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Wednesday, March 02, 2005
Volker: (Unnamed Canadian) Blocked UN Auditors
Debbye has a lengthy post based on a Fox News report uncovering well buried information in the Volker report that there was "a systematic attempt by the Deputy Secretary-General, Canadian Louise Frechette, to block results of audits into the Oil-for-Food program from the Security Council".
Four years into the seven-year Oil-for-Food program, with graft and mismanagement by then rampant, Frechette intervened directly by telephone to stop United Nations auditors from forwarding their investigations to the U.N. Security Council. This detail was buried on page 186 of the 219-page interim report Volcker's Independent Inquiry Committee released Feb. 3.This decision from within Annan's office left only the Secretariat privy to the specifics of the waste, bungling and contractual breaches detailed by U.N. internal auditors in dozens of damning reports. The extent of what Annan’s office knew was not available either to the Security Council or the public until Congress finally forced the issue and the United Nations produced the reports in conjunction with a Volcker "briefing paper" in January.
For reasons unexplained, Volcker's report did not mention Frechette by name.
The article mentions that although the Volcker Commission interviewed Frechette, the results as well as her name were not published. During her tenure as Canadian Ambassador to the U.N., current Volcker executive director Reid Morden was the Canadian Deputy Minister.
They say it's a small world. Well, if that's true, it's a miniscule Canada. As we have come to expect, there are the usual connections from Canadian investigator Volker, the executive director Reid Morden, to the omni-present Paul Desmarias.
Continuing to join the dots on Volcker and potential conflicts of interest is Volcker's number two man on the IIC, Reid Morden. Morden has connections to Desmarais in his role of selling nuclear plants to China and others for companies dominated by Desmarais.Although he is Canada’s former intelligence chief, Morden does not answer to the Canadian government.
As CFP letter writer Peter Herberg puts it, "Can you imagine the uproar if a former CIA chief did this and took part in a UN investigation that refused to cooperate with congress?"
From all reports, Prime Minister Paul Martin has no problems with Morden’s arm’s length relationship with the Canadian government. But then again Martin’s senior adviser is Annan pointman, Maurice Strong.
Trivia: Frechette and Desmarias are both directors of the Trudeau Foundation. Frechette has a rich history in the upper echelons of the civil service. She also served as Deputy Defence Minister during the aborted Somalia Inquiry coverup.
From the site sisis.nativeweb.org;
Frechette's appointment is believed to have come as a result of the influence of Canadian businessman and Trilateral Commissioner Maurice Strong. Strong has been acting as "executive co-ordinator of UN reform" to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.
Frechette stepped into a post that was created, it seems, especially for her.
The position of Deputy Secretary-General was created as part of the reform of the United Nations, to help manage Secretariat operations and to ensure the coherence of its activities and programmes. The purpose was also to elevate the UN's profile and leadership in the economic and social spheres. In addition to assisting the Secretary-General in the full range of his responsibilities therefore, Ms Fréchette also frequently represents the United Nations at conferences and official functions all over the world.
Go read all of Debbye's post.
Posted by Kate McMillan on March 2, 2005 | Permalink
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Comments
Everytime I read about things like this I have the same thought: where is the outrage?
Posted by: ld | 2005-03-02 9:22:15 AM
Where is the coverage?
I sent an email to [email protected], ridiculing them for being scooped by FoxNews.
Posted by: Kate | 2005-03-02 9:35:58 AM
I too wonder where our MSM is in something like this. This kind of stuff really makes me pissed!!
Posted by: themaj | 2005-03-03 4:58:35 PM
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