Whistleblower Who Exposed Wrongdoing in UNDP Somalia Projects Vindicated

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Washington, D.C. – The Government Accountability Project (GAP) applauds United Nations Ethics Committee Chairman Robert Benson and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark for protecting a UNDP whistleblower from retaliation.

 

In February, UNDP agreed to enforce a decision issued by the United Nations Ethics Committee on December 11, 2009. The decision stated that GAP client Ismail Ahmed, a former UNDP financial services program officer, suffered retaliation for making protected whistleblowing disclosures regarding wrongdoing in the UNDP Somalia Country Office. Dr. Ahmed alleged that fraud and corruption in the UNDP Somalia Remittances Programme threatened to jeopardize the ability of remittance companies to comply with international regulations addressing money laundering and terrorist financing. He also disclosed detailed information about corruption in the procurement process and support provided to a company suspected of links with terrorist organizations.

 

“This decision shows that there can be light at the end of a very long tunnel for UNDP whistleblowers who have overwhelming evidence of retaliation,” said GAP International Program Officer Shelley Walden.

 

Hiiraan

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LONDON, March 9 (Reuters) - The United Nations Ethics Committee has upheld complaints by a former employee of the U.N. Development Programme who said he suffered retaliation from the UNDP for alleging that its Somalia programme was corrupt.

 

The man, Ismail Ahmed, was transferred to another office without proper visa support, and the UNDP Somalia office later told a potential employer not to hire him because of his "silly non-proven accusations", Ethics Committee Chairman Robert Benson found in a report seen by Reuters.

 

A new UN Security Council report says that as much as half the food aid sent to Somalia is diverted to a network of corrupt contractors, radical Islamist militants and local UN staff members, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.

 

The report outlines such serious problems that it recommends Secretary General Ban Ki-moon open an independent investigation into the World Food Programme's operations in Somalia, the paper said, noting diplomats had shown it the as yet unpublished document.

 

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Fraud in UNDP

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WFP Welcomes Independent Investigation into its Food Assistance Operations in Somalia