| UNODC Head Out in
Vienna for Egypt Real Estate
As Inner City Press
Reapplies to Enter
by
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book
Substack
UN GATE,
June 26 – How corrupt
and decrepit has the UN system
become under Antonio Guterres,
in this case due to Guterres?
Today's example is again from
the Office of the High
Commission for Human Rights,
to which Guterres appointed
his unqualified Austrian crony
Volker Turk more than two
years ago.
Now in Vienna,
the head of UNODC is out -
staff sent Inner City Press
this on why: "
Turk dreams of an
elected position in Austria.
But:
From OHCHR
staff: Dear Mr Lee, We are a
group of UN staff members in
Vienna and we wish to express
our joy for the recent
resignation of the corrupted
and discredited Ghada Waly,
the Director General of
UNOV/UNODC. She finally took
the right decision to leave
the UN and free its staff from
her presence. Her stepping
down has been met with relief
also outside Vienna.
When she
resigned, she explained that
this was for family reasons.
Well, it seems that Ghada Waly
cannot refrain from lying!
Many colleagues understood her
resignation to be an escape
from the financial crisis that
is crippling UNOV/UNODC:
therefore, she has been
described by many diplomats in
Vienna as a rat leaving a
sinking ship. We
now hear that she may end
staying on for a few more
months: that will make things
ever worse for UNOV/UNODC,
which will remain without a
real boss for some more
months. Staff close to her
even report that she wants to
spend most of her remaining
time in office in her
hometown, Cairo, at the
expense of the taxpayers of
the world. Be it as it may, we
believe that the real reason
her decision to step down is
different. As everybody knows,
Ghada Waly has been twice
under inquiry by the UN office
of investigations, for
corruption and harassment, but
the Secretary-General, who
chose her, has protected her
and buried these
investigations to avoid
another scandal.
However, Ghada Waly could not
stay away from more
illegitimate conducts; in
fact, she has secured her
appointment as member of the
board of directors of the Palm
Hills Development, the leading
real estate developer in
Egypt, as reported by various
websites, including the Palm
Hills Development one (see this
or this).
In short, Ghada Waly had to
resign before being dismissed
for prohibited conduct. A
shameful end for a tenure that
will be long remembered for
the damage made to the
reputation and integrity of
UNOV/UNODC
Turk as a staffer
on Guterres' 38th floor did
nothing when his boss Guterres
had the critical Press roughed
up and thrown out. There
has been no due process since,
not even a response to Guterres'
Melissa Fleming to a pro bono inquiry
for Inner City Press from the
law firm Quinn Emanuel. On June
19, 2025, this
re-application.
Watch this site.
***
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