UN whistleblower asks US to withhold UN payments

Associated Press ^ | 4-8-2013 | AP

[haffast]

NEW YORK (AP) — A U.N. whistleblower who won his case but received only 2 percent of the $2.2 million he sought in damages and costs is asking the U.S. government to withhold 15 percent of its payments to the United Nations.

James Wasserstrom alleged corruption involving senior officials in the U.N. peacekeeping operation in Kosovo in 2007. He is now an anti-corruption adviser at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.

Wasserstrom told a news conference Monday that he was sending a letter to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and key lawmakers asking that they implement a federal law requiring such withholding if an organization does not take steps to implement "best practices" to prevent retaliation against whistleblowers.

[haffast]

James Wasserstrom

James Wasserstrom is a US diplomat who currently serves as an anti-corruption officer at the US embassy in Kabul.

He was posted to Kosovo to fight corruption but in 2007 he witnessed misconduct involving UN officials and a local utility company. He later reportedly uncovered evidence that two senior UN officials had received bribes for awarding a contract for the building of a coal fired power plant and mine.[2] After complaining to the UN's oversight office his job was effectively abolished and he was investigated for misconduct. Wasserstrom then went to the UN's Ethics Office where it was eventually ruled that he was maltreated but that this did not count as retaliation against a whistleblower.[3]

After a lengthy legal battle, documents backing his version of events were uncovered and the UN's Dispute Tribunal overturned the original decision. Whilst a judgement was not made on the alleged corruption in the UN's Kosovo mission, it was decided that the UN's original evidence was conflicted and that the mechanisms for dealing with whistleblowers within the UN were fundamentally flawed.[2] United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon had refused to hand over confidential documents relating to the case to the UN personnel tribunal, despite repeated orders by the tribunal to do so.[4]

Wasserstrom has been critical of the pace of reform in the UN and also of Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon for allegedly undermining support for whistleblowers by trying to limit the jurisdiction of the UN dispute tribunal.[2]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Wasserstrom

Just as soon as Secretary of State Kerry gets back from saving the world I'll bet he'll look into it for you.

How are things over there in Afghanistan? You ever hear of a fella named Stevens?

[Blood of Tyrants]

Withhold 100% of the UN payments. Most of the money is stolen anyway.

[dsrtsage]

HA! I bet UN cash was probably the only thing 100% sheltered from the “Sequester”.