| In South Sudan UN
Envoy Missing for 4 Months
As Promotions Given as
Sexual Favors Staff Say
by
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book
Substack
UN GATE,
July 3 – How corrupt is
today's UN under Antonio
Guterres? While its UNMISS
Mission steals a radio station
and land by the Juba airport,
its envoy has been missing
from the country for four
months while taxpayers' money
is doled out for sexual
favors, staff tell Inner City
Press:
Dear Mr. Matthew
Russell Lee:
UNMISS is
facing a leadership and
operational crisis. SRSG
Nicholas Haysom has reportedly
been on extended sick leave
for the past four months,
leaving the mission without
clear leadership during a
critical time for peace and
development in the
region. According to a
senior official in New York,
Mr. Haysom had expressed
reluctance about being
reassigned from Somalia to
South Sudan. Following his
deportation from the Somalia
mission, he is said to have
formally requested UN
Secretary-General Guterres -
who recently murkily promoted
his cronies Miguel Graca and
Aguinaldo Baptista to
ever-higher posts - not to
deploy him to another field
mission, citing his advanced
age—reportedly 75 at the time.
Despite this,
Guterres reassigned him,
apparently without due
consideration for the
long-term leadership needs of
UNMISS. No action has
been taken to appoint an
acting SRSG or provide interim
leadership during Mr. Haysom’s
absence, raising serious
concerns about negligence and
a lack of accountability at
senior levels. Many fear that
the Organization is failing to
give South Sudan the strategic
focus and oversight required
to fulfill its peacekeeping
mandate. The leadership
void has further intensified
scrutiny over internal
staffing practices. Military
officers with little or no
civilian management background
have reportedly been appointed
to senior civilian
director-level (D-level)
positions.
These
appointments are viewed by
many staff members as
“Christmas rewards” granted in
exchange for loyalty to
powerful figures, rather than
based on merit... Equally
troubling are claims of staff
being promoted directly from
P-3 to D-2 levels, bypassing
essential career development
and rotational field
experience. Some secondees
have reportedly been granted
D-2 status while still holding
P-5 contracts, despite the
Organization’s ongoing
financial crisis and budget
tightening. As morale
among staff continues to
erode, there is a growing
demand for decisive action
from UN Headquarters.
Staff are
calling for the urgent
appointment of a competent and
full-time SRSG, along with
broader leadership reforms
aimed at restoring
professionalism, integrity,
and accountability within the
mission. Many believe
that only strong, ethical
leadership can steer UNMISS
back on course and enable it
to fulfil its core mandate of
supporting peace and stability
in South Sudan.
Guterres,
they say, should resign or
lose immunity - and end
censorship. On June 19, 2025,
Inner City Press reapplied to
enter, here.
Watch this site.
***
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