of killed journalists around the world. 

The director of UNESCO's press freedom unit, Guy Berger, who is himself well past the normal retirement age, is definitely paying for his illegal extension by organizing additional vacation days for his superior commander, Audrey Azoulay.  This while neither of the two have done anything about Guterres long banishment of Inner City Press and refusal to answer a pro bono law firm's letter to Melissa Fleming asking what the process for appeal and reinstatement is.

After her stay in Punta del Este, this week - today and tomorrow - DG Azoulay will spend two more days of vacation, in Valparaíso, Chile, again paid for by UNESCO's regular budget. This visit was organized by her Chilean ADG for Culture, Ernesto Ottone, who provided the budget code for the funding of Azoulay's vacation boat in Venice last week.  Valparaíso is another seaside resort and one of the most important yacht harbors in the South Pacific. The city is known for its bohemian culture, with festivals every year, and street artists and musicians. So, while the world is facing economic crisis and wars, the Director general of UNESCO is having a good time by touring from Venice to Punta del Este and then to Valparaíso, all paid by taxpayers. 

At the Executive Board meeting a month ago, an interesting and unusually tense verbal exchange occurred. The German ambassador to UNESCO, Peter Reuss, publicly dismissed the incompetent answers given by Audrey Azoulay, saying: “No, if you allow me, this is not an answer to my question" [about holding of the World Heritage Committee in Russia]. At the podium, Audrey Azoulay embarrassedly replied, in a very undiplomatic and dishonorable manner for the ambassador: “Maybe this was not your question, but it’s my answer”.

Dismayed, the German ambassador then added: "Well, if life is so easy...".  What the German ambassador Reuss precisely failed to understand is that life is actually very easy for Audrey Azoulay. Life is not only easy, it is also good and inexpensive because all her entertainment expenses are covered by the member states, including family vacations. The German ambassador must therefore rather swallow and digest the stubborn fact that for Audrey Azoulay life is more than easy.

From Venice to Valparaíso, the wonderful life on public funds of UNESCO DG Audrey Azoulay does not seem to bother any of the major contributors to the organization's budget, nor the Nordic states, the usual paragons of probity and anti-corruption policies.  There is also a great paradox in UNESCO's celebration of freedom of expression. Over the past five years, the UN Agency has become the most closed and least transparent space for free speech. The Azoualy administration has spared no efforts to oppress staff and to have the IOS constantly investigate potential whistleblowers and disclosures of serious misdeeds and misconducts by senior UNESCO officials. 

The basic rights of staff to normal functioning and fundamental freedoms in the performance of their duties have been severely jeopardized. Continuous stalking threats, violations of rules and procedures by the Azoulay administration have made it impossible for staff to function in an open and law-abiding manner. There is factual evidence that all freedoms at UNESCO have been gradually suppressed. France's elected DG, Audrey Azoulay, who would normally be the most ardent defender of staff rights, has instead explicitly silenced most critical voices and supported only inappropriate sycophancy that has served as a favorable cover for her mandate. 

The Executive Board Bureau members - the ambassadors of Germany, Poland, Argentina, China, India, Guinea, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait - have yet to decide whether to ask the IOS to investigate all the matters revealed by Inner City Press. It has already been pointed out that in recent times several heads of UN agencies have resigned after their records of mismanagement, corruption and abuse of power were exposed. This is the UNESCO of today - a UN agency propitious to the flourishing of corruption, sexual performances-based promotions, abuse of power and nepotism. We will have more on that. Watch this site 

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