United States Senate Committee Issues an Investigative Report on the United Nations Development Program

The United States Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has just released a report entitled “United Nations Development Program: A Case Study of North Korea.’

The report will be discussed at a hearing today, starting at 10 a.m., that will focus on allegations of corruption in the UNDP North Korea office, including those raised by GAP whistleblower Artjon Shkurtaj, who was terminated after he reported serious allegations of wrongdoing related to the UNDP North Korea office.

The report found that “by preventing access to its audits and not submitting to the jurisdiction of the UN Ethics Office, UNDP impeded reasonable oversight and undermined its whistleblower protections.” (p.1) The subcommittee also found that “UNDP refused to submit Mr. Shkurtaj’s retaliation claim to the UN Ethics Office, thereby weakening its status and authority, causing the fracture of what was intended to be a UN-wide ethics program, and undermining confidence that UNDP employees can report suspected mismanagement without fear of reprisal.” (pp. 27-28) The investigative committee recommends that “Both Congress and the US State Department should continue to press for the implementation of strong whistleblower protections at the UNDP and throughout the United Nations,” (p.5) a proposal that GAP fully agrees with.

GAP is quoted on page 27 of this report.

-- Shelley Walden