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By Matthew Russell Lee & sources, Exclusive

UN GATE, May 1 – UNESCO, like the whole UN system under Antonio Guterres is falling apart in corruption and fraud.

  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. A fish rots from the head.

At UNESCO, wrongdoings are booming to an extent never seen before. Still, not a single senior staff has been sanctioned despite the long list of misconduct committed by her fellow citizens and friends such as ADG for culture, Chilean Ernesto Ottone Ramirez.  The role of Bernardin Assiene, the Director of IOS, who is in charge of proposing sanctions for such huge violations of rules, should also be questioned and challenged in his behavior of covering up the misdeeds of the French administration heading UNESCO. More on Bernardin Assiene here

 For example, at last week's meeting of the Preparatory group of the Executive Board, Bernardin Assiene proudly presented to Member States the new elements of the human resources policy regarding the increased possibility of integrating people with different types of disabilities into UNESCO's staff. This is the height of hypocrisy. Since taking over as head of UNESCO's IOS, Bernardin Assiene has spent most of his time denigrating the work and effectiveness of the only staff member under his supervision, Daniel Granier, who works in a wheelchair. 

According to our HR sources, disgusted by the attitude of his director Bernardin Assiene, Mr. Granier has decided to leave the organization. In other words, Assiene is doing the opposite in his own department to what he is encouraging for the whole of UNESCO. At the next session of the Executive board, Member States may wish to question Bernardin Assiene on the case of Daniel Granier and on the reasons that led him to end his career at UNESCO. 

In addition to the above, the following issues could be raised at the next session of the Executive board by those Member States who are still concerned about accountability and good governance at UNESCO: 

1) What are the reasons that led DG Azoulay to suddenly dismiss the two most senior members of her cabinet, Nicolas Kassianides and Rolland Husson? We have learned from the Djibouti ambassador's entourage that Kassianides is returning to the Quai d'Orsay without the expected promotion and that Husson will be transferred to one of UNESCO's program sectors, most likely Culture. 

2) In our exclusive story of 13 February, we pointed out the unacceptable situation in which top senior managers like Ottone Ramirez in the Culture sector or Gabriela Ramos in SHS Sector can exert totalitarian control over the staff including by using intimidation and harassment that force staff members into fear and obedience. When will member states put sufficient pressure on DG Azoulay to force her to stop these unacceptable illegal practices and behaviors?  

3) Also, when will member states consider that DG Azoulay has pocketed enough taxpayers' money and stop misappropriating public funds for her private occupations? With a millionaire father, how long will she still feel poverty-stricken enough to embezzle public funds?

Thus, does DG Azoulay intend to reimburse UNESCO for the funds used from the Culture sector's budget for her vacation boat in Venice last year?   Despite all the wrongdoings duly exposed, little progress has been made in cleaning up the Agency, mainly due to the criminal complicity of the member states. Their political attitude is in fact a green light given to DG Azoulay to continue these practices and even intensify them in the last two years of her tenure. The member states are therefore entirely responsible for the collapse of UNESCO. We will have more on that. Watch this site.

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