| In
Corrupt UN of Guterres UNESCO Executive
Board Eyes DG Azoulay
By Matthew
Russell Lee &
sources,
Exclusive
UN
GATE, April
11 – 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.
However,
our efforts to
reveal the
misdeeds progress.
After years of
undivided
reign by the
French Drama
Queen Audrey
Azoulay, the
recent misstep
by her
management
team in charge
of finance
sounded the
death knell.
The lawless
dealing with
the 2023
UNESCO deficit
exposed by
Inner City
Press (here
and here)
led to the
following
crucial
decision by
member states
at the recent
session of the
Executive
Board:
“Item
4 Execution of
the programme
adopted by the
General
Conference:
C/5
Implementation
Report
(…)
5. Notes with
serious
concern that a
total of
$5,573,958 of
commitments
initially
recorded under
the 2022-2023
41 C/5 regular
budget could
not be covered
by available
regular budget
resources and
that it is
therefore
proposed, by
the
Secretariat as
an exceptional
measure,
without
setting
a
precedent,
and
in
full
respect
of
all
relevant
financial
regulations to
use other
sources of
funds as
indicated in
Table 6 of
document 219
EX/4;
6.
Recalls
that 41
C/5
Appropriation
Resolution
does
not
permit
commitments
by
the
Secretariat
over a budget
ceiling of
$534,647,000,
under the
regular
budget;
7. Accepts
that the
Secretariat,
on an
exceptional
basis and
without
prejudice to
the findings
of the IOS and
the external
auditors,
fulfils its
legal
financial
commitments
from available
funding
sources as
proposed in
Table 6 from
document 219
EX/4 to avoid
the defaulting
of
payments;
8.
Therefore
allows,
on
an
exceptional
basis
and
without
prejudice
to
the
findings
of
the IOS
and the
external
auditors, the
proposed
transfer of
$3,308,762
from the MCA
Special
Account to
three other
Special
Accounts
(Staff Cost
Recovery
Account, Field
“FITOCA”
Account,
and
Special
Account
to
Accommodate
Residual
Balance
of
Commitments
under the 41
C/5) as
indicated in
the
above-mentioned
Table
6;
9.
Takes note of
the
exceptional
measure to
establish a
Special
Account to
Accommodate
Residual
Balance
of
Commitments
under
the 41
C/5
and
approves
the
deviations
between
the
Standard
Financial
Regulations
of
Special
Accounts
and
the
Financial
Regulations of
the Special
Account to
Accommodate
Residual
Balance of
Commitments
under the 41
C/5 contained
in the Annex
VIII to
document 219
EX/4 as
amended,
except for
8.2;
10.Asks
the
Director
of
IOS
to
provide
at
the
220th
session
of
the
Executive
Board,
the
findings
and
recommendations
of
the
ongoing
IOS
performance
audit
on
budget
monitoring and
controls;
11.Invites
the External
Auditors, in
the framework
of the audit
report of the
consolidated
financial
statements
for
2023,
to
provide
an
opinion
and
observations
regarding
the
respect
of
financial
Regulations
4.1
and
4.2
and
the
corresponding
appropriation
resolution of
41 C/5 and 42
C/5;
12.
Further
invites
the
External
Auditors
to
express
an
opinion
on
the
liquidation
of
legal
contractual
obligations
related
to
2023
activities,
on
the
budget
controls
of
the
Organization
and
the
use
of
other
sources
of
funds
to
cover
commitments
initially
recorded under
the 2022-2023
41 C/5 regular
budget. (…)”
(Full text
available here)
This is the
most salient
and serious
decision taken
by member
states
questioning
Audrey
Azoulay's
management
since her
election to
head the
agency in
2017. It
speaks
volumes. Using
terms like "
default of
payment ",
expressing
"serious
concern" and
above all
involving IOS
and the
external
auditor in
defining
responsibilities
is an
unprecedented
decision that
shows how far
UNESCO's
mismanagement
has gone under
DG Azoulay and
how much
accountability
is becoming a
priority for
member states.
This decision
clearly shows
that trust has
broken down
between DG
Azoulay and
the member
states.
Interventions
during the
Board meeting
were also
particularly
strong,
highlighting
the
administration's
illicit effort
to conceal the
deficit, the
conflict of
interest in
providing a
solution, and
the Azoulay
administration's
inability to
manage the
Agency
properly in
general.
Even more
surprisingly,
France's
ambassador to
UNESCO,
Philippe
Franc, did not
defend the
French DG as
usual. This is
a very clear
signal that
something is
radically
changing. The
only action
taken by the
French was to
call the
British
Foreign Office
and ask that
their
ambassador be
reminded that
support for
the
Frenchwoman
Azoulay is
essential. Her
Excellency the
Ambassador
followed
instructions
from her
capital, but
this did
little to
change the
disastrous
decision taken
against the
French
DG.
Another signal
given to
member states
was the
physical
absence of
both the
French
Ambassador
Franc and of
the French DG
Azoulay from
the closing
plenary
session of the
Executive
Board. Very
weird to have
them both
absent.
Most
countries had
a legitimate
reading of
France's total
abdication in
UNESCO
affairs.
However, with
a year still
to run, it is
to be hoped
that DG
Azoulay will
resume her
attendance at
statutory
meetings of
the governing
bodies, in
accordance
with her
constitutional
obligations,
unless she
decides to
stop receiving
her fat salary
from the same
member states
she
contemptuously
sulks and
shuns.
We will have
more on that.
This is where
UNESCO stands
today, a UN
agency ravaged
by greed and
financial
misappropriations,
propitious to
the
flourishing of
abuse of
power,
corruption and
nepotism.
Watch this
site.
***
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