After UNOPS
Corruption Exposed by Inner City Press
Staff Tell It Rots Redux as Board Looms
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon
UN GATE, Jan 13 –
In the United Nations under
Antonio Guterres, there is
nothing but failure and
excuses and fundraising on
crises like Gaza, Ukraine,
Syria, Burma, Haiti and
Cameroon.
There is impunity
for sexual abuse by
peacekeepers and UN staff like
Juan Carlos Cunillera, just
"along for the ride" during
the UN
sex-in-the-van exposed
by Inner City Press.
But now as we
looked at and asked about
Guterres' omission of his
links to UN briber CEFC China
Energy, leading to him banning
the Press (and Melissa Fleming
continuing the ban, not even answering
a law firm's pro bono letter),
on April 17, 2022 we published
on other officials - including
long time UNOPS operative
Vitaly Vanshelboim (whom Inner
City Press covered in
connection with UNOPS gag
orders before being banned
from UN by corrupt Guterres.)
We noted
that Vanshelboim's skeeze in
the S3i scam of UNOPS's Grete
Faremo.
While
others then noted for example
that a long time member of the
UN Correspondents Association
Gloria Starr Kins played a
role in hooking up the fraud,
they don't mention UNCA and
their role in banning the
Press. On December 13, 2024,
UNCA will put access to
Guterres up for sale again at
Cipriani: no questions have
been answered.
Now this:
Dear Matthew
Russell Lee and Inner City
Press editorial
team,
Thank you for
your invaluable assistance in
amplifying our voices. As we
approach the forthcoming
Executive Board meeting at the
end of the month, we kindly
request your continued
support. UNOPS is expected to
attempt to mislead the
Executive Board regarding the
successful implementation of
the Comprehensive Response
Plan. We cannot allow them to
continue their
deceit!
Current and
former UNOPS staff are raising
alarms over governance
failures and the
organization’s inadequate
response to systemic issues
exposed by the 2022 S3i
scandal. These unresolved
problems, coupled with weak
strategic planning,
ineffective leadership, and
entrenched corruption, are
eroding the organization’s
stability. A demoralized
workforce, compounded by abuse
of power and opacity,
highlights the severity of the
crisis. Despite the
gravity of the S3i
revelations, UNOPS leadership
has relied on superficial
measures to pacify
stakeholders and the executive
board while neglecting
meaningful reforms. This
failure to address deeper
structural issues continues to
undermine trust and
organizational
integrity. Mismanagement
of the cost-recovery model,
poor planning, and weak
internal controls have
worsened financial stability.
Temporary fee reductions and
misdirected budgets have
backfired, resulting in staff
layoffs in 2025.
Leadership’s
lack of transparency in
financial disclosures and
strategic planning suggests an
intent to conceal these
failings from both staff and
the Executive Board.
Governance failures extend
beyond finances. Long-serving
directors have consolidated
power into "power clans,"
perpetuating favoritism and
shielding misconduct.
Mechanisms meant to address
wrongdoing lack independence,
dismiss valid concerns, and
leave whistleblowers
vulnerable to retaliation.
A toxic
culture of fear persists, with
rising reports of harassment
and retaliation. Performance
evaluations and precarious
contracts are weaponized to
silence dissent. Ineffective
staff association and
accountability mechanisms
further erode morale, risking
continued financial
instability, reputational
damage, and the erosion of
UNOPS’ mission integrity.
The
upcoming First Regular Session
of 2025, from 27–31 January,
will be critical. UNOPS
leadership is expected to push
for closure of the 3Si scandal
response plan. Yet unresolved
issues highlighted in the
Executive Board’s (EB) 2024
report demand urgent
attention. In the last
annual session of 2024, the EB
called for transparency and
accountability, urging UNOPS
to provide evidence of
meaningful progress through
comprehensive validation of
the implementation points. Yet
UNOPS leadership tried to
divert attention and cover up
for these. Restoring trust
requires verifiable reforms,
not cosmetic cover-ups.
The EB also emphasized that
capacity gaps and
implementation challenges
remain, with poor
knowledge-sharing as a
significant concern.
Recent staff cuts
reflect leadership’s lack of
openness and planning, and the
misuse of ICA/LICA
contracts—offering limited
protections—underscores
reliance on unsustainable
solutions. Delegations have
called for stronger oversight,
revisions to the whistleblower
policy, and updates in Q1
2025. Yet, Executive
Director Jorge Moreira da
Silva, or “George,” as he
prefers, has failed to address
these concerns, attempting to
deflect attention toward
questionable achievements. His
push to prematurely declare
closure of the Comprehensive
Response Plan (CRP) during the
upcoming session underscores
the ongoing lack of
transparency and
accountability. Of the
actions outlined in the
Comprehensive Response Plan
(CRP), there are HR-related
issues that should have been
the foundation for building a
better organization but have
been neglected, demonstrating
the lack of commitment from
senior management to improving
accountability and oversight.
In preparation
for the upcoming Executive
Board session, where UNOPS is
clearly struggling to
demonstrate meaningful and
fit-for-purpose reforms, the
People and Culture Group
(PCG), under the leadership of
Valerie Kushata, has spent the
last two months of 2024 in a
frenzy, rushing the
implementation of a series of
superficial changes regarding
Well-Being, Talent Management,
Speak Up, and other areas in
an attempt to address some
points of the CRP. However,
since her arrival in 2023, the
PCG director has been
complicit in a series of
irregularities concerning
personnel matters, including
workplace harassment, sexual
harassment, and a complete
lack of oversight and controls
to ensure the proper
implementation of Performance
Evaluation Reports and
Performance Improvement Plans,
among others. UNOPS
cannot continue misleading its
staff, partners, and the
Executive Board.
Restoring trust
and ensuring the
organization’s viability
requires meaningful
accountability, genuine
reform, and a commitment to
addressing systemic
challenges. Anything less
threatens the very integrity
of its mission.
With utmost
appreciation, The UNOPS
Personnel Collective Seeking
Accountability
We'll
have more on this.
***

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